November 23, 1996

June 26 murder of Veronica Guerin, reporter for Ireland's Sunday Independent, forces Government to pass a series of laws giving law enforcement agencies the ability to deal with the newly sophisticated enemy she was writing about: organized crime; Irish police, who have heretofore been more restricted than officers in other Western countries, feel certain they know the identities of the men responsible for killing Guerin, but need to build an impregnable case before exercising their new, one-time right to detain them for questioning; Paul Ward has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder for allegedly having harbored the killers after the crime; photos of Guerin, her family and John Gilligan, who believes he is prime suspect (L)

State Education Commissioner Richard P Mills orders Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew to take direct control of 42 failing schools in New York City and improve them; warns that the state may force the closing of the schools if they do not get better; schools represent nearly 4 percent of all public schools in the city; action may seem like a harsh judgment on Crew's first year as Chancellor, but it does confer on him the greater control he has been seeking over troubled schools; all but three schools on the list are run by local school boards, which have blocked intervention by previous chancellors; photo (M)

Mayor Giuliani effectively withdrew his demand for broad control over the school system and would give the Chancellor more power. Page 21.

Re-election of five black members of Congress whose districts were redrawn to eliminate black voting majorities sharpens the debate on whether it is still necessary to gerrymander legislative districts along racial lines to insure minority representation; those who successfully petitioned Supreme Court to rejects districts drawn along racial lines say success of black candidates in the five districts shows that minorities do not need super-majority of black voters to win; civil rights leaders argue that key to victories was less the design of the districts than the incumbency of the black candidates; graphs show racial makeup of the old and new districts of the re-elected black Congressmen: Georgia's Sanford D Bishop Jr and Cynthia A McKinney, Florida's Corrine Brown, and Texas's Sheila Jackson-Lee and Eddie Bernice Johnson (M)

Success at Subic Bay Subic Bay, the former United States base in the Philippines where President Clinton and 17 other leaders are to meet next week, has become a symbol of economic success. Page 3. Democrats to Return Gift The Democratic Party said it would return $450,000 solicited from an Indonesian couple by John Huang, who is at the center of inquiries into party fund-raising. Page 9. Couple Guilty in Assault In a case that stirred ugly memories in a Southern town, a white couple were convicted in an attack on a 10-year-old black boy, but were acquitted of a more serious charge. Page 8. Physics Trailblazer Dies Abdus Salam, a Pakistani who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on two of the fundamental forces of nature, died at 70 in Oxford, England. Page 11.

O J Simpson denies killing his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman as he takes witness stand in civil suit brought against him by victims' families; denies ever doing anything worse than 'rassle' with his ex-wife and denounces as lies any evidence to the contrary, including entries in her diaries; never appears flustered as Daniel M Petrocelli, lead lawyer for plaintiffs, grills him spousal abuse; photo (M)

Current conflict in eastern Zaire exposes vast web of state-sponsored subversion across Africa, from Angola to the Red Sea, as well as arms-running that has spawned more rebellions and proxy wars than at any time since the height of the cold war; African experts say outcome of these struggles could result in the redrawing of African borders that have remained almost unchanged since they were traced by European colonial powers more than 100 years ago; see current civil wars as essentially African processes even if there is involvement by outsiders like Iran and the West; France accuses US of supporting an effort to expand English-speaking influence in the region at its expense and the expense of its French-speaking clients; maps (M)

Transportation Department will try to require auto makers to install new, more advanced air bags within two years as part of a package of steps to reduce the danger the safety devices pose to children and small adults; new air bags would rely on better technology to determine automatically whether to inflate on the basis of crash circumstances and the size of the passengers; auto makers hail the new proposals, but with some caution and some doubt about whether they can meet the department's timetable; consumer groups say the move is overdue; drawing shows how 'smart' air bags would work (M)

