EVENTS
NO PROGRESS MADE IN U.S.-JAPAN TALKS US Secretary of State Warren Christopher said yesterday that no breakthrough had been made in trade talks with Japanese leaders. Mr. Christopher told a news conference after a day of talks in Tokyo that he told the Japanese they had to comply with a so-called framework commitment they made last summer to open their markets to foreign products and reduce their $60 billion trade surplus with the US. The Japanese have rejected the US insistence on setting numerical targets in various fields, and since then the US has revived Super-301 legislation that allows for harsh trade sanctions. US officials said Christopher would like to speak directly to the Japanese people and business community over the heads of the government and is scheduled to deliver what aides describe as a major address to business leaders today. He then leaves for a four-day visit to China. Fleet, Raytheon layoffs
Fleet Financial Group Inc., the nation's 15th-largest bank, announced yesterday that its board of directors approved a reorganization plan that would result in the elimination of 5,500 jobs over the next 12 months. The restructuring comes at a time of strength for the bank, which posted profits of $488 million in 1993. In related news, Raytheon Company announced Wednesday it will cut 4,400 jobs and close or consolidate some operations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The cutbacks by Raytheon, maker of the Patriot missile, was the latest sign of consolidation in the defense industry, which has been reeling from drastically reduced Pentagon spending. Raytheon is one of New England's largest employers. Drug-related killing
A Colombian teen-ager was convicted Wednesday in the contract killing of crusading anti-drug journalist Manuel de Dios Unanue, who was gunned down on what authorities said were orders from a drug lord. Mr. Unahue was editor of El Diario-La Prensa, a New York-based Spanish-language daily, and was about to begin writing a book attacking drug lords. Journalists beaten
Police in the Bophuthatswana black homeland of South Africa beat at least four journalists yesterday, witnesses said, and the ANC demanded that the South African government should stop the homeland's authoritarian ruler from obstructing political activity. President Frederik de Klerk hinted at action but said he hoped a settlement could be reached with Bophuthatswana President Lucas Mangope, who refuses to let homeland residents vote in South Africa's national election.
