April 30, 1996

In a new threat to party unity, Gov. Pete Wilson of California today joined his counterparts from New York and New Jersey in vowing to work to remove an anti-abortion plank in the party's platform at the Republican convention this summer. The statement caught Senator Bob Dole by surprise, particularly since Mr. Wilson was in Washington to discuss the California campaign effort with Mr. Dole, the presumed Republican candidate.

The United States lost its final appeal today in the first major case brought before the newly created World Trade Organization. A three-judge panel ruled that regulations issued under the Clean Air Act discriminated against foreign oil refiners. The practical effect of the ruling is that the Environmental Protection Agency will almost certainly be forced to rewrite some of the rules concerning the environmental standards for imported gasoline or face trade sanctions from the countries that filed the complaint, Venezuela and Brazil. Imported gasoline accounts for only about 5 percent of gasoline sold in the United States, but about 20 percent of gas sold in the New York area.

On the outskirts of this lovely Italianate capital, the Government recently built an unusual steel plant. There is no iron ore nearby. Instead, former rebel soldiers are melting down the Ethiopian tanks once used to crush them and turning them into construction girders. The plant, called Orota, is the namesake of a military base run by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front where, cut off from international help, rebels made bullets and spare weapons from scrap during the 30-year war against Ethiopia. The officer who oversaw that shoestring operation is now in charge of beating battle debris, if not into plowshares, into badly needed construction material.

The United States has lost a case brought before the World Trade Organization in a decision that is expected to fuel a politcal debate. Article, page D1.

Bob Grant, the outspoken radio talk show host dismissed by WABC-AM, returned to the airwaves yesterday, this time on WOR-AM. While Mr. Grant did not temper his commentary, there were signs that he would find himself watched more closely: one advertiser canceled its ads on the station, and the Rev. Al Sharpton protested outside WOR's studios. Article, page B3.