Zimbabwe

Christopher Soames, 66, Britain's last colonial governor of Rhodesia and a son-in-law of Winston Churchill, died yesterday at his home in Hampshire, outside London. As governor, he supervised the transformation of war-ravaged Rhodesia into an independent black-ruled Zimbabwe in 1980, returning from Africa to a hero's welcome in London. Raised as a member of the landed gentry, he was the son of a family that owned breweries and country estates. He was educated at Eton and Sandhurst, and was commissioned into his father's regiment, the Coldstream Guards.

The headline in the International Herald Tribune is, "African Leaders Are Baffled by Reagan's Embrace of Savimbi. " There is a great deal going on in Africa that ought to baffle African leaders, including genocide, starvation and neo-colonialism. But no, they elect to be baffled by President Reagan's public decision to help Savimbi. Jonas Savimbi is a freedom fighter in Angola who already dominates one- third of Angolan territory and is determined to dominate the whole country, upon which he is publicly committed to two objectives.

Jit is the African pop style that the Bhundu Boys, a five-piece band from Zimbabwe, have championed as their own. True Jit (Island/Mango) is the name of the band's major-label debut in the United States. But True Jit is not true jit. "It was the record company's idea," says Rise Kagona, one of two Bhundu ("bush") Boys guitarists. "They thought it (the new album) could sell if the music was changed, so we went along with the experiment. " That experiment included songs sung in English, the addition of a horn section and a heavy dose of Western-pop production.

Group asks probe of Jamaica deaths KINGSTON, Jamaica - Human Rights Watch is calling for an investigation into allegations that Jamaican security forces executed some of the people killed in the hunt for a reputed drug lord. The organization's Americas director said Friday that credible reports from local advocates indicated that some of the 73 civilian deaths in last week's street battles were extrajudicial killings. Jose Miguel Vivanco said that an independent investigation was needed to determine whether police and soldiers used excessive force.

Ex-Nicaragua prez jailed for illegally diverting $100M A federal judge sentenced former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman to 20 years in prison for money laundering in a ruling read publicly yesterday. Aleman was accused of illegally diverting $100 million in government funds to his party's election campaigns during his tenure in office, which ended in January 2002. Judge Juana Mendez cited crimes of fraud, misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, criminal association and electoral violations.

QUOTE I'm a ham who wants to be a small part of anything. - Mickey Rooney, upon joining cast of "The Will Rogers Follies" THE WAY RUSH OUGHT TO BE? SOME WOULD LOVE TO SEE HIM SUFFER Rush Limbaugh: conservative Republican, talk-show host and - say readers of Mad magazine - the celebrity most deserving of unnecessary root-canal work. The Clinton-basher was cited by more Mad readers than anyone else when they were asked, "If you could perform unnecessary root canal on any celebrity, who would you choose and why?"

The day David Taundi disappeared, it was clear something had gone horribly wrong. His car had run off the road on Henry Avenue near Philadelphia University in East Falls early Dec. 15, hitting a tree before bursting into flames. A witness told police a man climbed out of the driver's side, walked away from the wreckage and disappeared into the predawn darkness. Taundi's father, Josiya Taundi, mounted a massive search, publicizing missing-person fliers on social media and asking police to mobilize helicopters and search dogs.

One question seldom asked and never answered: How come the West, and in particular the United States, can interfere in the internal affairs of South Africa? The United States seems unable to solve its own crime and illegal immigration problems and cannot even balance its own bank account. And yet, Congress and the echoing media presume to dictate what form of government is suitable for South Africa and how it sould be attained. In the well-orchestrated, self-righteous and irrational campaign to punish South Africa, carried on for many years, there is rarely mention of the Soviet presence and Marxist influence on the African National Congress and other "liberational" groups.

British captain Nick Faldo shot a 7-under-par 65 yesterday to open his country's defense of the $1 million Dunhill Cup team tournament at St. Andrew's, Scotland. Faldo's error-free round against Frenchman Emmanuel Dussart was the best of the day and helped the defending champion to a 3-0 victory over France in the first round of the match-play tournament. Dussart shot a 2-under-par 70 but was beaten by 5 strokes. Of the eight seeded teams, all but Ireland advanced to today's second round by 3-0 scores.

Doug Tewell played well enough to qualify for the final threesome for today's third round of the International tournament in Castle Rock, Colo. But Nick Price of Zimbabwe picked up eight points and led the field through the first 36 holes with 20 points. In today's round, all 72 survivors start over again from zero. Under the modified Stableford system used for this tournament, five points are awarded for eagles and two for birdies. One point is subtracted for a bogey and three for double bogeys and higher.