A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

lthy premium for Times Mirror 's cable systems , Cox appears to be giving a vote

 of confidence to the industry , which has been rocked by rate rollbacks , climb

ing interest rates and the perception that the phone companies have the upper ha

nd in the digital highway race . Times Mirror 's cable unit accounted for 28 per

cent of the company 's pretax profit year ( after accounting for one-time charge

s ) , and 13 percent of its revenue . Earnings for the cable division came to $ 

106.5 million .

 MIAMI In the first successful criminal prosecution of new federal oil pollution

 laws enacted after the Exxon Valdez spill , the owners of a cruise ship Friday 

pleaded guilty to dumping bilge oil into the Atlantic Ocean . The Viking Princes

s , a Panamanian flag passenger ship , was returning to Palm Beach when it was e

nsnared in an unprecedented high-tech sting operation carried out by Coast Guard

 planes and cutters in February 1993 . The sting operation , part of a get-tough

 policy by the Coast Guard to catch oil dumpers , will continue again this month

 along the coast from Florida to North Carolina . In the case of the Viking Prin

cess , a Coast Guard Falcon jet , outfitted with side-viewing radar system calle

d AIREYE , spotted an oily slime trail snaking some two miles behind the cruise 

ship as it sailed home after a day lolling in international waters , where it is

 legal for its passengers to gamble . Coast Guard cutters , with Environmental P

rotection Agency and FBI agents aboard , took samples of the oily water , as jet

s overhead videotaped the sheen around the vessel . Friday in federal court here

 , Asbjoern Junger , executive vice president of the Viking Princess 's owner , 

Palm Beach Cruises , S.A , pleaded guilty to two felony counts of violating the 

Oil Pollution Prevention , Response , Liability and Compensation Act of 1990 , w

hich was written to include criminal penalties after the Exxon Valdez spill off 

Alaska in 1989 . Under a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors , the c

ompany said it would pay $ 500,000 over the next five years . The maximum fine i

s $ 1 million . Coast Guard officials have complained in the past that they ofte

n see evidence of oil dumping , but that the cases are difficult to prosecute . 

The new oil pollution act makes it easier and the penalties greater . `` We thin

k of this as a foghorn to the industry to stop polluting , '' said Lois Schiffer

 , assistant attorney general for the environmental crimes division of the Justi

ce Department , which has been criticized in the past for not vigorously prosecu

ting environmental scofflaws . Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jim Howe said that over the

 years his service routinely spots ships that appear to be dumping oil out of th

eir bilges . Indeed , until recently it was common practice for vessels to pump 

out the oily water that collects in areas beneath their engines . While the indi

vidual bilge releases are not considered sizable , as oil spills go , their cumu

lative effects are large . Moreover , they are intentional . Until the new law w

as passed , it was difficult to prosecute dumpers who were more than three miles

 offshore . Many times , the Coast Guard simply had to inform the ship 's flag c

ountry ( most often Liberia or Panama ) that one of the vessels was suspected of

 dumping . The new law makes it easier to prosecute cases involving dumping out 

to 12 miles , and in some cases as far as 200 miles . Advanced clean-up technolo

gy , which makes it possible to separate oil from water aboard the ships , also 

has made it less necessary to dump oily water out of bilges . Dumping by the Vik

ing Princess was a rather egregious example , Howe said . A sheen more than two 

miles long followed the boat , and when the ship turned , the oil followed it . 

Friday in federal court , U.S. . District Judge Stanley Marcus warned the cruise

 ship 's owners that he may not accept the plea agreement , and instead may sent

ence the dumpers to the maximum fine . Sentencing is set for October .

