September 1, 1997

Monica Seles defeats Mary Pierce and Andre Agassi defeats Mark Woodforde in matches at US Open tennis tournament; photo (M)

Prince Charles accompanies body of former wife, Diana, Princess of Wales, back to Britain to nation convulsed with grief over her death in high-speed car crash in Paris, in which companion, Emad al-Fayed and limousine driver also died and bodyguard was seriously injured; had earlier attended church services near royal holiday estate in Balmoral, Scotland, with sons William and Harry, Queen and Queen Mother; is accompanied to London by Diana's two sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale; brief, silent ceremony at Royal Air Force base outside London is attended by Prime Min Tony Blair as simple wooden coffin bearing royal standard is taken from plane by air force guard; body is taken to Chapel Royal at St James's Palace; funeral arrangements to be announced by royal family within day; mourners sob openly in streets of London; throng arrrives outside Kensington and Buckingham palaces; thousands jam St Paul Cathedral for memorial service; Prime Min Tony Blair praises Diana as people's princess, underscoring widely-held view that she succeeded in establishing rapport with ordinary people with skill that has proved elusive to other members of royal family; says nation is utterly devastated and in state of shock; her brother, Earl Spencer, bitterly accuses press of playing direct role in her death by constantly hounding her; body of companion, Emad al-Fayed, 41-year-old Harrods heir, is returned to London and buried after brief Muslim ceremony at Regent's Stret Mosque; Trevor Rees-Jones, surviving 29-year-old bodyguard, remains hospitalized; Paris police say Mercedes limousine crashed into wall of highway tunnel alongside Seine late at night while trying to speed away from photographers on motorcycles; photos (L)

Black World Championship Rodeo has been one of main attractions of Brooklyn's first county fair, which opened at Floyd Bennett Field on Aug 22 and will close on Sept 1; two visionaries are responsible for event: Dr George E Blair, chairman of rodeo, and Philip M Meissner, lawyer who dared to imagine that pie-baking contests and other competitions would soften Brooklyn's image and give borough more neighborly sense of itself; photo (M)

New Jersey-American Water Co on Sept 2 will lift restrictions on outdoor use of water by 200,000 customers in Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union Counties (New Jersey Daily Briefing) (S)

PARTY WON'T BACK INCUMBENT -- Amid much criticism of his record, Democratic officials are looking the other way as City Councilman Lloyd Henry mounts a bid for a second term. B3.