May 30, 1988

LEAD: While Yuri and Tatyana Ziman waited under siege in their apartment this evening, President Reagan and his wife, Nancy, took a chaotic stroll along Moscow's Arbat pedestrian mall.

LEAD: Opening his first visit to the Soviet Union, President Reagan quickly engaged Mikhail S. Gorbachev today in a heated discussion on human rights.

LEAD: They worry about drug and alcohol addiction, a high divorce rate and death on the highway. They are voracious readers. They love television and the theater. Here are some of the facts of life in the Soviet Union 71 years after the Bolshevik Revolution.

LEAD: The collapse of the United States effort to persuade Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega to step down as leader of Panama resulted from a series of miscalculations and a lack of coordination among the agencies responsible for policy toward Panama, according to American officials and diplomats.

LEAD: A series of slowdowns and other job actions by the drivers' union have curtailed distribution of The New York Times in some areas. These actions are associated with contract negotiations, and The Times is unable to say how long the disruptions may continue. We regret the inconvenience to our readers.