News In Brief

Hundreds of police reinforcements arrived in Tahiti yesterday, which was placed under a state of emergency after riots that left sections of the capital in ruins. The reinforcements joined two squadrons from New Caledonia, 200 Foreign Legionnaires, and the one permanent squadron in Tahiti, according the Ministry of Overseas Territories.

The troops were deployed at the port of Papeete, where a riot broke out Friday after a confrontation between striking dockworkers and police trying to reopen the port.

Jaffna circled by Indians, but Tamils vow to fight on

Indian troops have surrounded Jaffna, but the rebels will fight on elsewhere as long as their leaders remain at large, Sri Lankan military analysts said. The Tamil separatist fighters, battling to set up an independent state, are expected to regroup outside the city and launch a hit-and-run war, separatist spokesmen said yesterday.

Contra officials, cardinal said to discuss cease-fire

Top officials of Nicaragua's contras met secretly in New York Saturday with the Roman Catholic primate of Nicaragua and discussed a cease-fire, a report said yesterday. The meeting was significant because Miguel Cardinal Obando y Bravo is seen as someone who might be able to find a cease-fire formula by the Nov. 7 deadline of the regional peace treaty, the New York Times report said.

Separately, some contras might be brought to the US if a cease-fire took effect in Nicaragua, the Miami Herald reported Sunday.

An Iranian leader urges all-out war against US

An Iranian leader yesterday urged Iran to mobilize for an all-out war against the US, and senior officials from Iraq and Kuwait met to discuss a coordinated defense against Iran. Separately, a US Navy frigate began escorting the American-flag Kuwaiti tanker Middletown from Dubai northward for Kuwait yesterday, the Defense Department said.

Americans' incomes up, but spending declines

Americans' income rose $25.4 billion, or 0.7 percent, in September, but their spending fell by $16.1 billion, or 0.5 percent, the Commerce Department said yesterday. The drop in consumer spending was greater than analysts had expected, and many are predicting a further slowdown in consumption as a result of last week's stock market crash.

President Reagan has warned that if consumers put off too many purchases they could push the nation's economy into a recession.

AFL-CIO sees new clout with Teamsters returning

The AFL-CIO opened its biennial convention yesterday with 1.6 million Teamsters having been voted back into its fold. Leaders expect the reaffiliation to bolster membership and renew organized labor as a political and economic force.

Without the reaffiliation of the Teamsters, membership in the AFL-CIO's 89 unions would be down by 407,000, to 12.7 million workers, from where it stood two years ago.

Large local jail systems overcrowded, report says

The overall occupancy rate in the US's large local jail systems last year was running 8 percent ahead of rated capacity, a study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics said Sunday. Jail population rose to 274,444 as of June 30, 1986, up from 223,551 three years earlier - a 23 percent increase, the report said.

Aquino reports progress in fight against rebels

Philippine President Aquino said yesterday the military had gained ground in its fight against communist insurgents, but still had a way to go before victory. Meanwhile, rebels bombed a business conference in the southern city of Zamboanga, killing three people.

S. Korea's two Kims call on each other to drop out

South Korea's top opposition leaders, Kim Dae Jung and Kim Young Sam, yesterday called on each other to drop out of the presidential race, and a radio station said Kim Dae Jung might form a separate party. Aides to Kim Dae Jung said they could not confirm the reports.

Fiji looks to Soviets, Asia to protect trade interests

Fiji's military government has decided to seek recognition from the Soviet Union, China, and other Asian countries as part of a major foreign policy shift. A document, prepared by Foreign Minister Felipe Bole, expressed fears that Australian and New Zealand trade unions might impose further sanctions against the South Pacific island state.

Mexican opposition party claims state vote rigged

An opposition party said some of its representatives were beaten and jailed when they tried to prevent alleged election cheating by the governing party in Coahuila State. The governing Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, said Sunday unofficial returns indicated it swept the governorship and all 38 mayors' seats - including three that had been held by opposition members. The party said any violence was provoked by the opposition.

Stocks tumble as `budget summit' begins

Stock prices tumbled again yesterday a week after their record dive. Foreign markets plunged and the Dow Jones industrial average fell 156.83 points to 1793.93, according to preliminary figures. (Asian markets take a dive, Page 7.) Meanwhile in Washington, President Reagan opened talks with congressional leaders on deficit-reduction measures given extra urgency by the weakness in stock markets.

``We're going to work as hard and fast as we can,'' said Senate majority leader Robert Byrd (D) of West Virginia. House Speaker Jim Wright (D) of Texas said the White House meeting ``didn't get into any details,'' such as tax increases, but set the groundwork for substantive talks to begin today on Capitol Hill. ``We have to be serious. All of us have to be serious,'' he said.

In the financial markets, interest rates fell yesterday and the dollar moved off the lows it reached in overseas trading. Analysts suspected central banks had intervened to support the US currency. The dollar was trading at 142.10 Japanese yen, up from 141.80 late Friday, and at 1.7745 West German marks, down from 1.7782 Friday.

The yield on the government's bellwether 30-year treasury bond fell to 8.94 percent by noon from 9.09 bellwether Friday. The yield on the three-month treasury bill dipped to 5.07 percent from 5.29 percent late Friday.

For the record

Dissident Tibetan monks and workers are being subjected to an official reeducation program launched in response to recent separatist protests in Lhasa, a Western source said. Britain pledged an extra $3.9 million in emergency aid for Ethiopia yesterday in response to a new famine threat.

Panamanian Vice-President Roderick Esquivel vowed Sunday he would not resign despite pressure from Panama's powerful military, which closed his offices and sacked his staff while he was in Nicaragua last week.