EVENTS
CAROLINIANS FLEE EMILY'S APPROACH Up to 100,000 people on North Carolina's barrier islands were ordered to evacuate yesterday as Hurricane Emily twisted on a path toward the southeastern United States. Gale force winds could reach North Carolina shores by today, forecasters warned. A state of emergency was declared in Dare County yesterday and covers communities stretching along the Outer Banks, a loop of fragile islands off North Carolina's coast. The National Hurricane Center declared a hurricane watch Sunday from near Charleston, S.C., t o the Delaware-Maryland border. A watch means hurricane conditions pose a threat. A warning meaning hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours could come today. Trade deficit grows
The US trade deficit widened 17.3 percent to $34.4 billion for the months of April through June, the worst performance in 5 1/2 years, as exports rose but were far below record imports, the government said yesterday. Much of the growth in the deficit came from reduced sales in Europe, while the deficit with Japan shrank slightly.
The deterioration, the fourth in five quarters, underscores what economists say is one of the key elements holding back US growth: US exports are suffering because of weak economies overseas. Troops trapped in Mostar
Fifty-three Spanish peacekeepers remained trapped yesterday in the southwestern Bosnian city of Mostar, their rations running low on the fifth day of a standoff between Muslims and the UN.
Some of the 55,000 Muslims trapped in eastern Mostar encircled a 19-truck convoy carrying 175 tons of food and medical aid on Aug. 26, saying UN personnel represented their only guarantee against fresh attack from Bosnian Croat forces in western Mostar. US Rangers find UN
Early yesterday morning elite American soldiers under the cover of darkness dropped from helicopters on ropes into an office of the United Nations Development Program in Somalia.
About 50 soldiers, including US Rangers on their first mission since arriving here last week, stormed the building and briefly detained three foreign UN workers and five Somali employees.
A UN military spokesman called the mission a success, saying the troops thought they were in hostile territory and "acted appropriately" until they determined otherwise. Auto workers strike
Canadian auto workers at Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corporation plants voted overwhelmingly to strike if the union and automakers can't reach a deal on a new contract for higher wages and retirement benefits. Voting by 21,000 workers at plants in Ontario and Quebec ended Sunday. Negotiations will be held this week in Toronto, the Canadian Auto Workers said in a statement. Neo-Nazis band together
German neo-Nazi groups, who lack a nationwide organization, have begun to work together to try to form a united front, said Eckart Werthebach, head of Germany's Internal Security Agency Sunday.
Mr. Werthebach said there are signs for the first time of "action alliances" between dozens of neo-Nazi and other far-right groups.
Neo-Nazis have been attacking foreigners, the homeless, the handicapped, and Jewish sites in a campaign of violence that began after German unification in 1990. They have been blamed for at least 25 deaths in the past 20 months. ANC apologizes for abuses
The African National Congress apologized yesterday for past abuses at its prison camps but ruled out immediate punishment of the perpetrators or compensation for the victims. ANC President Nelson Mandela said it would be wrong for the ANC to be the only group forced to pay for wrongdoings in the anti-apartheid struggle. Chinese dam overflows
Floods unleashed by a burst dam killed at least 242 people, injured 336, and caused an estimated $17.5 million in property damage in a remote area of northwestern China, the televised evening news reported yesterday.
The dam of Gouhou Reservoir, about 870 miles southwest of Beijing, burst Friday after a day of rain. An unknown number of people remained missing yesterday.
