News In Brief

France suspended all new investment in South Africa Wednesday and recalled its ambassador to protest the state of the emergency under which 665 anti-apartheid protesters have been arrested. In addition, the Security Council will meet today on the situation in South Africa in response to an urgent request by France, the United Nations has announced. France said it will introduce a resolution condemning South Africa's policy of racial separation and calling for concerted international action.

Britain, Canada, and the United States have also joined the growing international condemnation of South Africa's recent actions. Under the state of emergency, detainees have no legal right to see lawyers and may be held indefinitely without being charged.

Britain urged South Africa Tuesday to end its state of emergency but would not support economic sanctions. The Canadian government has called for South Africa to end ``repressive measures'' against protesters.

In Washington, the Reagan administration said Wednesday it is still committed to its policy of quiet diplomacy in its relations with South Africa. The statement came two days after the administration blamed the policy of apartheid for the escalating violence there. The US ambassador to South Africa, Herman W. Nickel, was called back to Washington last month.

Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, South African officials criticized two of the country's leading clergymen Wednesday, charging they were linked to anti-apartheid radicals responsible for riots that sparked the state of emergency.

The clergymen are the Rev. Beyers Naude, general secretary of the anti-apartheid South African Council of Churches, and the Rev. Allan Boesak, president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches.

Mr. Boesak was in Washington Tuesday, where he addressed about 1,500 anti-apartheid demonstrators. The rally was one of the largest protests in the capital since November, when civil rights groups began daily demonstrations in front of the South African Embassy.

Key anti-Sandinista reported lost after Nicaraguan mishap

Anti-Sandinista guerrilla leader Ed'en Pastora has disappeared, and an official for his rebel force said Wednesday he may have been shot down in a helicopter over Nicaragua. But a cousin said Mr. Pastora is ``healthy and safe'' in Panama. Pastora, a hero of the Sandinista revolution that unseated the right-wing regime of President Anastasio Somoza in 1979, declared guerrilla war against the Managua government in 1981 for its Marxist leanings.

Reagan signs bill to keep price-support loans going

President Reagan signed a bill yesterday providing $1 billion to the Agriculture Department, allowing it to resume making price-support loans to farmers after nearly a week-long cutoff.

Gandhi, Sikh leader sign pact to ease Punjab strife

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed an agreement yesterday with top Sikh leader Harchand Singh Longowal in a move toward ending a three-year-old sectarian conflict in the northern Punjab. Mr. Gandhi had conceded most of the Akali Dal's main demands under the agreement, the Press Trust of India reported. The agreement may end a crisis marked by violence and animosity between Punjab's majority Sikh and minority Hindu communities which were sparked when the Sikh party launched its protest campaign in August of 1982.

US orders networks to submit material on Flight 847 hijack

ABC, CBS, and NBC were served Tuesday with subpoenas, personally approved by Attorney General Edwin Meese III, seeking all material about the June 14 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and the hostage ordeal that followed. The Justice Department would not confirm that a grand jury inquiry was planned, or discuss any legal steps the United States might try to take against the hijackers, such as extradition and indictment.

OPEC reported near accord on small cutback in oil price

Nigeria threatened Wednesday to block a consensus agreement by OPEC members on a small price cut for lower-grade crude oil, but Saudi Arabia's oil minister said members were very close to agreement. Each $1 reduction in the world price of oil, if entirely passed on to consumers, is the equivalent of a reduction of about 21/2 cents in the price of a gallon of gasoline or other refined petroleum products at the pump.

House resolution pledges $56 billion in spending cuts

The House approved a resolution Wednesday that Democratic sponsors said would bind the chamber to achieving $56 billion in spending cuts next year even if congressional budget negotiators are unable to agree on a fiscal 1986 budget.

Israel says Egypt is planning to lift trade and tourist curbs

Prime Minister Shimon Peres says President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has informed him that Egypt was lifting all restrictions on trade and tourism with Israel. Mr. Peres said the change marked progress in Israeli-Egyptian relations. His remarks were aired Wednesday by Israeli Army radio. Relations between the two neighboring countries cooled after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. Egypt recalled its ambassador in protest against the invasion and the massacres by Israeli-allied Lebanese militiamen of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

US reiterates warning to terrorist supporters

The Reagan administration Wednesday issued yet another warning to terrorists and governments that support them, saying its response ``will be proportionate to the losses incurred'' when Americans are attacked as they were recently in El Salvador. White House spokesman Larry Speakes would not comment specifically on a New York Times report that the administration considered attacking a Nicaraguan training base in retaliation for the murder of six Americans in El Salvador in June.

Jordanian embassy official killed by gunman in Ankara

An unidentified gunman shot and killed the first secretary of the Jordanian embassy, Ziad J. Sati, Wednesday as he drove to work from his home on a main street in Ankara's residential district, police said. The attack came five days after 61/2 years of martial law were lifted in Ankara. It is the latest of several against Jordanian officials and diplomats abroad since 1983. The Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War) has claimed responsibility for the shooting.

Shultz asks Congress to upgrade US embassies

Secretary of State George P. Shultz urged Congress Wednesday to finance a $4 billion, 10-year building program to replace 126 of 262 United States embassies and consulates around the world with more secure facilities.

Spain gives illegal residents 3 months to obtain permits

Spain gave hundreds of thousands of illegal residents three months to obtain a residence permit or face expulsion in a move to combat crime committed by foreigners. The law came into effect two days after Britain and Spain signed an extradition treaty aimed at eliminating the southern Costa del Sol as a refuge for British criminals on the run.

Alaskan panel to broaden scope of impeachment case

The state Senate Rules Committee has decided to ignore the advice of its Watergate-seasoned lawyer to limit an impeachment probe of Gov. Bill Sheffield to the issue of perjury. Members of the five-member committee said Tuesday they are looking for a pattern of gubernatorial favors.