August 14, 1989

LEAD: For the first time since the present round of violence began in Lebanon five months ago, large-scale ground fighting broke out today, with Muslim and Christian forces battling for control of a strategic area in the hills above Beirut.

LEAD: Does it matter who's mayor?

LEAD: Credit market analysts predict that short-term interest rates, which have been in a fairly constant decline since late March, are likely to move higher in coming weeks.

LEAD: Social Force or Monument? Resignations have called attention to disputes over the direction of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Page A13. Contras on Regional Accord At base camps in Honduras, Nicaraguan rebels reacted to the regional accord disbanding them with defiance and apprehension.

LEAD: THE ECONOMY Vast sums of illegal drug profits are being clandestinely sent from the United States, hidden by electronic money transfers through computers and facsimile machines. Although many U.S. banks are being used unwittingly in these transfers, estimated to total as much as $100 billion a year, at least two are under investigation to determine whether they knowingly assisted drug operations.

LEAD: Legislation to bar discrimination against the disabled in the workplace, public accommodations, transportation and communications services is likely to cost businesses hundreds of millions of dollars a year, representatives of trade and industry groups say.

LEAD: The Shiite Muslim cleric captured by Israeli commandos early this month in hopes he could be exchanged for three Israeli soldiers held in Lebanon has suggested to his interrogtors that two of the soldiers are already dead, informed Israelis said today.

LEAD: In some ways, the UAL Corporation, which owns United Airlines, does not seem a particularly attractive takeover target. United's market share has steadily eroded in recent years, and in December, United lost its claim as the nation's largest airline, falling behind American Airlines.

LEAD: For three straight weeks, the percentage of television viewers watching channels other than the three networks has reached an all-time high.

LEAD: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. has narrowed the list of potential buyers for its four Sea World parks and the other properties in its entertainment unit and plans to sign an agreement soon, people close to the company say.

LEAD: This is the dying season here, the time of year when the flowering birth rates in Soviet Central Asia are tempered by the number of babies who die before reaching their first birthdays.

LEAD: Workers struck telephone companies in five states yesterday, but tentative accords averted walkouts in 19 other states. Nearly 200,000 workers in 20 states are striking, with wages and health benefits among the issues.