News Currents

EUROPE

In a move that could ease the plight of shell-battered residents in the Bosnian capital city of Sarajevo, warring factions have agreed to put their big guns around the capital under UN supervision. Tuesday's agreement between Serb nationalist and Bosnian government leaders mandates that heavy weapons would be concentrated in areas under UN supervision. That would enable monitors to determine who is responsible for shelling and to pressure violators to stop. UNITED STATES

The US trade deficit shrank 7.7 percent to $6.59 billion in June as sales of American goods overseas set a record, the government said yesterday. The Commerce Department said exports, which had declined for three straight months, rose 7.2 percent to $38.28 billion. The previous record was $37.65 billion last February. Most of the overall export gain resulted from more foreign sales of civilian aircraft made mainly by Boeing Company.... Larry Bird, who took professional basketball to new heights of popula rity, retired Tuesday after 13 years with the Boston Celtics.... A federal judge has found Lucky Stores Inc. guilty of discriminating against thousands of women employees in northern California, a verdict that could cost the supermarket chain tens of millions of dollars in damages. She ruled Tuesday that Lucky shunted women into jobs that paid less and had less chance of promotion.... In Wisconsin, a state appeals court ruled that an anti-abortion activist is entitled to access to the names of women who sou ght abortions at a clinic so that she can call them as witnesses at her retrial on trespassing charges. The activist argued she had been denied the opportunity to call patients as witnesses in her defense.