News In Brief

ASK AGAIN. JUST ASK ME AGAIN "There are a few real howlers in there," said a Microsoft spokesman after the software giant assessed the results of a general-knowledge quiz administered to 1,000 students in Britain. The conclusion: Many of them deserve an "F." Example: Nazi Germany's secret police, the Gestapo, were mis-identified by one-third of the students as the Soviet KGB. Another third said the Good Friday accord on Northern Ireland was reached in August. Worse still, half of those tested said William Shakespeare was the author of Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales."

WHEN CAN WE EXPECT YOU? It's probably best if a con artist from the African state of Sierra Leone doesn't follow through on plans to emigrate to the United Arab Emirates. In a random letter to a government official he assumed was corruptible, the fellow offered a bribe to launder $6 million through a UAE bank and to obtain a residency certificate. But the recipient turned out to be the police chief, Dhahi Khalfan Tamim.

'Double Jeopardy' turns out to be no risk at box office "Double Jeopardy," a tale of revenge and wrongful imprisonment, took in the most ticket money over the weekend of films currently in distribution. Other major debuts - "Jakob the Liar," starring Robin Williams, and "Mumford," an ensemble comedy from "The Big Chill" director Lawrence Kasdan - opened weakly. The Martin Lawrence comedy "Blue Streak" dropped to No. 2 in its second weekend. Eight weeks into its run, the Bruce Willis ghost story "The Sixth Sense" came in third. Estimated ticket sales Friday through Sunday at North American theaters (in millions):

1. "Double Jeopardy" $23.7

2. "Blue Streak" 13.2

3. "The Sixth Sense" 8.5

4. "For Love of the Game" 6.6

5. "American Beauty 6.0

6. "Stigmata" 4.8

7. "Stir of Echoes" 2.3

8. "Jakob the Liar" 2.2

9. "Mumford" 2.0

10. "Runaway Bride" 1.6

- Exhibitor Relations Inc./AP

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society