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

 lending `` appropriate military support . '' In subsequent statements , he also

 stated that he thought lifting the arms embargo against Bosnia should be debate

d and that the United States should not permit ground troops to become involved 

in the quaqmire . All these statements are now administration policy . More prog

ress must be made . But American leadership has made a difference in enforcing t

he sanctions and no-fly zones , sustaining the longest airlift in history , prot

ecting U.N. forces with NATO air power , pressing for a war crimes tribunal and 

concluding the Muslim-Croat agreement . Somalia : President-elect Clinton suppor

ted President Bush 's decision to send 25,000 troops to Somalia . We were there 

longer and the costs were far higher than predicted . But President Clinton brou

ght the last of these troops home on March 31 . Their mission saved countless li

ves and gave the Somali people a chance at peace . Haiti : Candidate Clinton sha

rply criticized the Bush administration 's policy of returning Haitians `` witho

ut a fair hearing for political asylum . '' When the president-elect was present

ed with reports of an impending massive exodus of Haitians , he called for a tem

porary extension of that policy , coupled with a determined effort to work hard 

for President Aristide 's return . He also took steps that led to a tenfold incr

ease in the processing and approving of refugee applicants at centers inside Hai

ti . President-elect Clinton said he would change that policy `` when I am fully

 confident I can do so in a way that does not contribute to a humanitarian trage

dy . '' On May 8 , 1994 , following reports of increased human rights abuses in 

Haiti , President Clinton established a process that affords all migrants a chan

ce to make their case for asylum , while this country continues to interdict Hai

tian migrants at sea . China : Candidate Clinton criticized President Bush for u

nconditionally renewing MFN and said the Chinese government should make `` concr

ete and significant progress in the areas of human rights , trade and nonprolife

ration in order to maintain its beneficial trade status . '' Last year , Preside

nt Clinton issued an executive order conditioning MFN on significant , overall p

rogress in human rights by the Chinese government , resolving a bitter dispute w

ith Congress and setting forth reasonable steps the Chinese must take to maintai

n MFN . We have also pressed China separately and vigorously on nonproliferation

 and trade issues . Middle East : Having pledged in his campaign to ensure the U

nited States serves as a catalyst and an honest broker in building peace in the 

Mideast , President Clinton has made that goal a high priority . The results are

 impressive . Not only have two mortal enemies shaken hands on the South Lawn of

 the White House but also the parties are implementing peace in Gaza and Jericho

 . Russia : Candidate Clinton , on April 1 , 1992 , urged President Bush to lend

 support to the reform efforts of President Yeltsin . Since taking office , Pres

ident Clinton has worked tirelessly in support of our vital national security in

terests in Russia and successfully mobilized a historic $ 4.1 billion in aid in 

support of democracy and reform . Trade : Candidate Clinton , despite strong opp

osition within his own party , endorsed NAFTA and promised to address its defici

encies , notably in the areas of environment , labor and import surges . As pres

ident , he spearheaded the successful against-the-odds drive to enact NAFTA and 

achieved the necessary side agreements . President Clinton also followed through

 on his campaign commitment to `` strongly support free , fair , open and expand

ing trade , including the GATT negotiations . '' A historic GATT agreement was c

ompleted after seven years of negotiations . Arms Control : Candidate Clinton pl

edged to strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency , the Nuclear Nonprol

iferation Treaty and the Missile Technology Control Regime and take the lead in 

negotiating a comprehensive test ban treaty through a phased approach . All thos

e promises have been kept . In the end , the president 's record should be judge

d in terms of whether he has strengthened the three pillars of our post-Cold War

 foreign policy : promoting democracy , economic prosperity and strong defense a

dapted to the new security environment . He is meeting that test .

