News Currents

EUROPE

Belgium Tuesday announced a new constitutional reform giving greater powers to the nation's increasingly separatist Flemish and Walloon communities. The proposed reform would transfer a number of responsibilities, such as foreign trade, to the regional level.... Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk said yesterday that he accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Vitold Fokin, blamed by many for the government's inability to proceed with economic reforms.... Peace talks in Northern Ireland resumed yesterd ay. Despite last week's boycott by Protestant Unionists and fears that the negotiations are in danger of collapse, British officials remain optimistic.... A researcher for a British television program that alleged Northern Ireland police colluded with pro-British terrorists was charged yesterday with perjury. The case is the first against a journalist under Britain's Prevention of Terrorism Act. UNITED STATES

The Senate voted Tuesday to make armed hijacking of a car a federal crime. Similar legislation is pending in the House.... Nearly a year after retiring after doctors said he had the AIDS virus, basketball star Magic Johnson said Tuesday he is returning to the NBA.... IBM said Tuesday it will consolidate some of its manufacturing to cut costs and expects about 40,000 employees to accept job buyouts or early retirement this year - twice the original forecast. No layoffs are planned.... Tropical Storm Earl eased away from the Florida coast early yesterday, carrying off large chunks of shoreline.... In California, a wildfire burned through 11,500 acres of the Eldorado National Forest on Tuesday. About two dozen homes and cabins were lost.