August 15, 1988

LEAD: The commander of Soviet forces in Afghanistan said today that Afghan guerrillas had for the first time seized control of a major town, but he said his troops would not reverse their withdrawal to help recapture it.

LEAD: If you're parading your cool summer whites in Manhattan, you might have a fighting chance. But if you're sweating in dark clothes on Staten Island or in New Jersey, you may as well face facts - the mosquitoes are going to find you.

LEAD: Outrun by technology and frustrated at the bargaining table, the Newspaper Guild, the largest labor union for journalists in the United States, is struggling to find a role in the newsroom of the 1990's.

LEAD: The Chubb Corporation, among the nation's largest insurers, thought it was doing itself and the nation's farmers a favor two years ago when it began offering rain insurance. Chubb would make a tidy profit from a clever product, and the farmers would be protected against a lack of rainfall.

LEAD: In early 1987 Charles J. Haughey, a flamboyant politician known as a big spender during two previous stints as Ireland's Prime Minister, won his nation's highest office a third time and embarked on a ruthless, politically risky budget-slashing program.