EVENTS

FRUSTRATION GROWS IN SARAJEVO

Aid flights to Sarajevo were suspended yesterday after two planes were hit by gunfire, deepening frustration in a city already upset over Pope John Paul II's cancellation of his visit. The pope's decision was reportedly based on increased firing around the airport and extensive Bosnian Serb violations of the heavy-weapons exclusion zone around Sarajevo. Some Sarajevans, under siege for 29 months, blamed the cancellation on the UN, which warned against the trip for safety reasons. The Serbs have repeatedly thwarted visits by world figures. US Defense Secretary William Perry called off a trip last month because of Serb threats. The Serbs have been tightening the siege of Sarajevo, closing the only land route out.

Cuban refugees to Panama

Weary Cuban refugees were settling into a camp beside the Panama Canal yesterday as the airlift of thousands of rafters from the US naval base at Guantnamo Bay, Cuba, got under way. Panama says it will accept 10,000 refugees as a ''humanitarian gesture'' but has told the United States the Cubans have to leave after six months.

US-Russia wheat deal

The United States has cleared the way for a sale of 400,000 tons of wheat to Russia, Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy said yesterday. Espy, on a four-day visit to Russia, said there would be more talks on Moscow's import needs. He signed an agreement with Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zaveryukha ending a dispute over who should pay the freight costs for shipment of 400,000 tons of US wheat. In the end, the US agreed to cover the costs, allowing for the sale to go ahead.

Gore consults in Ireland

Vice President Al Gore Jr. said yesterday the Clinton administration is considering an expanded aid package for Ireland and urged that an IRA cease-fire declaration be allowed to speak for itself. After a brief meeting with Ireland's Prime Minister Albert Reynolds in Shannon, Ireland, Mr. Gore said that Mr. Reynolds says he is convinced that the IRA wants a permanent cease-fire.