May 30, 1991

Germany's state-owned railroad system formally introduced its new high-speed train service today, as slick, computer-controlled trains capable of speeds of 250 miles an hour carried 4,000 guests to a coming-out party in Kassel, a crossroads city lying almost precisely at the country's geographic center. President Richard von Weizsacker officially started the Deutsche Bundesbahn's new Inter-City Express service at noon by pressing a button on a computer control panel.

Federal regulators agreed in principle today to a $49.5 million settlement in their $200 million lawsuit against Neil Bush and 12 other former directors of Denver's defunct Silverado Banking, Savings and Loan Association. It was not disclosed what portion of the settlement, if any, Mr. Bush, the President's son, will be liable for. Details of the agreement are to be made public on Friday afternoon in Denver, according to a two-page order issued late today by the chief judge of the Federal District Court for Colorado, Sherman Finesilver.

Encouraging Sign on Profits Corporate profits in the first quarter of this year fell markedly less than in the two preceding quarters, providing the latest sign that the recession may be ending. Page D1. A Crusade's Faded Vestige Eight years after Harold Washington was elected Mayor, black political power and unity in Chicago seem like things of the distant past. Page A20. Violent Protests in Ethiopia Several people were killed when victorious rebels in Ethiopia's capital opened fire on protesters who said the United States was causing the partitioning of the country. Page A10. A Successor to Gandhi P. V. Narasimha Rao succeeded the slain Rajiv Gandhi as Congress Party leader, but is not expected to be a candidate for Prime Minister. Page A3. East Village Stalemate The clash of competing social interests has paralyzed efforts to bring calm to Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan. Page B1.

In town after town of southern Iraq, places tied by broken bridges and blighted dreams, President Saddam Hussein has reasserted control after revolts in March that threatened his Government. His soldiers subdue the land from makeshift tented garrisons whose tanks and armor evoke the high and bloody price of revolt. Publicly, there is no murmur of dissent. In the markets, a foreigner's conversation with Iraqis soon draws the attention of silent men who stand nearby to listen and report.

To investors in the R.A.C.D.G. partnership, it was the American dream come true: In December 1989 the Federal Communications Commission chose it by lottery to run the cellular telephones on Cape Cod. Ten months later, without spending a nickel to put the system on the air, the group sold its license to the Southwestern Bell Corporation for $41.5 million. To the Bush Administration it was only the latest example -- and hardly the most outrageous -- of how private users of the public airwaves profit at the expense of taxpayers.