July 23, 1991

One of the greatest political mysteries of modern China is the true fate of Marshal Lin Biao, who was the designated successor of Mao Zedong -- that is, until he died in 1971 after supposedly trying to assassinate Mao and seize power for himself. Two decades later, one of the political mysteries of this summer is why the Communist Party leadership appears to be trying to rehabilitate Lin, or at least his early career.

At the Shamlan docks on the edge of Kuwait's business district, the traditional wooden dhows that Persian Gulf fishermen and merchants have sailed for centuries cram the piers every day, bringing fresh fruit, vegetables and fish to a market thronged with eager customers. But across town, at the immense, modern commercial port of Shuwaik, the piers are empty, the cranes are still, and the harbor is desolate, awaiting the completion of dredging work to reopen the port. It was shut when the Iraqis sank vessels in the channel and wrecked the port's heavy machinery during the Persian Gulf war.

Residents of the Hawaiian Islands, more than 2,400 miles from the American mainland, have long complained that they are left out of major debates that ripple across the nation. But on at least one big issue -- how to provide adequate medical care to all citizens -- health policy analysts say Hawaiians are well ahead of the rest of the country, and their state is being studied in Congress and by other state governments as a potential national model.

Trans World Airlines Inc. made formal yesterday its offer for much of Pan American World Airways, with a written proposal to combine the two struggling carriers. As expected, the bid totals $450 million for an array of Pan Am assets, with most of the money -- $250 million -- supplied by American Airlines. In return, American would acquire the Pan Am Shuttle and Pan Am's routes to Italy, Spain and Portugal.

Desperate to contain a scandal over Japanese financial market practices, both the chairman and the vice chairman of the Nomura Securities Company resigned today, trying to check the growing damage to the world's largest brokerage house. With tears in his eyes, Setsuya Tabuchi, Nomura's chairman, provided no details today of what Nomura had done wrong, gave only a vague confirmation that it had breached securities laws and said little about helping investigate the scandal.