March 29, 1997

Bitter dispute between two powerful factions in Haiti has broken apart American-backed ruling coalition and brought Government to virtual standstill, less than three years after US sent troops to restore democracy; rift between former Pres Jean-Bertrand Aristide and hand-picked successor, Rene Preval, has provoked economic and political instability; photo; Aristide has formally shifted allegiance to new party, Fanmi Lavalas, while many officials elected under his banner have remained in original Lavalas Political Organization, which backs Preval; Preval camp charges Aristide with fomenting violence that has killed more than 50 people; Parliament cannot muster quorum to approve laws to comply with international agreements; Aristide side charges Preval has sold out to US and IMF (M)

Advocates for various categories of welfare recipients, once allies, are now rivals trying to get New York legislators to spare their constituents from inevitable cuts; new Federal law that imposes five-year limit on welfare allows states to exempt 20 percent of recipients; advocates for battered women, people with AIDS and foster parents are among groups lobbying to get those exemptions (S)

Summary of major news stories on inside pages

Investigators identify 30 of 39 members of Heaven's Gate cult who committed suicide in Rancho Santa Fe, California, after fielding more than 1,500 calls from anguished relatives across country; about six of 18 men who died had been surgically castrated sometime in past, including leader, 65-year-old Marshall Herff Applewhite; many of families calling had not heard from relatives for months or years; some identify loved ones from televised videotape in which cultists cheerfully explain their plans to die and go to 'next level'; Mark Applewhite issues letter of regret for deaths connected to his father, whom he had not seen since he was five; photos of Marshall Applewhite in pre-cult years, and with late Bonnie Lu Nettles, with whom he founded cult (M)

Thirty-nine men and women in Heaven's Gate cult lived lives of strict regimentation at sprawling house in Rancho Santa Fe, California, before they committed suicide to get to starry utopia in outer space; they dressed, ate and prayed in identical ways, even while carrying on high-tech business designing Web sites; sociologist Robert W Balch, who studied group for years, says they were explicit in earlier years that recruits had to make free choice; Robert Rubin recalls heeding call to give away home and possessions in Waldport, Oregon, in 1975; describes accompanying Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles for five months, shedding his identity and going everywhere with partner to enhance mind control; his photo (M)