January 2, 1992

Croatia Accepts Peace Plan Croatia joined Serbia and the Yugoslav Army in accepting the United Nations proposal for possible peacekeeping troops. Page A3. Era Ends in Afghanistan Kabul's former backers in Moscow and the United States have ended all military assistance to their respective allies in Afghanistan. Page A4. 9th Stampede Victim Dies As a ninth victim died from injuries in the fatal stampede at City College a New York official leading the inves-tigation faults the college. Page B1.

Harold D. Jones has had a front-row seat on the excesses of an era. As the United States trustee in charge of administering all bankruptcy cases in New York, Connecticut and Vermont, he has seen hundreds of thousands of parties file for bankruptcies. And he says he does not expect much letup. "Come January, we're going to get inundated because Christmas may not be so wonderful, and many retailers may fall in," he predicted in an interview last month.

It may seem as if the homeless are everywhere in New York City these days, but the one place they often are not is in school. A decade after large numbers of families began living in shelters and hotels throughout the city, little has been done to make it easy for the homeless to keep their children in school, advocates for schools and the homeless say.

EXAMINING NEW YORK'S URBAN SPRAWL Without quite noticing it, the New York area, home of the ultimate American city, has transformed itself into a sprawling, dispersed region that more than ever resembles Los Angeles. A movie at the multiplex or a trip to Bridgewater Commons has become as much a day out as a journey to Lincoln Center or Herald Square. A recent New York Times Poll reflects the weakening ties between New York City and the region around it. A1.

The professionals who spend their time pondering foreign stock markets say that on balance they are optimistic about 1992. But their optimism, bolstered by an end-of-the-year rally, is tempered by the underlying economic outlook, especially uncertainity about a global recovery. This makes 1992 harder to call than 1991, despite the threat of the war at the beginning of last year.