News In Brief

Shultz cites risks in delay of aid to El Salvador

Secretary of State George Shultz said Tuesday congressional failure to approve $93 million in immediate aid for El Salvador would risk a takeover by Soviet- and Cuban-backed guerrillas.

''If regimes responsive to Moscow and Havana and hostile to the United States are installed in Central America, we will pay a high price for a long, long time ,'' Mr. Shultz told reporters. ''The irony is that the price to avoid new Cubas is still relatively small.''

In El Salvador, guerrillas confiscated hundreds of national identity cards from travelers Tuesday - effectively barring them from voting in Sunday's polls - and declared that Salvadoreans in areas under insurgent control must not vote.

Radio Venceremos, run by leftist insurgents, warned that rebels would take reprisals against any businessmen or government officials who try to force Salvadoreans to vote in the presidential elections.