News In Brief

Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards conceded defeat in a democratic primary election yesterday and announced he would not seek a fourth term. Mr. Edwards made the announcement after it appeared certain he would be defeated by congressman Charles ``Buddy'' Roemer III, a dark horse until shortly before the vote. With 97 percent of the precincts reporting, Edwards trailed Mr. Roemer 28 to 32 percent.

Had Edwards decided to stay in the race, he would have faced a runoff election Nov. 21 since none of the five candidates got 50 percent of the vote. The other three candidates conceded earlier.

Teamsters voted back into AFL-CIO ranks

The corruption-plagued Teamsters Union was unanimously voted back into the AFL-CIO Saturday despite some misgivings by the federation's executive council. AFL-CIO chief Lane Kirkland said ``certain reservations were expressed'' by members of the 35-member council on accepting the Teamsters, who were expelled from the federation 30 years ago after refusing to answer to corruption charges.

Indian office bombed in Sri Lanka strife

A bomb exploded yesterday inside a branch office of the Indian High Commission in Kandy, Sri Lanka, but no one was injured, police said. It was the first attack on a nonmilitary Indian target since Indian troops were sent to Sri Lanka July 30 to enforce a peace accord aimed at ending strife between the Tamil minority and Sinhalese majority.

South Korean students hurl firebomb at Roh

South Korean students hurled a blazing gasoline bomb near government presidential candidate Roh Tae Woo Saturday. Mr. Roh, who was not injured, was standing in the back of a car waving to cheering supporters in Taegu when the gasoline-filled bottle exploded on the road just yards away.

Demjanjuk trial resumes after two month recess

The Nazi war crimes trial of retired US auto worker John Demjanjuk resumes today after breaking off two months ago when one of the trial judges had a heart attack. Ukrainian-born Mr. Demjanjukis is charged with killing hundreds of thousands of Jews at the Treblinka Nazi concentration camp during World War II.

Demjanjuk, who was extradited from the US last year, denies that he is ``Ivan the Terrible'', a sadistic guard at Treblinka, and claims he is a victim of mistaken identity.

Tahiti imposes curfew after dockworkers strike

A curfew and a state of emergency have been imposed for the first time ever on the French South Pacific island of Tahiti following clashes between striking longshoremen and police, a French minister said yesterday. Overseas Territories Minister Bernard Pons said that about 50 people had been arrested in the capital, Papeete, after riots Friday.

The dock workers went on strike Thursday, protesting that staffing levels for loading ships sailing to and from the nearby nuclear testing site were too low.

Defector says Romania paid for emigrants exit

Romania has secretly received millions of dollars over the years from the Israeli and West German governments in return for allowing Jews and ethnic Germans to emigrate to those countries, according to a Romanian defector. Ion Pacepa, former deputy chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service, estimated that $400 million had been earned from the transactions by the time of his defection to the US in 1978. He said all the money was deposited in the personal account of President Nicolae Ceausescu.

Police close Sikh temple to flush out separatists

Police sealed entrances to the Sikhs' Golden Temple Saturday to flush out separatists sheltering inside the sprawling complex, officials said. They said 2,100 policemen were posted to control entry to the shrine in Punjab State and to cut off food and other supplies to hard-liners who have controlled the temple for months.

Kirkpatrick decides not to seek GOP nomination

Jeane Kirkpatrick, former US ambassador to the UN, said yesterday she would not seek the Republican nomination for president in 1988. In a statement, released by her spokesman David Carmen, Mrs. Kirkpatrick said, ``I've carefully considered this issue, and firmly decided for personal and political reasons, not to seek the Republican nomination. Naturally, I'm grateful for the confidence of those who urged me to become a candidate.''

Mr. Carmen said Kirkpatrick made the decision after discussing it with advisers at her home in Bethesda, Md.

New Iran-contra report charges Reagan cover-up

A new draft of the congressional report on the Iran-contra affair charges the White House was involved in a cover-up and concludes that President Reagan supported an ``environment of inverted values,'' according to a New York Times report yesterday. Congressional officials said that although conservative legislators wanted to tone down the report, the new draft uses the word ``cover-up'' to describe White House actions after the Iran arms sale.

Human rights officials criticize Panama police

Panamanian human rights officials said Friday that security forces illegally arrested 100 people in the past several days, and were using state terrorism to stifle peaceful antigovernment protests. Hundreds of troops remained on the streets for a second day after a military clampdown Thursday prevented what the opposition had billed as the largest demonstration in two months against military chief Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega.

Typhoon Lynn sweeps past Taiwan, killing 26

At least 26 people were killed and seven were reported missing as Typhoon Lynn swept past Taiwan Saturday,causing floods and landslides. Police said yesterday that more than 80,000 families in central and suburban Taipei were left without electricity as the typhoon, with winds of up to 75 mph, ripped down power lines.

Air, sea and land transport was disrupted and more than 2,200 people were evacuated from low-lying areas near the capital.

For the record

A 118-day strike against NBC ended Saturday when two units representing 50 members of a broadcast workers union voted to accept the network's final contract offer. Anti-apartheid demonstrators marched through London Saturday, calling on the British government to impose economic sanctions against South Africa.

Zimbabwe's Parliament elected 10 whites and 10 blacks backed by the ruling party Friday to fill 20 formerly white seats in the House of Assembly.

An explosion ripped through a Pan Am sales office in Kuwait Saturday. There were no injuries, and no one claiming responsibility.

Soviet Jewish dissident Vladimir Slepak flew out of Moscow yesterday bound for Vienna after having applied for more than 17 years for a Soviet exit visa.