 WASHINGTON In `` Beverly Hills Cop III , '' Eddie Murphy the man with the Cinem

aScope grin once again mugs , jives and drives his way through the 90210 zone of

 boutiques , babes and bad guys . With screenwriter Steven E . ( `` 48 Hrs. '' )

 de Souza at the word processor and John ( `` Trading Places '' ) Landis in the 

director 's chair , Murphy is clearly in familiar company as they all embark on 

his goofy vanity project . But de Souza 's script in which Axel Foley ( Murphy )

 searches a California amusement park to find the man who killed his police chie

f ( Gil Hill ) is an uninspired , long-winded we-know-whodunit . Although Landis

 ' comic routines provide occasional relief , they 're tired reprises from previ

ous `` Cop '' films . And as Foley reunites with his unbearably gushy friends , 

L.A. cop Billy Rosewood ( Judge Reinhold ) and mop-topped Serge ( Bronson Pincho

t ) , the humor becomes as fatigued as that other dismal Murphy sequel , `` Anot

her 48 Hrs . '' `` Beverly Hills Cop III '' is rated R for language and violence

 .

 It 's hardly surprising that Bernardo Bertolucci a man undaunted by the risky ,

 the intellectual and the spectacular would make a film about the Buddha . What 

is surprising is the beguiling , unpretentious result : `` Little Buddha , '' a 

modern fable about a Seattle boy believed to be a reincarnated Buddhist teacher 

, endears the audience to the Tibetan doctrine with a glowing , almost Disneyesq

ue panache . Photographed gorgeously by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro , `` Li

ttle Buddha '' is graced with sweet-natured lamas , stunning sights from the Him

alayas and in the wackiest bit of casting since George Burns played God Keanu Re

eves as the Buddha . Few will believe this without seeing for themselves , but R

eeves is rather charming in the role . Bertolucci intermixes high art with child

like wonder , blatant special effects with tacit spirituality . The movie , whic

h also stars Bridget Fonda and Chris Isaak , may initially seem superficial and 

commercially pandering , like something Steven Spielberg would have conceived . 

But it is remarkably devoid of cloying sentimentality . As someone once said abo

ut the films of Max Ophuls , `` Little Buddha '' is only superficially superfici

al . In Seattle , schoolteacher Lisa Konrad ( Fonda ) is visited at her home by 

a grinning , befrocked group of lamas . The leader , Lama Norbu ( Ying Ruocheng 

) , who has journeyed all the way from Bhutan , informs Konrad that her 9-year-o

ld son Jesse ( Alex Wiesendanger ) may be the reincarnated spirit of Lama Dorje 

, the Tibetan priest 's teacher . Lisa listens to Norbu with indulgent interest 

, but remains dubious . Her architect husband , Dean ( Isaak ) , is even more sk

eptical . But little Jesse takes to the idea with chirpy enthusiasm . He becomes

 a regular fixture at the Tibetans ' local center . When Norbu gives him a bedti

me picture book about Buddha , the boy is spellbound . As Jesse learns about the

 life of Prince Siddhartha , the founder of Buddhism , the movie flits back 2,50

0 years to mythical India . In a stirring fusion of past and present , `` Little

 Buddha '' relates Buddha 's evolution from spoiled prince to serene being and-i

n the 20th century-details Norbu 's quest to authenticate Jesse 's potential lin

k to Lama Dorje . It turns out that there are two other candidates ( in Asia ) f

or the teacher 's reincarnation , requiring Jesse to travel to Bhutan . The chil

d 's fate is furthered when Dean whose business partner suffers an untimely deat

h finds himself suddenly responsive to matters of the afterlife . While Lisa rem

ains reluctantly in Seattle , father and son embark on an unforgettable spiritua

l journey . Rather than delve into the elusive depths of Buddhism , scriptwriter

s Mark Peploe and Rudy Wurlitzer ( adapting an original story by Bertolucci ) ch

art a paper-boat voyage over its surface . `` Little Buddha '' succeeds precisel

y because of its guileless innocence : It even begins with the words `` Once upo

n a time ... '' as Lama Norbu tells a goat fable to his monastic students . Stor

aro , possibly the world 's greatest cinematographer , bathes the modern and anc

ient Buddhist scenes in burnished reds and golds . In America , he all but freez

es Seattle in beautiful but icy blues . The divide between East and West couldn'

t be visually clearer . Bertolucci , who completes what he has dubbed his `` Ori

ental trilogy '' here ( with `` The Last Emperor '' and `` The Sheltering Sky ''

