September 15, 1995

In a signal of its growing financial crisis, the company that operates the English Channel tunnel said this summer's traffic had not generated enough money to meet expenses and pay interest on $12.1 billion of debt. The British-French Eurotunnel company said it would suspend loan payments for up to 18 months as it attempts to revamp itself. But it insisted that the move would not lead to bankruptcy and that all services would continue to operate regularly. Article, page D1.

ARRESTS RAISE THE PRICE OF COCAINE Only a few months after the Colombian Government began arresting the top leaders of the Cali drug cartel, law enforcement officials said the supply and potency of cocaine in New York City is dwindling, forcing wholesale and street prices to soar. [ Page A1. ] IF NEW JERSEY BUILDS IT, WILL THEY COME? The State of New Jersey, already home to what used to be New York's two professional football teams, has drawn up a proposal to build a 50,000-seat baseball stadium in the Meadowlands sports complex, state officials said. One official familiar with the plans said the authority was "definitely interested" in having the Yankees in New Jersey. [ A1. ]

House Republican leaders unveiled their proposal to redesign Medicare today, but it was surprisingly short on details and had none of the expected financial incentives for elderly people to join health maintenance organizations or other private health plans. The package is supposed to cut projected Medicare spending by $270 billion, or 14 percent, over the next seven years, and Republicans had hoped to achieve much of the savings through greater use of H.M.O.'s and other forms of managed care.

Along the steep banks of the Luachimo River here, barefoot runners thread their way between 15-foot-deep mining holes hauling sackfuls of dirt down to the river's edge. There, men wearing only bikini briefs stand in the water, turning it coffee-colored as they wash and sift the clay soil, inspecting the leftover stones for the glimmer of a diamond. Everywhere are teen-agers on patrol with AK-47's. The people in charge wear Government uniforms. A little north of here, the scene is the same, only instead of the Government, rebel Unita soldiers control the area.

The state of New Jersey, already home to what used to be New York's two professional football teams, has drawn up a proposal to build a 50,000-seat baseball stadium in the Meadowlands sports complex for the Yankees, state officials said yesterday.