News In Brief

Gorbachev to visit Britain; bid for wider influence seen

Soviet Politburo member Mikhail S. Gorbachev is expected to visit Britain and meet Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher next month, in yet another sign that he is moving to broaden his political expertise, especially in foreign affairs. (See related story on Page 35.)

Meanwhile, former Soviet Interior Minister Nikolai Shcholokov has been stripped of his rank as general for ''abuse of office and discreditation of the military rank of general,'' the official news agency Tass reported yesterday. Mr. Shcholokov was a close associate of former President Leonid Brezhnev and was dismissed a month after Mr. Brezhnev's death in November 1982.