April 24, 1996

One day after Bell Atlantic and Nynex announced their corporate connection, the deal began getting static yesterday on Wall Street. The shares of both regional Bell companies slipped on the New York Stock Exchange, as investors registered their unhappiness with aspects of the merger agreement. The shares of the Bell Atlantic Corporation fell $1, to $66.25, while those of the Nynex Corporation declined $1.125, to $49.375.

President Hafez al-Assad of Syria abruptly canceled a meeting this afternoon with Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who had flown to Damascus especially to meet him. Mr. Assad's stated reason was that the Americans had arrived 20 minutes later than expected and that he had a state dinner planned for the Pakistani Prime Minister, American officials said. Mr. Christopher was told he could return on Wednesday to renew his appeal for Mr. Assad's help in ending the fighting along the border of Israel and Lebanon, where rockets and bombs fell in a 13th day of devastation.

Court Rules on Patent Trials

Faced with a $15.6 million cut in state aid, Rutgers University officials say they would need to raise tuition by 10 percent to close the financing gap. A double-digit increase is unlikely, said Nancy Winterbauer, vice president of budgeting for the university, but students are bracing themselves for a rise in tuition well above this year's 4 percent increase. Tuition now stands at $3,786 a year. The Educational Planning and Policy Committee of the Rutgers Board of Governors will hold a public hearing today on the budget.

Outmaneuvering Washington, China blocked an effort to subject it to scrutiny by the United Nations Human Rights Commission. Page A12.