News Currents

UNITED STATES

The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.6 percent in May, the Commerce Department said June 30. It was the fifth straight increase.... California businessman Arvey Drown was freed by Communist rebels after nearly two years in captivity in the northern Philippines, the US Embassy said June 30.... The government ruled June 29 that Toshiba Corporation made illegal contributions to federal campaigns in 1988 by hiding them in the names of two top executives. The company and its executives agreed to pa y $18,600 in fines to the Federal Election Commission. AFRICA

In South Africa, the African National Congress June 30 condemned attacks on six white journalists by mourners attending a funeral for people killed in the Boipatong township massacre. The mourners, carrying banners and wearing T-shirts of the radical Pan Africanist Congress, used clubs and metal pipes to attack the journalists. The PAC has denied any involvement in the incident. ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 210.46 points June 30 to close at 15,951.73. The average had fallen 402.45 points in the previous two days, reaching its lowest level since 1986. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Panama's parliament approved June 29 a package of constitutional reforms that ban the reestablishment of the army, which traditionally has been Panama's strongest institution. A national referendum will be held on the reforms in November. They call for a police force under presidential control that would be banned from involvement in party politics.