 WASHINGTON The Justice Department is investigating allegations that Air Force O

ne , the president 's jet , and almost 7,000 other government and military plane

s may be equipped with faulty engines that could fail in mid-flight . The allega

tion that the General Electric Co. engines are unusually prone to flame-out or s

tall-out in flight is in a lawsuit brought against the company by Ian Johnson , 

a British citizen employed as an electrical engineer at GE 's aircraft engine di

vision in Evendale , Ohio . However , Justice and other federal officials emphas

ized that their investigations should not be taken as proof of a defect . To dat

e , according to federal and GE officials , there have been no known incidences 

of aircraft failure due to the alleged defect , federal officials said . The Air

 Force , which operates Air Force One , is taking all necessary steps to ensure 

the safety of President Clinton and his staff aboard the jet , said White House 

spokeswoman Ginny Terzano . `` The Air Force is fully confident that Air Force O

ne is completely safe to fly , '' she said . Johnson 's petition , filed in Dece

mber in U.S. . District Court in Cincinnati and unsealed Thursday , contends tha

t GE was aware of test results showing that the engines were susceptible to elec

tromagnetic interference and , thus , could malfunction in a way that could lead

 to engine fires or sudden losses of power . The Federal Aviation Administration

 , Defense Department and the FBI are examining Johnson 's charges , the White H

ouse confirmed yesterday . The investigation was first reported by the Cleveland

 Plain-Dealer . GE , in a pointed rebuttal , called the charges `` frivolous and

 outrageous , '' and said they have `` no basis in fact . '' `` GE engines have 

the world 's best safety and reliability record . . . meet or exceed all safety 

requirements-and have safely powered hundreds of thousands of military and comme

rcial flights over the past two decades , '' the company said . `` Despite its h

yped rhetoric , the complaint itself does not cite even one instance of an in-se

rvice aircraft engine failure due to '' the alleged product defects , the compan

y said in a prepared statement .

 TASHKENT , Uzbekistan Uzbek authorities arrested two key opposition figures thi

s week before they were to meet with Sen. Arlen Specter , R-Pa. , who said the e

x-Soviet republic 's `` deliberate pattern '' of repression could threaten relat

ions with Washington . Specter said he was `` absolutely not '' satisfied with a

n official response by President Islam Karimov about the detention of the two wo

men . He quoted Karimov as asserting during a 75-minute meeting , `` These two w

omen are not so important to take up our time . '' Karimov 's government , widel

y regarded as the former Soviet Union 's worst human rights offender , routinely

 has detained perceived opponents and also has kidnapped them from abroad . Thug

s have beaten dissidents severely , leaving them hospitalized for weeks . Most o

f the president 's leading critics have fled the republic . One of the women Spe

cter was to meet Thursday , Vasilya Inoyatova , is a leader of Birlik , believed

 to be the leading opposition group . She was tried last year for allegedly insu

lting Karimov in a poem , and this was at least her second arrest this year . Th

e other was Diloram Iskhakova , a spokeswoman for a smaller party , called Will 

, which also has been banned . Specter said that he was scheduled to meet the wo

men for breakfast at the home of U.S. . Ambassador Henry Clarke but that drivers

 sent for them returned without passengers . A third , little-known opposition f

igure , Ibrahim Buriyev , reached the meeting . In a letter to Karimov , release

d to reporters by the U.S. . Embassy , Specter said : `` I protest this interfer

ence with the rights of Uzbekistan citizens to meet with me and my rights to mee

t with them. . . . The denial of normal contacts between individuals of our two 

countries creates a serious obstacle to closer relations . '' In a news conferen

ce , Specter noted that the Uzbek government also had detained opposition figure

s who were to meet Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Carter-era natio

nal security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski in separate visits late last year . `` 

It is a deliberate pattern , '' Specter said , `` and it is the pattern that is 

of great importance . '' Central Asia has attracted Western interest over its la

rge deposits of oil , natural gas , gold , chrome and uranium . But it is the mo

st politically and economically conservative region of the former Soviet Union ,

 with all five republics retaining some form of Soviet-style authoritarianism . 

Elections and referendums are routinely decided by 99 percent majorities , and g

enuine opposition parties operate freely only in tiny Kyrgyzstan . Uzbekistan , 

however , has come under the greatest Western criticism after a series of show t

rials and severe beatings of political critics . No opposition newspapers operat

e , and Karimov has banned most Moscow-based publications , including Izvestia a

nd Nezavisimaya Gazeta , which have published scathing reports on his government

 . Still , Karimov has retained wide popular support at home , largely by pointi

ng in televised speeches to problems in Moscow and arguing that too much politic

al and economic liberalization can lead to chaos and social upheaval . At the sa

me time , Karimov has remained almost impervious to Western criticism , dismissi

ng it as interference . Some analysts say they believe he is aiming toward a sem

blance of Chinese-style economic reform while maintaining tight political contro

l .

 He has the usual trappings you might expect of a wealthy Saudi prince a 130-roo

m palace in Riyadh , a Bedouin bodyguard , his own Boeing 727 and one of the wor

ld 's most luxurious yachts to navigate the waters of the French Riviera . But P

rince Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is gaining a reputation as more tha

n a flamboyant royal . The 37-year-old , American-educated prince also is the sa

vvy investor who last week agreed to acquire a $ 400 million to $ 500 million st

ake in the struggling French theme park Euro Disney . If the prince 's former in

vestments are any guide , Euro Disney may be poised for a rebound . In 1991 , bo

ught an $ 800 million stake in the then-staggering financial giant , Citicorp . 

