News Currents

UNITED STATES

The Index of Leading Indicators fell 0.2 percent in August, the Commerce Department reported Sept. 29. The index is designed to predict economic activity anywhere from three to nine months from today.... President Bush Sept. 28 vetoed another bill to put restrictions on renewal of normal trade relations with China. Congressional leaders have vowed to try to override the veto.... General Motors Corporation Sept. 28 settled a four-day-old strike against a Lansing, Mich., body plant. But trouble is now brewing in an Anderson, Ind., factory.... In Utah, trial was set to begin Sept. 30 as Sears, Roebuck & Co. - parent of the Discover Card - sues for the right to issue Visa cards. The outcome could affect the costs of buying with credit for millions of consumers.

MIDDLE EAST AND EUROPE

The United Arab Emirates said Sept. 29 that talks with Iran failed to solve a dispute over three strategic Gulf islands and that it will resort to other peaceful means to ensure its sovereignty over them.... The US State Department reported Sept. 28 that two eyewitnesses say they saw mass murders of Muslim prisoners in Serb-run detention camps in Bosnia. The two estimated 3,000 men, women, and children were killed in May and June.... The presidents of Serb-led Yugoslavia and rival Croatia have agreed to meet in Geneva, and the Yugoslav military promised to yield a strategic Croatian peninsula to UN control, mediators said.... Italy's main political party was routed in local elections Sept. 26 and 27. Analysts said yesterday this is likely to hobble the country's race to rescue its financial credibility.... Genoa, Italy awoke to scenes of devastation Sept. 28 after torrential rains swept away cars and killed two people. -PATHNAME- /usr/local/etc/httpd/plweb/DBGROUPS/paper/database/tape/92/sep/day30/30021.