WORLD IN BRIEF : EL SALVADOR : Bill Calls for 50% Cut in U.S. Military Aid

U.S. House and Senate negotiators have agreed on a $15.5-billion foreign aid bill for the coming year that will set a new U.S. policy direction in El Salvador and forgive Egypt’s military debt to the United States. Accord came after an all-night bargaining session that hinged on the Administration’s swallowing a 50% cut in this year’s $85 million in military aid to El Salvador in return for the $6.7-billion debt relief for Egypt, which President Bush badly wanted. The compromise package now goes back to the full House and Senate for ratification before going to Bush, whose advisers have threatened a veto over the El Salvador provisions.