EVENTS
RUMP YUGOSLAVIA TILTS TO HARD LINE President Dobrica Cosic of rump Yugoslavia was ousted by a parliamentary no-confidence vote June 1, plunging the country into new confusion and boosting the power of the hard-line faction in Belgrade. Mr. Cosic angered Serb nationalists by his moderate stance and by conducting secret territorial discussions with Croatia, where Serbs occupy nearly one-third of the country. As deputies voted in Belgrade, the besieged Bosnian capital of Sarajevo came under renewed Serb shelling, the latest fighting in 14 month s of civil war. In further violence, gunmen in Bosnian army uniforms abducted five civilian Italian aid drivers in central Bosnia on May 30 and killed three of them after marching them into the woods. Meanwhile, besieged Muslim enclaves in eastern Bosnia continued to come under heavy Serb attacks that stymied United Nations relief efforts. Talks in Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and arch-rival Benazir Bhutto agreed May 31 to hold their first talks in five years to try to end Pakistan's political turmoil. The surprise truce was announced in the midst of a fresh political crisis after the dissolution of two provincial assemblies in two days and doubts over the future of the remaining two. Churchillian furor
Winston Churchill, a member of Parliament who is the grandson of Britain's wartime leader, has provoked howls of outrage over his insistence that "a relentless flow" of immigration is threatening "the British way of life." Politicians and community leaders charge that Mr. Churchill's speech last week in which he identified large numbers of Indians and Muslims as threats could fan the flames of hatred. US-Australia air war
Australia on June 1 stepped up a bitter dispute with the United States over air services between the two countries by ordering Northwest Airlines to cut one of its weekly flights. Washington promptly responded by saying it would retaliate with sanctions against Australia's Qantas. Both moves would take effect on June 30, the date set by Canberra. Clinton stumps for plan
President Clinton made a campaign-style trip to Milwaukee on June 1 to promote his economic plan and restore his populist image with a visit to the city's working-class South Side. The president and his aides appear confident that they can strike a compromise with moderate Senate Democrats to salvage his deficit-reduction package and reinvigorate his presidency. High court rulings
The Supreme Court on June 1 refused to bar daily recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance from public elementary schools. The justices, without comment, rejected arguments by an Illinois atheist who objects to the "one nation under God" portion of the pledge. The court also let TV game-show hostess Vanna White sue a VCR manufacturer over a commercial that parodied her. US economy improves
The US manufacturing economy expanded in May after shrinking the month before, suggesting that overall economic growth is improving, the National Association of Purchasing Management reported June 1. In other economic news, the government reported June 1 that Americans' personal income stagnated in April, held back by a drop in farm subsidies, but their spending surged anyway. Vacation watch I: Aspin
Defense Secretary Les Aspin vacationed for five days at an expensive Italian hotel during a business trip last week, with the Pentagon picking up much of the cost of the stay for Mr. Aspin's 37-member entourage. Aspin defended his hotel stay, saying that he and a female companion paid for personal expenses. Vacation watch II: Gergen
"When a president asks for help there is only one good answer: How soon should I start," David Gergen, President's Clinton's new counselor, said May 29. The answer, apparently, is in a few days. Immediately after being appointed, Mr. Gergen and his family left for a holiday in Bermuda that lasts until June 2.
