News Currents

UNITED STATES

The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to decide whether the Bush administration may continue to intercept Haitian refugees at sea and return them to Haiti. It also agreed to decide whether religious groups may be banned from using schools during nonschool hours, and whether public schools must pay for sign-language interpreters at parochial schools. I also let stand a New York regulation that requires school boards to appoint representatives from religious groups to AIDS curriculum-advisory councils.... On Sunday, the House cleared several bills, including a $2.3 billion measure financing Congress' operations for next fiscal year. The bill now moves to the Senate.... Garbage piled up on Philadelphia sidewalks on the eve of Monday night's threatened walkout by 15,000 municipal employees.... Sen. Kent Conrad, who declined to seek reelection, has won the Democratic nomination for North Dakota's other Senate seat, vacated by the late Quentin Burdick (D). The Republicans nominated state Rep. Jack Dalrymple.... USA ir scaled back operations yesterday as many ground crew workers prepared to strike. EUROPE

Serbian tanks and mortars pounded parts of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, yesterday, breaking a fairly tranquil weekend in which relief flights were resumed after a month.... The opening date of the tunnel under the English Channel has been postponed until Dec. 15, 1993.... EC foreign ministers met in Luxembourg yesterday to see how they could turn back popular opposition to the Maastricht treaty on political, economic and monetary union.... Czech and Slovak leaders have agreed to meet today in Monrovia to try to resolve Czechoslovakia's political crisis.