Though it was considered a risky venture at the time , the prince 's $ 600 milli

on investment in preferred stock is now worth about $ 2 billion , and some inves

tment analysts describe it as one of the most profitable deals of the decade . T

he prince , who is a grandson of the founder of Saudi Arabia and a nephew of Kin

g Fahd , also owns a 10 percent interest in the Saks Fifth Avenue department sto

re chain and is working on a deal to take control of Air France 's four-star lux

ury hotel chain , Meridien . `` He is a brilliant financial analyst , '' said St

ephen L. Norris , a partner in the Washington-based Carlyle Group who advised th

e prince on both the Citicorp and Euro Disney deals . But others say he is far m

ore than a clever investor . `` He is a rising star in the Middle East , '' said

 a Washington lawyer who knows Waleed . He noted that the image of Middle Easter

n business executives has been tarnished in recent years by names such as Adnan 

Khashoggi and Ghaith Pharaon , and that Waleed is a welcome standout among both 

royals and the Saudi commercial elite . `` His name is magic here because of his

 business acumen , '' said Vernon A . Cassin Jr. , a corporate attorney with Jon

es , Day , Reavis & Pogue in Riyadh who has had dealings with the prince . `` Bu

t he is also making investments that are strategic , not just opportunistic. . .

 . He 's a great advertisement for what a responsible young royal family member 

should be doing building bridges with business leaders in other countries . '' T

he prince is Western in much of his education and thinking . After graduating wi

th honors from Menlo Park College in California in a little over two years , he 

received a master 's degree from Syracuse University . He speaks Arabic , Englis

h and French fluently and , like some other westernized Saudis , he has only one

 wife , though his Muslim religion allows him four . He indulges in the occasion

al flamboyant gesture . At a birthday party several years ago for his son , Khal

id , for example , the entertainment was provided by the American rapper , Hamme

r , in the ballroom of the Georges V Hotel in Paris . Yet for a prince , he live

s relatively unostentatiously , according to lawyers , preferring to spend his w

eekends in the desert when he is home in Saudi Arabia . Unlike some internationa

l investors who rely solely on a team of advisers and bankers to do their deals 

, the prince is a hands-on investor who frequently flies to New York to talk wit

h Citicorp management and who is intimately involved in the details of his busin

esses and investments . His mornings are spent in the chairman 's office of the 

United Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia , a once-troubled bank he purchased in 19

88 . It is one of the Middle East 's most profitable financial institutions , ac

cording to analysts . After his midday prayer break , the prince spends the rest

 of the day in the office of Kingdom Establishment for Trading and Contracting ,

 his diversified holding company that includes interests in real estate , constr

uction , communications , travel and supermarkets in Saudi Arabia . `` I don't k

now when he sleeps , '' said Norris . `` He often calls me at two or three in th

e morning Riyadh time . He frequently stays at his office until the markets clos

e in the U.S.-which is midnight Riyadh time . '' When the details of the Citicor

p investment were being worked out , Waleed did not think it would be appropriat

e for him , as a member of the royal family , to leave his country while it was 

under attack in the Persian Gulf War , according to Norris . So Waleed spent hou

rs on the telephone with Norris , working on the details . In the Euro Disney de

al , he waited and watched for many months before making his investment , accord

ing to sources . His cash infusion , which includes a pledge to build a conventi

on center that would draw more tourists and business people during the park 's o

ff-season , may mean a turnaround for the company , analysts said . `` It 's cer

tainly a good investment . But it will take quite a few years to find out if it 

's truly a great investment , '' said Alan Snyder of Snyder Capital Management ,

 who follows Disney . But the real question may be whether the Disney perks will

 top those of Citicorp . Through the bank the prince was able to purchase his ya

cht , the former Trump Princess , when Donald Trump was having financial difficu

lties . Rechristened `` Kingdom '' by the prince , the yacht features a helipad 

, an operating room and a movie studio . Maybe Disney will provide him with a ma

gic carpet .

 TBILISI , Georgia Georgia , which has just begun to find a measure of peace aft

er more than two years of civil war , is now grappling with one of the most seve

re economic crises in the former Soviet Union . Much of the country is without h

ot water , heat or , very often , electricity . The new currency , the Georgian 

coupon , is devaluating so quickly that a can of Coca-Cola costs nearly 1 millio

n of them . The average wage is about 50 cents a month , with the government for

ced to provide bread rations . The country 's production slump is so severe that

 Russia 's more gradual collapse seems like a boom in comparison . Refugees , di

splaced by the fighting , clog rooms and corridors in Tbilisi hotels . Georgia '

s leader , former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze , does not even tr

