October 1, 1985

Four Soviet diplomats riding in official cars were kidnapped in West Beirut today, authorities said. It was the first abduction of Soviet nationals in the Lebanese capital. As is usually the case in such kidnappings, no one took responsibility. There was no immediate official response from the Soviet Union.

Mayor Koch yesterday ordered an investigation of what he called possible ''incompetence or corruption'' in the construction of the most expensive public high school ever built in New York City. He acted after new disclosures of ''structural cracks'' and other design defects at the school. The Mayor also made public a letter he sent to Schools Chancellor Nathan Quinones on Sept. 26 asking that Mr. Quinones and other Board of Education officials provide ''an account of what steps you are taking to recover damages for faulty design and faulty construction'' at the school, the Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music and the Arts. $75.8 Million Spent The school, built at a cost of $75.8 million, opened in September 1984. But it remains unfinished and troubled by numerous design problems that have forced the board to curtail some classes for safety reasons and to order reconstruction and other work that is expected to add more than $9 million to the final bill.

An article yesterday about the Metropolitan Museum of Art's plans for a $35 million structure gave an incorrect date for the Landmarks Preservation Commission's consideration of the project. The plan will be considered in executive session ''sometime in the near future,'' according to Gene A. Norman, the commission's chairman.

The United States Public Health Service today unveiled a long-range plan to control the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, that acknowledges that no vaccine or cure is likely for at least five more years and that the disease would therefore continue to spread until the turn of the century. The plan, published in the September-October issue of Public Health Reports, the official journal of the health service, sets three goals for controlling AIDS and the dates by which they are to be achieved. It is the first time the Federal Government has set target dates for countering the epidemic. The first goal, to be achieved by 1987, is a reduction in the steady increase in the transmission of the AIDS virus from individual to individual. An estimated 500,000 to 1 million Americans, mostly homosexuals, are believed to have been infected with the AIDS virus, and the total may be climbing by 1,000 to 2,000 per day, according to some unofficial estimates.

Edward E. Faber, the new president and chief executive of the Computerland Corporation, rushed today to forestall a revolt of the computer retailer's franchisees by promising a sweeping corporate reorganization and cuts in the fees the franchisees pay to corporate headquarters. Mr. Faber's actions followed the sudden resignations late last week of William H. Millard, the founder and chief executive of Computerland, and his 27-year-old daughter, Barbara Millard, who had been the president and chief operating officer of the family-owned company. Computerland is the world's largest computer retailer, with more than 800 stores worldwide. The Millards, who still own almost all of Computerland's stock, relinquished their operating responsibilities in a last-ditch effort to prevent the franchisees from filing suit or taking other action against the chain. The franchisees had been angry about Mr. Millard's autocratic management style and about the 9 percent of their sales they had to pay to corporate headquarters, an amount they have said was too high.