July 14, 1986

As New York is flooded by cocaine, the city's most prominent prosecutors have become locked in an acerbic battle over where the blame lies and what should be done. Both men - the Manhattan District Attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, and the United States Attorney in Manhattan, Rudolph W. Giuliani - agree with most government officials these days that law-enforcement agencies and the courts are being overwhelmed by cases arising from cocaine and the crack epidemic. But last week Mr. Morgenthau and Mr. Giuliani broke into a public and vitriolic exchange over whether the Federal Government was really waging a war against drugs. Months of Conflict According to officials familiar with both men, the exchange in part was a conflict of personalities between Mr. Morgenthau and Mr. Giuliani - two outspoken and publicity-conscious prosecutors who have been sparring over the city corruption scandal for months.

In the month since South Africa's newest emergency decree was proclaimed, it has brought the nation a new kind of ferment and protest instead of the quiet that seemed to be its goal. Although the decree has silenced some protesters, it seems to have encouraged others to take their opposition to the Government to far more dramatic levels than might otherwise have been seen. Since June 12 when the decree was imposed, the country's black labor movement has emerged as the most vocal challenger to the white authorities, filling a vacuum left by political organizations whose leaders have been silenced by detention and threat. Unions and Guerrillas Bolder On Monday, the country's biggest black labor federation has called on its 500,000 followers - including the workers in the country's gold, coal and diamond mines - to stay away from work to protest the emergency decree and the detention of labor leaders.

The South African Government announced new measures today to oppose classroom protest, saying students who do not enroll for the beginning of a new school term Monday will be barred from classes for the rest of the year. The measures, ordered by President P.W. Botha, were announced as the authorities girded for possible mass protest from black labor unions and rebellious students on Monday, when the country's biggest black labor federation has called a national day of stoppages and sit-ins to protest the national state of emergency. Effort to Isolate Schools Students have expressed anger at previously announced regulations supposed to stamp out classroom protest, including the issuing of identity documents to students in an effort to keep the school grounds free of what the authorities call outside agitators.

The Economy The impact of foreign economies on the nation's growth rate has been underestimated, economists say. About half the strength expected of the economy this year has been drained away because American consumers and businesses keep buying foreign, rather than American, goods. [ Page D1. ]

The Mets wiped out the Atlanta Braves for the fourth straight time yesterday and made a rousing exit for the All-Star break with a 2-0 victory, a .702 record of success and a 13-game lead. Chuck Tanner, the manager of the Braves, who scored two runs in four games in Shea Stadium, put it bluntly: ''They've got the halo over their heads this year. If they play just .500 ball in the second half, they'll waltz home. And their biggest problem will be winning the playoff.''

The nation's major oil companies are finally taking the plunge: opening high-volume convenience stores that sell foodstuffs and paper products along with gasoline. Popularized by 7-Eleven and other food-store chains, the hybrid outlets began to appear in the oil companies' retailing networks in sizable numbers at the end of the 1970's, but almost all of them were owned by independent dealers. Oil executives, scornful of becoming involved in food retailing, at first treated the outlets as poor relations and steered clear of direct ownership. But that view has changed as economic conditions in the oil industry began to worsen, and the majors -huge integrated companies with exploration, production and refining arms in addition to retailing -scrambled to find ways to squeeze more profits from the downstream end of the business. The gasoline-convenience stores - with shelf after shelf of higher-margin products -suddenly seemed to be an answer.

''I hear all kinds of comments about tax reform, but it all boils down to the question of 'how this is going to affect me.'

The Lloyds Bank P.L.C.'s bid to become Britain's largest bank, with a $1.95 billion takeover of Standard Chartered P.L.C., failed Saturday, after last-minute share purchases were made by East Asian and Australian investors. The outcome of the three-month battle was decided late last week by frenzied purchases, estimated at more than $300 million, mainly by three individuals. Those three, all opposing the Lloyds Bank bid, were Sir Yue-Kong Pao, a Hong Kong shipping and property magnate; Tan Sri Khoo, a Singapore-based financier, and Robert Holmes a Court, an Australian businessman.

An Associated Press article on Friday about a mountain climbing program sponsored by an Oregon school misstated plans for the future of the program. Officials of the Oregon Episcopal School say they will defer decisions on the annual outing on Mount Hood until they get the findings of an independent committee that is investigating the deaths of seven students and two faculty members on an expedition in May.

Slowly but perceptibly, computers are insinuating themselves into Indian life as a result of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's 19-month-old policies encouraging their use and production. The effects could be far-reaching and profound. For instance, in the south Indian city of Hyderabad, computers have helped speed test results to students, match job applicants with available jobs and slash long lines of customers waiting to buy train and bus tickets. Here in New Delhi, computers are even churning out horoscopes. ''Computers are finally having an impact on the day-to-day life of people,'' said Dr. N. Seshagiri, director of the Government's computer policies. ''It is more than I expected when we started in 1984. A whole new culture is growing up.''

Congress returns from recess on Monday to Capitol Hill to confront politically difficult choices over budget priorities. The atmosphere is colored by the approach of the elections in the fall for all members of the House and a third of the Senate. The pressure on Congress to take responsibility for the budget has been increased since the Supreme Court struck down a law last week that would make automatic budget cuts if Congress failed to meet annual targets for deficit reduction. But the Court left in place a fallback mechanism that permits Congressional passage of the cuts through legislation that then must be signed by the President.

State human rights commissions, the first line of enforcement against discrimination in many states, have large backlogs and lack the staff or the skill to do their jobs properly, according to a survey of the agencies in New York and six other states. The survey, conducted by the American Jewish Congress, reported that the growing backlogs have reduced the value of the civil rights commissions as a deterrent to discrimination, noting that cases can sometimes take years. ''If you are an employer or a housing project manager,'' the report said, ''there is about a 1 in 10 chance that any discrimination charge filed against you will reach a formal adjudication, not to mention the lesser chance of unfavorable decision.'' ''Such odds make serious settlement negotiations on behalf of a complainant next to impossible,'' the report said. ''Moreover, the deterrent effect of possible complaints being filed becomes negligible.''