LEAD: The senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee forwarded new questions about John G. Tower to the White House today, and the Bush Administration sought to rally conservative support for its nominee for Secretary of Defense.

WHITE HOUSE GETS NEW TOWER QUERY BY G.O.P. SENATOR

LEAD: The New York State Board of Regents, saying it would ''no longer tolerate excuses and delays'' from top school officials in New York City, ordered a series of improvements today for the school system and threatened to force the removal of the officials if the plans were not carried out.

State Regents Press New York City For Series of School Improvements

LEAD: While Central American leaders are preparing to disperse the Nicaraguan rebels camped here, the contras themselves say they are getting ready to resume their war against the Sandinista Government.

Despite Pact, Contras Vow To Fight On

LEAD: The furor surrounding Salman Rushdie's novel ''The Satanic Verses'' spread yesterday as the B. Dalton and Barnes & Noble chains, which have more than 1,250 stores in the United States, said they would no longer sell the book.

Furor Over 'Satanic Verses' Rises As 2 More Book Chains Halt Sales

LEAD: Iran's President indicated today that a death threat against the novelist Salman Rushdie might be withdrawn if he apologized for insulting Islam and Muslims.

TEHERAN QUALIFIES THREAT TO AUTHOR

LEAD: There was no talk of blue eyeliner, beaded bolero jackets, sister-in-law rivalries or marital disharmony. There was, instead, debate about greenhouse gaseous reduction, tropospheric chemistry, the ozone layer, the role of minorities in the global family and the interdisciplinary interconnectedness of innovative people.

Diana's Husband Shows U.S. The Man Within the Prince

LEAD: Mikhail S. Gorbachev has sent a letter to President Bush urging that their countries work together to arrange a cease-fire in Afghanistan and foster the political conditions for a broad-based coalition government, a senior Soviet official said today.

SOVIETS URGE BUSH TO JOIN IN SEARCH FOR AFGHAN PEACE

INSIDE

LEAD: An Arctic expedition has found chemicals in the stratosphere that threaten substantial destruction of the Arctic ozone shield, scientists said today.

Arctic Expedition Finds Chemical Threat to Ozone

LEAD: An official of the chemical company accused of helping Libya build a poison-gas plant was reported in critical condition today after apparently attempting suicide.

German Whose Company Is Tied To Libya Apparently Tries Suicide

LEAD:  International 2-6, 30  A Gorbachev note to President Bush urges their countries to work together to arrange a cease-fire in Afghanistan and foster conditions for a broad-based coalition government, a senior Soviet official said. Page 1  Nicaraguan contras in Honduras say they are preparing to resume their war against the Sandinista Government, even while Central American leaders are preparing to disperse the rebel camps.

NEWS SUMMARY

LEAD: ''Of course, he may repent and say 'I made a blunder' and apologize to Muslims and the Imam. Then it is possible that the people may pardon him.'' - President Ali Khamenei of Iran, on the writer Salman Rushdie.  [ 6:6. ]

Quotation of the Day

LEAD: Suspected mistakes by pilots and controllers and lack of clarity in radio exchanges have become the focus of the inquiry into the crash of an American-operated jet airliner in the Azores last week, safety experts close to the investigation say.

HUMAN ERROR SEEN IN CRASH IN AZORES

LEAD: An article on Thursday about the resignation of Frank Hodsoll as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts misidentified Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, who was among those mentioned as candidates to replace him. She is New York City's Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, not consumer affairs.

CORRECTIONS

LEAD: A brief article yesterday about the visit of Prince Charles to the United States misidentified a member of a group that was to meet with him in Washington. The member was Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., deputy publisher of The New York Times, not Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, the publisher. A report about the luncheon meeting appears today on page 1.

LEAD: Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d said today that he was confident that differences with West Germany over the upgrading of a battlefield missile would be resolved by the time NATO leaders meet in May.

Baker Sees No Major Rift With Bonn on Missile Issue

LEAD: In a move that risks complicating Washington's new contacts with the Palestine Liberation Organization, the United States today vetoed a Security Council resolution deploring Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories.

U.S. Vetoes U.N. Measure on Arab Uprising

LEAD: A picture yesterday with an obituary of William H. Baumer, an industrial executive and former United States Army officer who helped plan the World War II invasion of Normandy, was published in error. It showed Maj. William H. Baumer, an Air Force officer captured during the Korean War.

LEAD: At least a dozen employees of the United States Embassy in Lebanon were evacuated today and taken by helicopter to Cyprus so they would not be endangered by intense new fighting in Beirut, Administration officials said.

U.S. Pulls a Dozen Employees Out of Beirut

LEAD: An obituary last Saturday about Joseph J. Enright, a Christian Brother who was a retired teacher, misidentified his order. He was a member of the Congregation of Christian Brothers, not the Brothers of the Christian Schools.

LEAD: Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze began an 11-day tour of the Middle East today, undertaking the first major Soviet initiative in the region in more than a decade.

Shevardnadze's Mideast Tour Seen as Key to Talks

LEAD: Hopes for a political thaw here appear scattered by the icy winds of sectarianism that have made Northern Ireland a synonym for violence and despair.

Hopes for Thaw in Ulster Politics Appear Dim

LEAD: Liechtenstein has been plunged into what it considers a political crisis. But since the Alpine principality has the highest per capita income in Europe, no unemployment and a coalition Government that has lasted for five decades, the turmoil will probably not shake its sturdy foundations.

Tempest in a Wealthy Alpine Teapot

LEAD: The Recruit stock scandal, which is rocking Japan's Government and business circles, widened further today with the arrest of the first Government official to be charged with accepting bribes in the case.

Tokyo Aide Is Held in Stock Scandal

LEAD: The Japanese Government said today that it had reversed itself and recognized the new Burmese Government, paving the way for Japan to resume its role as Burma's largest source of foreign aid.

Japanese Resume Aid to Burma; Rangoon Calls Elections for 1990

Sonja Vasić is a Serbian former professional women's basketball player. Standing at 1.89 m, she played at the small forward position. She represented the Serbia women's national basketball team, and is a current member of the FIBA Central Board.

February 18, 1989

Headlines from February 18, 1989

WHITE HOUSE GETS NEW TOWER QUERY BY G.O.P. SENATOR

State Regents Press New York City For Series of School Improvements

Despite Pact, Contras Vow To Fight On

Furor Over 'Satanic Verses' Rises As 2 More Book Chains Halt Sales

TEHERAN QUALIFIES THREAT TO AUTHOR

Billboard 200

Don't Be Cruel

Appetite For Destruction

Traveling Wilburys

Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars

G N' R Lies

Notable Births

Historical Context for February 18, 1989