y to take an optimistic tone . `` Economically , we are one of the worst , '' a 

glum Shevardnadze said during a recent interview in his office . The sudden coll

apse of the Soviet Union and its massive , Kremlin-controlled economy 2 years ag

o left the country 's 15 republics in desperate economic shape . Some , such as 

Latvia , Lithuania and Estonia , have begun , painfully , to inch toward recover

y . Many , including Russia , are fitfully trying to put the building blocks of 

a new economic order in place , with mixed success . But in Georgia and several 

other southern republics that have been ravaged by war since the Soviet Union 's

 collapse , no signs of turnaround have emerged . The situation has so deteriora

ted that many Georgians find cause for optimism simply in the fact that the diso

rder has not seriously worsened . `` We have a stable , catastrophic situation ,

 '' said George Nodia , chairman of the Caucasian Institute for Peace , Democrac

y and Development . Indeed , with the grimmest winter of recent history behind t

hem and the civil and separatist wars over for now , the country seems at least 

calmer than it has for many months . Paramilitary groups , which terrified the c

apital city by wandering its tree-lined streets in camouflage gear with automati

c weapons slung over their shoulders , have given way to armed policemen . Renov

ations of the main government building wrecked in the internecine battles is und

erway . With warmer weather , food has returned to the farmers ' markets and sto

res , although not with the abundance and variety for which Georgia was once kno

wn . But in most other ways , the future of this nation of 5.4 million people , 

which used to be known as the most lively and successful in the Soviet Union , l

ooks bleak . A recent report by Nodia 's institute noted that Georgia 's gross n

ational product fell in 1993 to its 1960s level . The annual inflation rate , me

anwhile , was about 9,000 percent . Real estate values have fallen because so ma

ny people have fled the country for Russia , the United States , Turkey or any o

ther place else that will take them . There is virtually no prospect of new fore

ign investment . Many factories , farms and shops are shuttered because of the e

nergy crisis , and some estimates suggest that fully half of Georgia 's working 

population is unemployed or on permanent leave earning a mere 50 cents a month .

 `` For most people it almost doesn't matter if they get their salary or not , s

ince it 's so small , '' said Nodia . Most people eke out a living by finding so

mething to sell or getting support from friends or family members outside Georgi

a . At the Tbilisi farmers ' market , crowded with refugees selling bits of food

 and clothing or just begging , an old woman grimaced and waved her hand in disg

ust when asked whether she thought things would get any better . `` We don't liv

e here , '' she said . `` We just survive . '' Nearby an old woman shoeless , he

r hands wrapped in bandages and her face drained of color lay motionless on the 

ground , barely breathing , as people hurried by . The silver-haired Shevardnadz

e , who returned to his homeland two years ago to `` save '' it from the post-co

mmunist chaos , has had his reputation severely tarnished by the collapse . His 

government , although not Shevardnadze personally , is considered thoroughly cor

rupt by many Georgians . It has yet to come up with any comprehensive plan for r

evitalizing the country . Many blame him for losing the war with Russian-backed 

Abkhazian rebels , who bested Georgian government irregulars in a long , bloody 

battle and now control their native Black Sea region . Nationalists lambaste him

 for striking a `` devil 's deal '' with Russia , which will allow Russian troop

s to remain based in Georgia in exchange for Russia 's help in settling the Abkh

azia problem and , possibly , in setting up a new Georgian army . A few also cri

ticize him for agreeing to join the Commonwealth of Independent States , the wea

k organization of former Soviet republics that many Georgians believe Russia wil

l use to reassert its empire . Georgia had refused to join the commonwealth unti

l this spring . `` This is treachery against Georgia , capitulation , '' said Ge

orgian nationalist leader Nodar Natadze , who asserted that most of Georgia 's c

urrent troubles were instigated by Russia specifically to `` force us to kneel .

 Now we can see what the ambitions of the Russian empire in the Soviet Union are

 . '' Shevardnadze said that Russia , Georgia 's huge neighbor to the north , re

mains key to his country 's stability and revival . Economic and political ties 

, severed by the country 's anti-Russian nationalist leader in 1991 , had to be 

restored for that reason . `` Those who wish to gain cheap popularity might say 

I 'm too pro-Russia . But what I am in reality is a realist , '' Shevardnadze sa

id . `` Russia has its interest in the Transcaucasus , but Georgia has its own i

nterests in Russia as well . We willn't be able to overcome the crisis unless we

 revive and reestablish relations . '' But Shevardnadze did not seem too optimis

tic about the future . `` Very many people really are starving , '' he said , as

 he sat in his office in the deserted , darkened government building . `` Maybe 

in two or three years ' time we 'll see the revival of the economy . The main th

ing now is that Georgia must be saved , and by whose hand is not that important 

. ''

 BEIJING The young man came up beside me in the bike lane on the west side of Ti

ananmen Square Friday and silently glided until he matched my slow cadence of pe

daling . `` Today is a kind of special day , isn't it , '' he murmured , steadfa

stly gazing straight ahead . `` Of course , '' I said noncommittally , not knowi

ng if he was partners with the public security agent who had been cycling about 

75 yards behind me almost since I left my apartment about a half hour earlier . 

Friday , of course , was the onset of the fifth anniversary of the two-day perio

d in which the Chinese army killed hundreds of unarmed protesters near this squa