News Currents

UNITED STATES

President Bush yesterday was set to announce US participation in a "no fly" zone in southern Iraq. Iraqi planes entering the area will be shot down. The region is intended to protect Iraqi Shiite Muslims from being attacked by soldiers loyal to the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. The area will be enforced by US, British, and French warplanes.... The State Department's acting chief of Yugoslavia affairs resigned Tuesday to protest US policy toward the Balkans.

In primaries across the nation:

* Oklahoma Rep. Mickey Edwards was defeated in the Republican primary after a campaign spent apologizing for being one of the worst offenders in the House banking scandal. He is the 16th House incumbent to be ousted.

* Oklahoma Democrat and 14-year incumbent Rep. Mike Synar was forced into a runoff for the Second District nomination.

* In South Carolina, Jim Clyburn won a Democratic primary for the Sixth District House seat, putting him in a position to become the first black congressman from South Carolina since 1897.

* In South Carolina's Senate race, former US Rep. Tommy Hartnett won the Republican nomination to face incumbent Democrat Ernest Hollings.

* In Mississippi, voting was canceled because of Hurricane Andrew. ECONOMY AND BUSINESS

Orders to US factories for durable goods dropped a sharp 3.4 percent in July. It was attributed to a decline in orders for aircraft.... The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell 3.2 points from July to August, placing confidence in the economy at the weakest level since March.