July 8, 1986

In a growing struggle with Yasir Arafat, Jordan today closed all 25 offices of Al Fatah, the Palestinian leader's mainstream group in the divided Palestine Liberation Organization. King Hussein of Jordan, who broke with Mr. Arafat in February over the failure of their effort to agree on peace talks with Israel, has since then been challenging Mr. Arafat's leadership in the P.L.O., which has its headquarters in Tunis and dissident factions in Syria. Mohammed al-Khatib, the Jordanian Information Minister, announced the Al Fatah office closings and said, ''This measure is being taken purely on grounds of national security and has no other interpretation.'' Chief Delegate Is Ousted The closed offices include that of Mr. Arafat's chief delegate in Amman, Khalil Wazir, known as Abu Jihad.

Markets The Dow Jones industrial average fell a record 61.87 points amid newfound concern about the U.S. economy and warnings of a correction from two prominent market specialists. The Dow, which rose past the 1,900 level for the first time last Tuesday, closed at 1,839. The drop meant that the Dow, in just six and a half hours of trading, had lost 3.25 percent of its value and that stocks had plunged in value by some $74 billion over all. Market experts said the biggest factor in the decline was investor concern about the negative factors that come with a poor economy - primarily weak corporate profits. [ Page A1. ] Prices of Treasury securities were mixed as jitters in the stock market spilled over into the credit markets. Some analysts ascribed the weak performance to fears that a discount rate cut may not overcome economic weakness. [ D17. ] Prices of crude oil and petroleum products fell sharply on world markets in what analysts said was a continuing reaction to last week's inconclusive OPEC conference. [ D18. ]

New Zealand will release the two French secret agents imprisoned for their role in the sinking of an environmentalists' ship last July provided they spend the next three years on a remote French Pacific island, the French Government announced today. In return for their release, France has agreed to pay New Zealand $7 million in compensation and to stop blocking sales of New Zealand butter and meat to Europe. In addition, France's new conservative Government will apologize for the sabotage operation, which was carried out under the previous Socialist administration. The ship, the Rainbow Warrior, which belonged to the Greenpeace environmental movement, was blown up in Auckland harbor. A photographer on the ship died.

USING new detection methods, scientists have discovered that one-fourth or more of the adult population in the United States has genital herpes. New research has also shown that the virus is spreading more insidiously than previously thought, often from people with no evident symptoms. Yet the findings are as much reassuring as they are disturbing, scientists say, for the discovery of the infection's pervasiveness suggests how innocuous it usually is. The vast majority of those carrying the infection are unaware of it and apparently suffer no ill effects. Genital herpes, while eclipsed in the public mind by AIDS, has continued to be studied intensely by scientists who are gaining a clearer perspective on its modes of transmission, its close relationship with the more common oral herpes infections, the true dangers and the specific needs for technological weapons such as a vaccine and a way to protect the main victims, newborn babies.

WIRES trailed by rockets to trigger lightning flashes, cables between mountains to create ''upside-down'' thunderheads, computer-linked networks of observatories and other devices are helping scientists learn what energizes lightning and controls where it hits and how much damage it does. They hope a better understanding of lightning will enable scientists to forecast where it will strike with enough accuracy to reroute aircraft and choose the best times for spacecraft launchings, golf tournaments and other events. Recent observations have cast doubt on some of the most widely accepted theories of lightning formation. While it has long been known that lightning usually occurs when strong negative electric charge accumulates in the lower part of a thunderhead, none of the theories to explain such accumulation has yet won general acceptance. According to one group of theories, the electric charge is in some way generated in the heart of the storm by falling raindrops or ice particles. In one version, some of the gravitational energy of precipitation is converted into electrical energy. Other theories emphasize the role of violent updrafts in transporting electric charge.

