EVENTS

BOSNIAN SERBS VOTE FOR PEACE PLAN

Bosnia's rebel Serbs backed a Geneva peace plan yesterday that foresees a postwar Bosnia divided into 10 autonomous provinces. The package amounts to far less than the separate state the Bosnian Serbs originally had wanted. The self-styled parliament's vote 55 for, 15 against amounts to support for the first stage of a peace formula worked out in Geneva after months of United Nations efforts. The plan the Serb rebels backed was the one that had been supported by their leader, Radovan Karadzic, who had th reatened to resign if the plan was defeated. UN sources also said that all the leaders of the warring parties in the former Yugoslavia will resume peace talks in Geneva Saturday. Iraqi cease-fire holds

UN weapons inspectors in Bahrain said yesterday they were awaiting word from New York on when they could head for Baghdad after Iraq had suddenly lifted a ban on their planes. Iraq's ban on the planes was one of the reasons for four days of US-led coalition bombing raids on Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraq's cease-fire in the north and south, declared Tuesday as a "goodwill" gesture to US President Clinton, appeared to be holding. Israel in a corner

After meeting Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for 40 minutes yesterday, special UN envoy Chinmaya Gharekhan told reporters the Security Council feels time has run out for Israel to take back more than 400 Palestinians it banished to Lebanon nearly five weeks ago. The Arab world is demanding sanctions against Israel. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said earlier the UN could take further, unspecified steps against Israel if it did not comply with a UN resolution requiring Israel to take th e Palestinians back. Preventing accidents

Train accidents like the one that killed seven people in Gary, Ind., Monday can be prevented by new computer technology that stops trains when a crash is imminent, specialists have told the Associated Press. Investigators have said it may take months to fix responsibility for Monday's commuter train crash, which occurred near a trestle where two tracks converge. Koreas may talk

North Korea agreed yesterday to return to the negotiating table to discuss mutual nuclear inspections, a South Korean government official said. The two Koreas had appeared to be progressing cautiously toward some form of detente only to see the relationship unravel late last year over the contentious question of mutual inspections of nuclear installations. A date for new talks has not been set. Sessions criticized

A scathing Justice Department finding that FBI Director William Sessions engaged in "a clear pattern" of misconduct gives President Clinton a sudden challenge at the Justice Department. The department's Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that Sessions abused his position by traveling widely at government expense and improperly avoided paying taxes on the use of his limousine by putting an unloaded gun in the trunk and claiming a law-enforcement exemption.