International 3-7 AFRICA'S NEW PROXY WARS The currents conflict in Africa have exposed a vast web of proxy wars sponsored by African states that are threatening to redraw borders nearly unchanged for a 100 years, diplomats and analysts say. 1 AFRICA MISSION STALLS The international military effort for Africa became mired in uncertainty as governments and aid agencies disagreed over the number of refugees left in Zaire and the scope of any mission to help them. 7 MASSACRE IN BURUNDI United Nation officials said that nearly 300 Hutu refugees returning to Burundi from Zaire late last month were massacred as they sought refuge in a church. 7 FIGHTING IRELAND'S MAFIA Since a journalist was gunned down while investigating Ireland's underworld, the Government has passed a series of laws to help law enforcement agencies deal with their newly sophisticated enemy. 1 A PRESIDENT SNORKELS President Clinton plunged into the sparkling blue-green waters of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia, snorkeling past legions of iridescent fish and secret service agents. 3 SUCCESS AT SUBIC BAY President Clinton and 17 other leaders will gather Monday in the Philippines at Subic Bay, the former United States naval station that has become a tax-free port and a symbol of economic success. 3 FRANCE CONVICTS SCIENTOLOGIST The former head of the Church of Scientology in Lyons was convicted of involuntary homicide in the death of a member who committed suicide after going heavily into debt to pay for sect sessions. 5 RUSSIA BROKERS DEAL IN BELARUS Alarmed about growing turmoil in neighboring Belarus, Russia has tried to forge a compromise between the nation's autocratic President and his main opponents. 6 Nuevo Laredo Journal: The scandal of a free press. 4 National 8-10, 48 NEW AIR BAG RULES COMING The Department of Transportation said that it would require auto makers to begin installing new, more advanced air bags within two years as part of a package of steps to reduce the dangers posed to children and small adults. 1 SIMPSON TESTIFIES Testifying in open court for the first time about the double slaying that made him the most famous murder defendant of the decade, O. J. Simpson repeatedly denied that he had beaten his former wife. 1 QUESTIONS ON GERRYMANDERING The re-election of five black members of Congress, in districts recently redrawn to eliminate black voting majorities, has sharpened the debate about whether it is still necessary to gerrymander legislative districts along racial lines. 1 COUPLE GUILTY OF ASSAULT A white South Carolina husband and wife were cleared of lynching a 10-year-old black boy but convicted of assaulting the boy, who had come to their home to play with their 9-year-old son. 8 VENEZUELAN GENERAL INDICTED A Federal grand jury in Miami has indicted a Venezuelan general who led a Central Intelligence Agency counter-narcotics program that put a ton of cocaine on the streets of the United States in 1990, Government officials said. 8 DEMOCRATS TO REFUND MONEY The Democratic Party announced that it would return a $450,000 donation from an Indonesian couple who were solicited by John Huang, the former top party finance official at the center of inquiries under way in Congress and three Federal agencies. 9 UNABOM TRIAL DATE SET A Federal district judge set a trial date of next Nov. 12 for Theodore Kaczynski, the man suspected of mailing or planting 16 bombs that killed 3 people in a cross-country campaign of terror that lasted 17 years. 9 VALUJET CONTRACTOR CRITICIZED The F.A.A. did not closely scrutinize a contractor that may be largely at fault in the Valujet crash because the airline did not identify problems with the contractor, an agency official told investigators. 10 Metro Report 21-25 CREW TOLD TO IMPROVE SCHOOLS The New York State Education Commissioner ordered the New York City Schools Chancellor, Rudy Crew, to take direct control of 42 failing city schools and improve them. If they do not get better, the Commissioner said, the state could force them to close. 1 Business Digest 31 Arts/Entertainment 13-17, 20 ''Chicago'' star's path. 13 Steinbeck in Louisville. 13 Music: ''Elegy for Young Lovers.'' 15 Dance:Murray Louis and Nikolais. 20 Television: ''Rebound.'' 17 Sports 26-30 Basketball: Knick coach clarifies players' roles. 29 Trade talk swirls around Nets' Bradley. 27 Column: Rhoden on New York City college basketball coaches 27 Football: Notre Dame close to naming Holtz's successor. 27 Obituaries 11 Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist who shared a Nobel Prize Editorials/Op-Ed 18-19 Editorials A triumph for city schools. Time for a broader Asian agenda. Modernizing a bank law. Letters Frank Rich: TV's new Jew. Russell Baker: How we got here. Kathryn S. Wylde: Will New York give business a break? Robert Spector: P.C., but not ''most talented.'' John O. Norquist: From welfare to work, without a car. Bridge 17 Crossword 16

A listing of credits on Thursday with a television review of ''Smoke Alarm: The Unfiltered Truth About Cigarettes'' on HBO omitted the show's producer. He is John Hoffman.

An article on Nov. 10 about ambulette service for disabled Medicaid patients misstated the frequency with which a woman who uses the M.T.A.'s bus service had been denied a seat, and a correction in this space on Tuesday also misstated it. The woman, Kathleen Egan, was denied a seat 8 of 61 times in September and October. She was not denied a seat ''often.''

An article on Sunday about the arrest of a man accused of firing a shotgun into a Bronx firehouse included a police official's incorrect description of the ammunition in some editions. The shells used in the shooting are usually sold only to law-enforcement agencies; they are not meant for hunting wild animals.