 ) , is hardly subtle about this duality . America 's empty , cold materialism i

s pitted against the warm splendor of Buddhism in a no-contest bout . To this en

d , Bertolucci has directed Fonda and Isaak to give the most lobotomized perform

ances of their careers . But this bias is a minor shortcoming , especially in li

ght of Bertolucci 's multiple embrace of the American child who comes of age , t

he Western father who experiences his own minor revelations , the monks who reso

lve their compelling mystery and , of course , the great spiritual leader himsel

f . `` Little Buddha '' is rated PG .

 WASHINGTON Capitol Hill , a political beehive already swarming with reporters ,

 is about to become a two-newspaper community . New York publisher Jerry Finkels

tein , whose company owns the National Law Journal and more than 20 community pa

pers in the New York area , is launching a weekly newspaper devoted to covering 

Congress . He has tapped veteran Hill reporter Martin Tolchin , who is retiring 

from the New York Times after 40 years , as publisher and editor . The still-nam

eless publication , scheduled to debut in September , will mount a frontal assau

lt on Roll Call , the twice-weekly paper that has been required reading on the H

ill since 1955 . `` We 're going to try to be a little more substantive and a li

ttle more stylish than Roll Call , '' Tolchin says . `` We 'll try to be wittier

 , more audacious , and we 'll try to have a soul , which I don't think Roll Cal

l does . '' Roll Call , which was purchased last year by the Economist of London

 , says it isn't worried about the competition . `` We have a unique niche : We 

cover Congress as an institution , '' says Editor Stacy Mason . `` We cover the 

people , the politics , the neighborhood , the police department , the post offi

ce , and that 's why we 're able to break stories like the House Bank scandal . 

'' Finkelstein , 78 , is a Democratic Party activist whose son , Andrew Stein , 

was New York City Council president . Finkelstein consulted with his old public 

relations partner , Times columnist William Safire , about the Hill venture . ``

 He asked me who I thought would be a great editor , and the first thought that 

leaped to mind was Marty Tolchin , '' Safire says . Tolchin , 65 , who has won t

he Everett Dirksen Award for congressional reporting , plans to hire 24 mostly y

oung reporters and emphasize investigative reporting . Big newspapers , he says 

, `` tend to do the stories du jour-welfare reform , health care . But there 's 

a whole lot that goes on there that is absolutely , totally uncovered . There ar

e a zillion things happening up there . '' Tolchin noted that Rep. Gary Ackerman

 , D-N.Y. , is a major stockholder in the firm , News Communications Inc. , but 

says Finkelstein has promised him `` full editorial control . '' Capitol Hill is

 increasingly seen as an advertising bonanza as more companies and lobbying grou

ps try to influence lawmakers and their staffs . Roll Call , which gives away mo

re than two-thirds of its 15,000 copies , urges advertisers to `` send your mess

age to Congress in Roll Call . '' Finkelstein says his firm is investing several

 million dollars . `` You never know in business , but my instincts are usually 

right . I think it 's an untapped market , '' he says . But , he adds , `` I don

't know Washington at all . It 's Marty 's show . '' Robert Merry , Congressiona

l Quarterly 's executive editor , is more skeptical : `` It 's a marvelous littl

e market , as Roll Call has proved , but I have to wonder whether the market is 

big enough for two players . '' -0- Time magazine is getting into the daily news

 business for the first time in 60 years . The magazine , which is now available

 through America Online , will feed eight to 12 news stories and a stock market 

summary to the computerized service each evening . Time 's existing staff will r

eport and write the updates , which begin this week . Time spokesman Robert Pond

iscio says an average of 60,000 to 70,000 people are downloading Time but that m

ost check in only once a week . `` This is a way to bring readership up the rest

 of the week and get in on the ground floor of the new technology , '' he says .