International Marcos loyalists ended a siege at a Manila hotel after two days. Hundreds of rebel soldiers and civilian supporters ended the occupation hours before a deadline set by President Corazon C. Aquino. The soldiers were told by Government officials that the incident would be forgotten and that they would not be punished. Arturo M. Tolentino, who declared himself acting president on Sunday on behalf of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos and led the takeover, left the building earlier. [ Page A1, Column 2. ] New Zealand will release the two French secret agents it imprisoned for their role in the sinking of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior in Auckland Harbor last July, provided they spend the next three years on a remote French Pacific island, the French Government announced. In return for the prisoners' freedom, France has agreed to pay New Zealand $7 million in compensation and to stop blocking sales of New Zealand butter and meat to Europe. [ A1:4. ]

A workman was killed and three others were injured yesterday morning when part of a scaffold fell to the ground from the 13th floor of a construction site at 95th Street and Third Avenue. According to accounts given at the scene to Charles M. Smith Jr., Commissioner of Buildings, the accident, at 8:40 A.M., apparently occurred when one of the victims mistakenly unbolted a supporting beam, leading to the collapse of a scaffold holding the three other men. The three were laying bricks on an outer wall of Normandie Court, a 34-story apartment complex being built by Milstein Properties between 95th and 96th Streets and Second and Third Avenues. Two of the three fell to the ground with the scaffold section, along with bricks that had been piled on it; the third man was rescued after his leg was caught in the scaffolding that did not fall, Mr. Smith said.

In American education circles this year there has been much talk of reform, the more sweeping the better. The notion of broad changes in classrooms around the country has become the dominant topic of discussion among educators, particularly since the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy recommended in mid-May that the nation's education system be ''rebuilt.'' The nation's two major teacher unions have welcomed the Forum's contention that it is necessary to transform teaching ''from an occupation to a profession.'' Both the National Education Association, which ended its four-day annual meeting here Sunday, and the American Federation of Teachers, which has been meeting since July 3 in Chicago and winds up its deliberations Tuesday, passed resolutions containing enthusiastic language in support of that idea.

The South African authorities today formally lifted longstanding restrictions on Winnie Mandela, the activist wife of the jailed nationalist leader Nelson Mandela. At the same time, the Government reported that nine more blacks were slain around the nation, and mine company representatives reported that 15 black miners were killed in what the employers described as factional fighting. Thousands of miners were said by union officials to be on strike at several gold and diamond mines to protest the detention of labor leaders. South Africa's newest state of emergency, which began on June 12, has spurred black labor unions into open protest against the authorities' actions, and some labor officials say the protest could take the form of a national stoppage a week from today.

Hundreds of rebel soldiers and civilian supporters of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos left the Manila Hotel early today, ending a two-day occupation. The troops were promised amnesty. Arturo M. Tolentino, who declared himself acting president on Sunday on behalf of Mr. Marcos and led the takeover, left the hotel Monday, saying that an agreement had been reached to end the occupation and that people would begin leaving at dawn today. President Corazon C. Aquino had set a deadline of 2:30 P.M. today (2:30 A.M., New York time) for the rebels' departure.

The National Football League commissioner announced a new anti-drug program yesterday that calls for increased mandatory testing for all players as well as possible lifetime suspensions for those who repeatedly use illegal drugs. The program announced by Commissioner Pete Rozelle is the most far-reaching among the major professional sports leagues. It includes unannounced tests and counseling and temporary suspensions with reduced or no pay for players who test positive. Hospitalization would be required for those with serious drug problems. In response, the N.F.L. Players Association said it could not agree to the program because it involves substantial changes to a 1982 agreement between the union and representatives of team owners. The Players Association scheduled a press conference in San Francisco today to give a detailed response.

The dollar plummeted to post-war lows against the yen in Tokyo yesterday after Japan's ruling party won a resounding victory in national elections. Later the dollar rallied, but it still is under downward pressure, market analysts said. In part, traders said, yesterday's turnaround resulted from uncertainty surrounding the Supreme Court's ruling yesterday that a critical part of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation to balance the budget was unconstitutional. Such a decision had been widely anticipated, but it left some dealers with an uncertain opinion about the course of interest rates.