EVENTS

FAA INSPECTIONS BEEFED UP Federal aviation officials are promising closer inspections of airlines as they try to reassure travelers during the holiday period that flying is safe. Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said that 3,000 Federal Aviation Administration inspectors are reviewing safety operations at every air carrier and that he has asked the chief executives of all the airlines - both commuters and larger carriers - to attend a meeting in Washington for ``to see if there's something else we ought to be doing'' to improve safety. Meanwhile, American Eagle pilots based in North Carolina were demanding an apology from their union president for suggesting that they weren't prepared to fly in winter weather. Peace teeters in Angola

An emergency squad of UN peace monitors has been dispatched to Angola to stop UNITA rebels and the government from returning to civil war, the UN envoy said yesterday. ``The United Nations sees the danger facing Angola and is prepared to prevent it,'' Alouine Blondin Beye said after arriving in Luanda from a meeting in New York with the UN Security Council.

British-Irish talks

Irish republicans resumed talks with British officials near Belfast yesterday in an attempt to move forward the Northern Ireland peace process. Martin McGuinness, leader of the delegation from Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, said that he would be seeking a date for the start of all-party talks on the future of the British-ruled province.

Berlusconi under fire

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi began an 11th-hour attempt yesterday to keep his government afloat in the face of a barrage of no-confidence measures in Parliament. Mr. Berlusconi's coalition has struggled for months, but pressure on him to resign sharply increased last week after he was interrogated by anticorruption prosecutors probing alleged bribes to tax inspectors by the premier's media and retailing empire.

Orange County schools

All new funds for Orange County schools will be placed in a separate account for education, the Board of Supervisors agreed Sunday. The account will hold the schools' portion of property taxes paid after Dec. 6, when Orange County filed for bankruptcy protection.

BMW, Rolls-Royce agree

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said yesterday that it has reached an agreement with BMW that will put the German company's engines into the luxury British cars in the next century.