Today's Story Line:

At least twice before, cyanide spills similar to the one now polluting rivers in Romania, Hungary, and Yugoslavia have decimated local ecologies. Once in the US, and once in Guyana. Is there a lesson here? Is Europe prepared to handle this multination cleanup?

Four years after the Dayton accord brought peace to Bosnia, few professionals are sticking around to rebuild their nation. A look at exit strategies and efforts to stem the exodus.

A low-key embassy takeover by Sierra Leonean students in Beijing embodies some of the challenges facing the Africa-China relationship.

Quality day care for low-income children may reduce the crime rate, says a Canadian demographer.

David Clark Scott World editor

FOLLOW-UP ON A MONITOR STORY

*BACK TO SCHOOL: Students at Latin America's largest university returned to classes this week for the first time in 10 months. A police raid ousted 2,500 strikers (Feb. 8 edition) from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). While most students expressed an eagerness to hit the books again, not all the complaints have been resolved. An estimated 2,000 sympathizers of the strike demanded the suspension of classes until the authorities renewed negotiations and freed those still in detention. A small group of strikers retook parts of the science school.

REPORTERS ON THE JOB

* SIPPIN' WITH GAS: Budapest-based Michael Jordan doesn't concern himself too much with the quality of the tap water in Hungary. He's never had any health problems with it. But he predicts that, even though the cyanide spill is moving down the Danube away from Budapest, sales of water "with gas" will rise locally. "Hungary is one of those seltzer-societies - you know, some cultures drink bubbles, others go without. And the waiters here will often pull the old ruse on unsuspecting tourists: 'We don't recommend you drink our water.' In my humble opinion, they just want to sell more of the expensive bottled water."

Let us hear from you.

Mail to: One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115 via e-mail: world@csmonitor.com

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society