March 3, 1999

Republican leaders are exploring publicly ways to end longstanding practice of using Social Security money for other purposes; House and Senate leaders, needing money to pay for tax cuts and additional spending, discuss allowing Congress to dip into Social Security funds for next several years but than walling off retirement system's money from rest of Federal budget; idea of weaning Congress from reliance on Social Security's money has more support among House leaders than among their counterparts in Senate, many of whom favor putting retirement system's funds off-limits immediately; House plan for gradually taking Social Security out of budget is detailed in legislation introduced by Reps Wally Herger and David Minge; Democrats have rallied around Pres Clinton's proposal to address problem by reserving 62 percent of total budget surpluses over next 15 years for Social Security; graph (M)

Eight foreign tourists, including American couple, are slain in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest of Uganda by band of Hutu rebels, who are said to be remnants of ethnic Hutu militias that carried out mass killings in Rwanda in 1994; four Ugandan park employees are also slain; victims include four Britons and two New Zealanders; Robert Haubner and his wife Susan Miller, slain American couple, were executives for Intel Corp; attack on group of 31 tourists appears to be related to violence that has beset central Africa for years; survivors say as many as 150 Hutu soldiers sought out Americans and Britons among tourists; map; photos (M)

Kosovo Liberation Army political leader Adem Demaci resigns, raising hopes among diplomats that ethnic Albanian guerrilla movement will sign autonomy plan proposed at peace talks; Demaci opposes peace plan, which would grant Kosovo autonomy under protection of NATO-led military force; Yugoslav tank and mortar fire pounds southern Kosovo hillsides, striking at rebel positions and driving thousands of ethnic Albanian civilians from their homes in some of heaviest fighting since start of talks; US and NATO officials say Yugoslav military buildup in Kosovo is violation of cease-fire reached in Oct, but that NATO will probably refrain from punitive strikes to avoid undermining efforts to reach accord; map (M)

Electronic Serial Numbers Raise Privacy Concerns From computers to cellular phones to home electronics, everyday devices and software programs are increasingly embedding telltale identifying numbers that enable them to interact. That trend is generating a dispute pitting security interests and convenience against privacy concerns. Privacy groups argue that the merger of computers and the Internet has brought the specter of a new surveillance society. But a growing alliance of computer industry executives, engineers, law enforcement officials and scholars contend that absolute anonymity is not only increasingly difficult to obtain technically but is also a potential threat to democratic order because of the possibility of electronic crime and terrorism. ''You already have zero privacy -- get over it,'' Scott McNealy, the chairman and chief executive of Sun Microsystems, said recently. [Page A1.]

Eric Asimov comments on marinades as flavor-enhancers for meat; recipe for Indian chicken thighs with saffron sauce (M)