/// Opt ///

/// DARMANOVIC ACT ONE ///

/// END ACT ///

// DARMANOVIC ACT TWO ///

/// END ACT ///

//DJINDJIC ACT//

//END ACT//

/// BACIC ACT ONE ///

/// END ACT ///

/// BACIC ACT TWO ///

/// END ACT ///

/// BOGOEVJA ACT ONE ///

/// END ACT ///

/// BOGOEVA ACT TWO ///

/// END ACT ///

/// MUSIC - FADE UNDER ///

/// POPOVIC ACT ///

/// END ACT ///

/// BACIC ACT THREE ///

/// END ACT ///

/// REST OPT///

INTRO: The man who will soon lead the NATO Alliance, British Defense Minister George Robertson, says members must clarify NATO's goals and do a better job of managing their money and manpower. Mr. Robertson spoke in Toronto where alliance defense ministers are gathered to talk about the lessons of the Kosovo air war and the future of NATO. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports the talks come at a time when many NATO members are cutting military budgets.

TEXT: Britain's George Robertson says one lesson from Kosovo is that smaller forces and lighter equipment are needed so they can be sent quickly to trouble spots and keep bad situations from becoming catastrophes. He says such forces will not be effective unless they are armed with the most advanced weapons available -- and that, he says, is expensive.

[09] E-U / FOOD (L-ONLY) BY RON PEMSTEIN (BRUSSELS)

INTRO: The European Union is ready to lift its ban on Belgian beef exports after tests showed only one percent of cattle examined had any trace of the cancer-causing chemical, dioxin. V-O-A correspondent Ron Pemstein reports from Brussels that even that one percent is causing concern about the rest of world's beef supply. Text: First there was mad cow disease in Britain and Portugal, which stopped their cattle exports. Then Belgian meat exports were banned by the European Union when animal feed contamination caused the appearance of cancer-causing dioxins in chickens, pigs and cattle. Belgium has now complied with the European Union's strict tests for resuming exports. According to the tests, 99 percent of the one thousand cattle tested had no problems. As for the remaining one percent, European Commission spokeswoman Thea Emmerling says the cattle appeared to be contaminated NOT by feed from the company, Verkest, but by their location near industrial complexes.

[10] N-Y ECON WRAP (S & L) BY BRECK ARDERY (NEW YORK)

INTRO: Stock prices in the United States were down sharply today (Tuesday) as a record U-S trade deficit caused the value of the U-S dollar to fall. VOA Business Correspondent Breck Ardery reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10- thousand-598, down 225 points, more than two percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed at 13- hundred-seven, down 28 points. The NASDAQ index lost more than two percent. Analysts say the intense sell-off was fueled by several factors. Perhaps the most important was the record U-S trade deficit in July. That caused a drop in the U-S dollar, touching off new fears that the U-S central bank will raise interest rates again, if only to defend the dollar.

[11] TUESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: President Clinton's refusal to discuss with Congress his reasons for granting clemency to a group of jailed Puerto Rican terrorists continues as a major controversy in the U-S press. Other topics under scrutiny in the editorial columns of America's newspapers Tuesday include a huge gift to minority education from the world's richest man; U-N peacekeepers in East Timor, and the implications for Indonesia; the terrorist situation in Russia, as the nation mourns a former first lady; penalizing Iraq's children to get at Saddam Hussein; and the peace process in Northern Ireland. Now, here with a closer look and some excerpts is _____________ and today's editorial digest.

TEXT: President Clinton has granted clemency to about a dozen Puerto Rican terrorists jailed for more than a decade for conspiracy to bomb buildings and other terrorist acts. He did so because the group had not been linked directly to any killings. Many people, however, felt Mr. Clinton was mainly motivated by a desire to help his wife win a Senate seat in New York, where the Puerto Rican vote is important. Now, another controversy over the issue has developed. On New York's Long Island, Newsday says Mr. Clinton was "Wrong on clemency, [but] right on privilege."

VOICE: . [Mr.] Clinton was right to cite `executive privilege' in denying Congress access to documents and testimony reflecting the advice he received from advisers on the question of clemency for convicted Puerto Rican separatists. Clemency in this case was a bad decision. But presidents since George Washington have properly asserted-and the courts have long recognized-a president's right to shield private executive-branch communications from prying eyes.

TEXT: The Detroit News agrees, but in Oklahoma, The Tulsa World complains:

VOICE: Good Lord, Mr. President. . Tell us the whole story. Americans might even agree with you if you can make a good case for clemency. As it is, no one is very happy with a president who forgives terrorists at precisely a time when there are plenty of anti- government, anti-establishment Americans just aching to perform terrorist acts.

