EVENTS
STORMS BATTER SOUTH, MIDWEST, GUAM
Typhoon Gay hit Guam yesterday with lower winds than expected as the elongated eye of the storm passed over most of the island. But tornadoes that skipped across North Carolina early yesterday wrecked scores of homes and killed two people, raising to 26 the death toll from storms that thrashed 11 states in the South and Midwest over the weekend. The death toll was higher than from Hurricane Andrew, which struck Florida and Louisiana in late August and killed 13 people. German firebombing
Two Turkish women and a 10-year-old girl died yesterday in the firebombing of two apartment houses in Moelln, a city 25 miles east of Hamburg. It was the worst hate crime since a wave of xenophobic violence spread across Germany. Russia-Ukraine accord
Russia and Ukraine have reached a breakthrough accord giving Moscow sole responsibility for former Soviet debt and raising its chances of winning a rescheduling accord from the West, officials said yesterday. Russian space capsule
A Russian space capsule fell to Earth on Sunday with pinpoint accuracy off the coast of Washington State. The capsule carried a payload of peace messages, religious icons, and requests for business investment in Russia. Ozone agreement expected
An agreement to speed up the phasing out of ozone-damaging gases such as chlorofluorocarbons is expected at the 80-nation United Nations Environment Program Conference, which began meeting in Copenhagen yesterday. French farmers protest
About 250 French farmers shut down a Coca-Cola plant yesterday to protest a farm agreement between the United States and the European Community, stepping up pressure on the French government to veto the accord. China-Hong Kong dispute
China yesterday demanded that Gov. Chris Patten drop his plans for democratic reforms in Hong Kong before it negotiates on the colony's political future. But a spokesman for Mr. Patten said the proposals remained on the table. Australian homosexuals
The Australian Cabinet has decided to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Paul Keating said yesterday. The move, opposed by top military leaders, may give impetus to a similar initiative promised by President-elect Clinton. Nigeria attacks ship
Nigerian planes bombed an oil tanker that slipped through a naval blockade into Liberia's Buchanan port, military sources said yesterday. Nigerian forces also set ablaze three petroleum reservoirs as part of the West African peacekeeping action against Charles Taylor's rebels. US box office receipts
"Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" took in $32 million over the weekend. It was third strongest box office debut of the year, bumping "Bram Stoker's Dracula" to a a distant second place. Spike Lee's epic "Malcolm X" was a strong No. 3. (See story, page 1.)
