December 28, 1996

Democratic National Committee records indicate John Huang, White House official and committee's leading fundraiser, helped devise strategy to raise unprecedented $7 million from Asian-Americans partly by offering rewards to largest donors, including special access to White House; suggest goal of raising funds created high-pressure atmosphere that led to at least $1.2 million in improper donations; show Huang told potential donors that time was ripe for them to win political clout that had eluded Asian-Americans for century, and that political contributions were path to power; photos (M)

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe tells Serbia to reinstate rightful winners of elections, whose results were annulled by Government following opposition victories, or face further international isolation; says opposition candidates won elections in 13 Serbian cities in November; warning elicits conciliatory response from Foreign Min Milan Milutinovic; protests continue on streets of Belgrade; photo (M)

Lilco Merger Talks The boards of Brooklyn Union Gas and the troubled Long Island Lighting Company are reported near a deal to merge. Page 29. POW! Wall St. Titans Clash Marvel Entertainment, home of Spider-Man and the X-Men, has filed for bankruptcy protection, as two Wall Street financiers fight for control. Page 39.

Caseworkers and Federal health officials say stopping practice of female genital cutting among small, but growing, population of African refugees and immigrants in US will entail more than passage of Federal law, and will mean finding way of changing minds of parents who cling to ancient tradition; many refugees have vowed to continue practice, despite passage of Federal law criminalizing it; say they will take daughters back to homelands when necessary; regard female genital cutting as responsibility required by Muslim faith; Centers for Disease Control estimates more than 150,000 women and girls of African origin or ancestry in US may be at risk of having rite performed, or have already been cut; practice is common in 28 countries that span Africa's midsection, but varies widely in prevalance and severity; some ethnic groups do not follow custom at all, while others adhere to it almost without exception; Ahmed Guled, Somali refugee who plans to have rite performed on daughters, comments; photos (L)

Special report, State of Fear, finds as war between Algeria's military-backed Government and Islamic militants turns increasingly violent, profits of multinational companies that still pump oil there are caught in balance; presented with choice between secretive Government and violent currents of political Islam, Western companies and governments have come down on side of army and repression in war that has taken tens of thousands of lives; deep in country's northern oil sector, dozens of Americans and other foreign oil executives live behind high walls of heavily fortified camps, where fear is never far from surface; country, in form perhaps more acute than anywhere else, poses increasingly widespread quandry of how to sift moderate political Islam from Islamic militancy and terrorism; task has proved almost impossible in nation where Islam first triumphed at ballot box, but was then forced underground by Government; roots of conflict, which date back to elections of 1992, discussed; photos; map (M)