June 24, 1992

In a far-reaching effort to make the nation's companies more accountable to shareholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed major changes in corporate rules, including a requirement that companies for the first time justify executive pay levels. The executive compensation proposal consists essentially of requiring companies to convert what are now often large masses of text into a series of tables, graphs and notes providing greater detail.

The African National Congress announced tonight that it was withdrawing from talks on the political future of South Africa until the white-controlled Government took steps to restore the trust shattered by a massacre last week in the black township of Boipatong. The 90-member executive committee of the congress led by Nelson Mandela said it was halting the peace process, which seemed just a month ago to have brought South Africa to the brink of majority rule, because of what it called a systematic Government campaign to subvert democracy through violence.

Rail maintenance workers last night postponed for two days their threatened strike against Amtrak after failing to reach agreement on a new contract by a midnight deadline. After a day of intense negotiations during which Amtrak reached agreement with several of its smaller unions, the reprieve by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees relieved mounting tension over the possibility of a nationwide strike against commuter, intercity passenger and freight lines.

THE ECONOMY President Bush urged the Fed to lower interest rates further to stimulate economic growth, saying the central bank was wrong to worry that the move would fuel inflation. The remarks came in an interview with The New York Times. [ Page A1. ] The S.E.C. proposed that companies justify executive pay levels in published graphs, charts and notes. It was part of a far-reaching effort for greater accountability to shareholders. [ D1. ]

In the department store world, the Nordstrom name is synonymous with service. During a rainstorm, a shopper may duck into a store in search of waterproof boots only to leave with new heel taps on the shoes on her feet, too, at no charge. Now, Nordstrom Inc. is about to try its hand at a completely different retail game -- what the industry calls the off-price business. Off-price stores sell brand-name merchandise at discounts of as much as 75 percent, as opposed to discount stores like Wal-Mart that for the most part sell high volumes of less expensive merchandise.

Still defiant, John Gotti stood up and smiled, saying nothing, as he was sentenced yesterday to spend the rest of his life in prison. As hundreds of chanting, flag-waving Gotti supporters protested in front of the Federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Judge I. Leo Glasser sentenced the convicted boss of the Gambino crime family in a courtroom so packed that James M. Fox, the head of the New York office of the F.B.I., was wedged next to Joseph DeCicco, a reputed Gambino associate.

A small Texas software publisher has won a significant court victory sharply limiting large companies' ability to use copyrights to restrict competition in the computer industry. The ruling came late Monday in an appeal of a lawsuit brought by Computer Associates International Inc., the nation's second-largest software company, against Altai Inc., the publisher of a program for mainframe computers. The suit was filed over Altai's use of a portion of a program for which Computer Associates holds the copyright.

The budding Presidential campaign of Ross Perot today found itself for the first time struggling to defend the past behavior of the Dallas billionaire in the face of a growing attack from President Bush and his supporters. Indicative of the concern in Mr. Perot's camp, the Dallas billionaire today scheduled an interview for Wednesday morning on the NBC News program "Today." The appearance will come 24 hours after his top lieutenant appeared on the same show to respond to news reports about Mr. Perot's use of private investigators to dig up damaging information on his enemies, including Mr. Bush.

New York Police Bolster Anti-Corruption Efforts After recent drug charges against officers and criticism that the department's internal controls are too lax, Police Commissioner Lee P. Brown said he would increase the number of investigators in the Internal Affairs Division and focus their efforts on only the most serious cases. Page B4. Ukraine and Russia in Accord The Presidents of Ukraine and Russia signed an 18-point accord settling disputes ranging from the Black Sea fleet to their finances. Page A8. U.S. Stand on Bosnian Aid The Administration indicated it was more willing to consider committing American forces to a United Nations effort to get aid to Sarajevo. Page A9. Inner-City Soldiers The Senate Armed Services chairman proposed using military engineers, medics and other specialists to address urban problems. Page A12. Search for Exxon Executive With two suspects in custody, the authorities are trying to learn whether another kidnapper might still be holding Sidney J. Reso. Page B1.

WHEN an Asian wakes up in the morning and wants to eat the breakfast of his dreams (and of his ancestors), it's usually not bacon and eggs. A Chinese reaches for a bowl of porridge of soybeans or rice, a Japanese sips miso-thickened broth and a Korean might eat beef dumplings in broth. On the side are little dishes of pickled cabbage, lettuce and radish. Breakfast, washed down by tea, is savory, not sweet; seldom greasy, and to an Asian palate tasty. It is a meal thousands of years old.

In the latest volley in the fiscal battle between the Florio administration and the Republican-controlled Legislature, the State Treasurer, Samuel F. Crane, said today that Republican budget planners had counted $70 million twice and made other actuarial missteps that have thrown the new budget $226 million out of kilter just two days before it goes to the floor for a vote. His announcement appeared for a time to derail Republican plans to bring their budget, which cuts $1.1 billion out of Gov. Jim Florio's proposal, to a vote on Thursday. But the Republicans now plan to go ahead with the vote, and in a statement they threw the problem back into the lap of the Democratic Governor.

Israel's opposition Labor Party won a resounding victory over the right-wing Likud Party in Tuesday's national election, nearly complete results showed today. The vote creates the possibility of a center-left coalition committed to greater flexibility in Middle East peace talks. For the first time since its tumble from political dominance in the 1970's, Labor was in a clear position to form a Government, although it fell short of a parliamentary majority of its own.