EVENTS

LOCKHEED, MARTIN MARIETTA PLAN MERGER Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta Corporation announced one of the biggest defense mergers Aug. 30, a $10 billion deal that will combine the makers of the stealth fighter and Titan 4 rocket under one roof. The stock-swap merger reflects continuing industry consolidation driven by sharp cuts in defense spending. Lockheed Martin, as the new company will be called, will employ about 170,000 people and have approximately $23 billion in annual sales, making it the nation's largest defense contractor. The merger is subject to regulatory approval and shareholder acceptance. The companies said the deal is expected to close in early 1995. South Korea, Vietnam talk

The prime ministers of Vietnam and South Korea agreed Aug. 30 to strengthen their economic ties and arrange new forms of educational and cultural exchange. South Korea established diplomatic relations with Vietnam in December 1992. It is now

Vietnam's third-largest investor after Taiwan and Hong Kong.Olympic flyers Zaire, Rwanda confer

Cabinet ministers from Zaire and Rwanda's new Tutsi-led government were to meet in the Zairean border town of Goma Aug. 30 to explore ways to persuade the Hutus to go home. The meeting will build on talks junior officials held Aug. 29. A UN spokesman found the meeting encouraging.

Egyptian visits Israel

Egypt's foreign minister arrived in Israel Aug. 30 for the highest-profile visit in years by an Egyptian official and walked into a controversy. The visit by Foreign Minister Amr Moussa generated tension in Israel, because the schedule for his official visit did not include the customary stop at the Yad Vashem Memorial to 6 million Jews who perished in the Nazi Holocaust. Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, but official relations remained cool until recent breakthroughs toward Middle East peace. Japanese setback

In another setback for Japan's fledgling space program, an engine on a research satellite failed to fully fire Aug. 30, leading to concern that the showcase mission could fail. The thrust was to have put the two-ton government ``Kiku-VI'' satellite into a geostationary orbit for data-transmission tests. Free trade urged An advisory group to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum Aug. 30 proposed an ambitious program of liberalization in trade and investment for its 18 member countries. The ``Eminent Persons Group'' urged that APEC at a summit conference in Indonesia Nov. 15 commit the region, which includes the United States, to achieve free trade in all goods, services, capital, and investment by the year 2020, with the process beginning by 2000.