News Currents

MIDDLE EAST

The Kuwaiti State Security Court Saturday sentenced four Jordanians to 10 years in jail each for working at an Iraqi-run newspaper during the Iraqi occupation. Last June a martial law court sentenced six others who worked at the same paper, Al-Nida, to death, and 10 others to jail for 10 years.... Libya gave British intelligence the names of up to 20 top Irish republican guerrillas it trained, the Sunday Times reported. ECONOMY AND BUSINESS

Japan and Germany are the best places to do business, according to an annual competitiveness survey issued Sunday. The survey, conducted by IMD international management school in Lausanne, France, and the Geneva-based World Economic Forum, was based on domestic economic strength, internationalization, government, infrastructure, finance, management, science and technology, and people. The United States dropped to fifth place behind Switzerland and Denmark. ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party sued President Roh Tae-woo for indefinitely postponing two local elections, a party spokesman said yesterday. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

Maoist Shining Path guerillas killed 11 soldiers and six civilians in an ambush on Friday. This is the highest military toll in a single attack in the region since they launched the insurgency 12 years ago, military sources said on Saturday. The attacks were an "armed strike" to mark the sixth anniversary of a prison massacre that left hundreds of rebel inmates dead.