EVENTS

AIRLIFT RESUMES IN SARAJEVO UN relief flights to Sarajevo resumed Aug. 16 after a five-day suspension, and a sniper agreement in the Bosnian capital was largely holding. But other news from the city was not as promising: UN officials reported hundreds of violations of a cease-fire agreement and said a Bosnian Serb tank crossed into the 12-mile heavy-weapons exclusion zone around Sarajevo. The tank later left the zone, but a similar Serb zone-violation earlier this month led to a retaliatory NATO airstrike. Meanwhile, shelling and some firefights were reported between government and Serb troops in the Bihac pocket to the northwest. Beryl rains on Florida

Heavy rain and wind up to 50 m.p.h. from tropical storm Beryl washed out roads, flooded coastal areas, and knocked out electricity in the Florida Panhandle before taking aim at Georgia Aug. 16. Weakening as it moved inland, the storm headed into southwestern Georgia, which was racked last month by flooding caused by tropical storm Alberto. Japan-US patent accord

Japan and the United States have reached agreement on intellectual property rights, their first sectoral pact in 13 months of trade talks, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. Both sides were to sign the agreement detailing ways to strengthen protection of patents on Aug. 16 in Washington. Intellectual property is one of the least contentious issues in Japan-US talks aimed at promoting freer bilateral trade in goods and services. The talks began in July 1993. US housing starts rebound

Housing starts jumped 4.7 percent in July, the government said Aug. 16, as builders appeared to focus more on the improving economy than higher mortgage rates. But the advance was mixed regionally, with new construction up in the Midwest and West but down in the Northeast and South. Aliens and health care

Illegal aliens must reveal their undocumented status to get government-funded emergency medical services and pregnancy care in California, a state appeals court ruled. In a unanimous ruling made public Aug. 15, the First District Court of Appeal said a state law does require all applicants to disclose their Social Security number - which undocumented aliens lack - or state that they lack ``satisfactory immigration status.'' Water cutback in Tokyo

Tokyo residents have become the latest victims of Japan's nationwide drought. The water supply to the Tokyo area was being reduced by 30 percent starting Aug. 16. Water reserves in eight reservoirs along the Tone River system, the main source of water for the Tokyo area, are at 29 percent of capacity, officials said.