 The New York Times has discovered that it 's hard to be hip . Styles of the Tim

es , the paper 's two-year-old attempt to plug into the youth culture , is losin

g its separate Sunday perch and will be folded inside the Metro section . This w

ill bring Styles both production savings and later deadlines , but means the sec

tion front can no longer be printed in color . Styles , which has been through f

our editors in its brief existence , has struggled to find an identity while exp

loring the world of downtown parties , haute fashion and pop culture . Conscious

ly pitched to twentysomething readers , its features have ranged from `` The Arm

 Fetish '' to Barney the dinosaur , from Hugh Hefner to John McEnroe 's SoHo gal

lery . `` Baysie Wightman is a woman in search of hip feet , '' a Styles story b

egan Sunday . `` She often finds them in the clubs of New York , Tokyo and Londo

n , in the rock-and-roll bars of Seattle and Portland .. . . ' ' `` It just neve

r jelled , '' says James Ledbetter , the Village Voice media columnist . `` The 

Times never knew what it wanted out of the section . Some of the things it cover

ed homosexual lifestyles , street culture made people at the top of the corporat

ion uncomfortable . '' `` We remain committed to presenting lifestyle news , whi

ch has a very loyal following , '' Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said in a sta

tement . An editor in the Styles section said the staff was `` under orders '' t

o refer all calls to the PR department . Spokeswoman Nancy Nielsen says such fea

tures as `` The Night , '' `` Thing '' and `` Surfacing '' will be dropped . She

 says production costs are `` the overriding factor '' in downgrading Styles , a

nd denies that the paper has failed at being hip . `` I know a lot of hip people

 who read the Times , '' she says .

 BRUSSELS , Belgium Russia proposed Wednesday beginning broad talks with NATO on

 a wide range of issues , from nuclear proliferation to the environment beyond i

ts latest decision to join the Partnership for Peace program . The plan , unveil

ed at a NATO-sponsored meeting by Russian Defense Minister Pavel S. Grachev , ap

peared to be aimed partly at domestic consumption , to show hard-liners at home 

that Russia is still holding its own in dealing with the West . Grachev did not 

make his proposal a condition for Russia joining the Partnership for Peace progr

am , which was set up by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization five months ago 

to provide an opportunity for closer links with former East Bloc countries . The

 Russians , who submitted their preliminary application for the program Tuesday 

, still are expected to join formally as early as June , at a meeting of NATO fo

reign ministers scheduled to be held in Istanbul , Turkey . Even so , the Wester

n response to Grachev was lukewarm at best . Although the NATO defense ministers

 seemed relieved that Russia had not set conditions for its entry into the progr

am , they seemed cool to the notion of broader talks . U.S. . Defense Secretary 

William J. Perry , when asked about the plan at a news conference later , said o

nly that what Grachev was proposing was `` set up along different parameters '' 