TEXT: Turning to yet another domestic topic, the one- billion-dollar gift from the world's richest man, Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, to establish college scholarships for minority students, The Boston Globe says:

VOICE: While [Mr.] Gates and his fellow information- age titans are looking for tax write-offs and will never be confused with Mother Teresa, they deserve credit for looking beyond the computer screen to help solve some of society's problems.

TEXT: Oklahoma's Tulsa World is also impressed, noting:

VOICE: [Mr.] Gates . has a stake in the program other than his money. Better-educated young people will continue to fuel the high-tech industry that has made him wealthy and successful. It also could spawn the next generation of great American philanthropists. And the next such wave could, thanks to the Gates' foundation, reflect the ethnic diversity of the country.

TEXT: As United Nations peacekeepers build up their strength on the island of East Timor, there is concern in The [Baltimore] Sun that the independence of half this island not lead to the fragmentation of Indonesia.

VOICE: The cohesion of the world's fourth-biggest country, [EDITORS: fourth MOST POPULUS COUNTRY] with 210-million people on thousands of islands speaking hundreds of dialects, is more important than the secession of some 800-thousand [people] on a lesser isle. If Australia is taking the lead in the force that will aid, guide and protect East Timor, Washington should concentrate on helping Indonesia evolve toward democracy, reduce its army's role, strengthen civil society, restore the economy and- above all-hold together.

TEXT: On the other side of the world, the terror bombing campaign in Russia, draws this response from today's Forth Worth [Texas]Star-Telegram.

VOICE: Given the sad condition of Russia's economy, its ideological fragmentation and the general disillusionment of the populace, the terror bombings could be the gust of ill wind that tumbles the house of cards. Regardless of who is responsible, the bombings will exacerbate the political instability in Russia. The plunge toward anarchy could give rise to a new tyranny and perhaps a resurgence of Russian ultra-nationalism and expansion that could pose a real threat to world peace.

TEXT: Still with Russian affairs, today's New York Times mourns the passing of Raisa Gorbachev, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev, who died of leukemia in Germany.

VOICE: In many ways, Mrs. Gorbachev simply declared herself the Soviet Union's first First Lady, a powerful act by a commanding woman. Unlike most Kremlin wives, who favored mud-colored clothes and a secure position out of sight, Mrs. Gorbachev played a role that was front and center. /// OPT /// . Almost eight years after her husband's resignation and three years after his pathetic efforts to be elected Russian president, Mrs. Gorbachev, like her husband, is still more admired outside her own country than within.

TEXT: In the Middle East, there are more comments about the hardships being wrought on the Iraqi people by the economic boycott against Saddam Hussein. However, New York's Newsday, on Long Island, says "Iraq Doesn't Deserve to Have Its Sanctions Lifted."

VOICE: As pressure increased in the United Nations for easing sanctions on Baghdad or dropping them altogether, [President] Clinton must summon the will to stand fast and veto any such move to reward Hussein's enduring defiance. ... As long as Hussein is in control, Iraq will continue to be a massive headache.

TEXT: Back in Asia, there is still more criticism of the draconian measures Malaysia is taking toward the news media and other government critics. Here's the Honolulu (Hawaii) Star-Bulletin on that.

VOICE: Last April the former deputy prime minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, was found guilty of four charges of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. [Mr.] Anwar had been charged with abusing his position by attempting to block an investigation into charges that he had committed adultery and sodomy. . [Mr.] Anwar had been [Prime Minister] Mahathir Mohamad's protege and probable successor until the two men fell out over government economic policy during the Asian economic crisis. . The treatment of [Mr.] Anwar is a measure of how far the Malaysian courts have come from the time when they were respected throughout the world. Judges have also been remarkably harsh with people who criticized the courts. Murray Hierbert, a Canadian journalist for the Far Eastern Economic Review . has begun serving a six-week jail term for the crime of "scandalizing the court." [Mr.] Hiebert wrote about a lawsuit by the wife of a prominent judge ... [who] ... sued her son's' school, alleging that it had unfairly dropped him from the debate team. ... Prime Minister Mahathir bears a heavy responsibility for politicizing the justice system and damaging individual rights. His treatment of [Mr.] Anwar alone is enough to make him a pariah.

TEXT: There is some strong criticism of a recent deal between the United States and North Korea, with support from South Korea and Japan, involving an end to some economic sanctions against Pyongyang in return for a halt to long-range missile testing by the North. Says The Augusta, Georgia, Chronicle:

VOICE: It has been clear throughout the `90s that the Clinton administration policy toward North Korea is to appease, and Pyongyang's policy toward the U-S is to play the extortion game. It's got to stop. /// OPT