than the Partnership for Peace program . He declined to comment on the substance

 of the request . Western officials said they still are not sure just how NATO w

ould respond to the proposal . Besides proliferation and the environment , Grach

ev listed defense conversion and disarmament as possible topics in any broader t

alks . Wednesday 's session marked the first time that the NATO defense minister

s and their counterparts from those countries in the Partnership for Peace progr

am have met as a group . So far , 18 governments , representing east European an

d ex-Soviet countries , have signed up . Russia , assuming that it acts on its i

ntention to join next month , would be the 19th . Perry , noting that for most o

f its existence NATO had been devoted to defending the West against the now-defu

nct Warsaw Pact , called Tuesday 's session `` a major step in removing the divi

ding line between East and West . '' Although Russia submitted its initial `` pr

otocol '' Tuesday , Western defense ministers seemed encouraged that Grachev him

self attended the entire Brussels meeting . The group later went to Mons , Belgi

um , to tour a new Partnership for Peace center . Until this week , Western offi

cials had feared that Russia might seek some sort of special status as a conditi

on for joining the program leading to worries among some east Europeans that it 

was trying to dominate the group . But Grachev made it clear Wednesday that Mosc

ow would not press such demands as a condition for membership in the program . `

` We are not setting any preconditions for joining , '' he told reporters . He a

lso announced that as part of its new role in the Partnership for Peace program 

, Russia would be willing to join NATO forces in a wide variety of operations , 

from peacekeeping duties to joint military exercises . ( Optional add end ) In t

hat connection , the United States and Russia announced Tuesday that they will g

o ahead with previous plans to hold joint military exercises this summer , despi

te indications earlier that they might be canceled . In outlining his proposal f

or broader consultations between Russia and NATO , Grachev argued that existing 

talks are proving inadequate for the job , and that Russia and the West need a n

ew vehicle for widening their current agenda . While praising the Partnership fo

r Peace program as a `` first step '' in bringing the two sides closer , he said

 it was `` not the complete answer to the reality of the new epoch . '' `` Russi

a is prepared for the creation of a real and full strategic partnership with NAT

O , '' Grachev declared . He called his plan `` a practical step on the road to 

the formation of a system of collective security . '' Although Grachev 's propos

al for broader talks was not likely to upset existing Western diplomatic machine

ry , analysts said it has the potential to turn NATO into a political forum well

 beyond its historic role as a military alliance .

 WASHINGTON Pretend for a moment that Michael Dukakis took off for Zurich three 

days after he lost the '88 election . Suppose he announced he was going to becom

e a Swiss citizen . Imagine further Dukakis saying the policies of the newly ele

cted George Bush disgusted him , and that other nations should impose sanctions 

against the United States . Improbable as such a scenario might sound , it never

theless strongly resembles the behavior of Mario Vargas Llosa . The novelist ran

 for the presidency of Peru in 1990 as a reluctant savior , the outsider who wou

ld rescue the country from terrorism , bankruptcy and despair . `` I thought you

 could do politics differently , '' he says . But politics proved inflexible , a

nd nasty to boot . Vargas Llosa was viewed as too rich , too white and too eliti

st in a country where the electorate is overwhelmingly poor and dark . `` I was 

a complete failure , '' confesses the writer , who won only a third of the vote 

. `` The election culminated in a new dictatorship in Peru . It 's grotesque . '

' Vargas Llosa is now in exile . He spent the spring teaching at Georgetown Univ

ersity here , trying to show students that literature is `` intimately related t

o life . '' It 's certainly true in his case . Rarely do literature and life bec

ome so closely interwoven . Vargas Llosa 's novels and journalism brought him to

 the brink of the presidency , but probably prevented him from winning it . In a

 sense , literature betrayed him . Novels may explain and reflect and enhance li

fe , but ultimately they 're much simpler to control especially if you 're the o

ne writing them . The real world , on the other hand , fights back . Now that he

 's learned his lesson , Vargas Llosa doesn't want to be president of Peru anymo

re . Sometimes it seems he doesn't even want to be Peruvian . `` I may return to

 Peru , I may not , '' he says . `` But not in the immediate future , that 's fo

r sure . '' Not , in other words , while Alberto Fujimori professor turned presi

dent turned strongman wields dictatorial control . In the meantime , Vargas Llos

a is campaigning for a cutoff of all forms of foreign aid except humanitarian , 

saying rights abuses in Peru demand drastic action . This has cost him some of h

is remaining friends in the country . Others were dismayed when he asked Spain l

ast year for dual citizenship , a step he says he was forced to take after haras

sment and threats by the Peruvian military . Says the novelist : `` I don't know

 if I 'm the most hated person in Peru . I think Fujimori 's more hated than mys

elf . '' His wife , Patricia , isn't so sure . `` I 'd have to see the polls , '

' she says with a laugh . In his autobiography , just issued here as `` A Fish i