Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

TELEVISION

Disney Widens Its ‘World’: Thirty-five movies--including big-screen fare from rival studios such as the much-lauded pig fable “Babe” and the ghost comedy “Casper,” both from Universal Pictures--will be shown when “The Wonderful World of Disney” returns to ABC on Sept. 21. The weekly family programming will air Sundays from 7 to 9 p.m. Of course, Disney movies including “Pocahontas” and “The Santa Claus” will also be shown, as will 17 new made-for-TV movies with stars including Richard Dreyfuss, Kirstie Alley, Leslie Nielsen, Tony Danza and Elijah Wood. As previously announced, Disney chief Michael Eisner will introduce each week’s edition.

Dates for ‘Soul Man,’ ‘Ellen’: Dan Aykroyd’s new series, “Soul Man,” about a widowed minister with four children, is set to premiere April 15 on ABC. It will air Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m., preceding “Home Improvement.” “Soul Man” comes from the same creators as “Home Improvement” and is expected to feature characters from the latter show in periodic visits. “Ellen,” now airing Tuesdays nights at 8:30, will move to Wednesday nights at 9:30 in time for the much-trumpeted “coming out” episode on April 30. Speaking of “Ellen,” Diane Sawyer will interview star Ellen DeGeneres on “PrimeTime Live” on April 23--one week before the big episode. An ABC News spokeswoman notes that the interview has “no restrictions on subject matter,” strongly implying that the actress may discuss her own sexuality.

Ethical Code: Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) plan to introduce legislation today that would call on the TV industry to devise a new code of ethics similar to the old TV code of the National Assn. of Broadcasters. The Television Improvement Act of 1997 calls on the broadcast and cable industries to adopt a voluntary code of conduct for programming they put on the air. The bill would remove antitrust provisions that caused the previous NAB code to be declared illegal in 1982.

POP/ROCK

‘Stop the Violence’: The National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People on Tuesday initiated “Stop the Violence--Start the Love,” a national call for peace in the wake of three recent headline-grabbing shooting deaths--those of rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. and of Bill Cosby’s son, Ennis Cosby. The initiative--which the NAACP said will involve entertainers and other entertainment industry professionals--will kick off Friday with a “Non-Violence Rally” in Brooklyn. Subsequent rallies will be scheduled in Los Angeles and in Hollywood, Fla., culminating with a “National Day of Non-Violence” on April 4--the 29th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Singing the Blues: English singer Marianne Faithfull, scheduled to play at Los Angeles’ House of Blues next Tuesday, is still having problems gaining entry into the United States because of an arrest for hashish possession in the early ‘80s. The 50-year-old pop-cabaret chanteuse, who was once romantically involved with Mick Jagger, was forced to cancel a show Tuesday night in Boston because her visa was delayed. A spokeswoman for the smoky-voiced singer says that Faithfull is routinely delayed when trying to enter the United States--she had to cancel an appearance on the “Late Show With David Letterman” last year--but that she expects to have the papers in time for her next scheduled U.S. appearance Saturday in Portland, Ore. Meanwhile, Faithfull continues her “20th Century Blues” tour in Canada--with shows tonight in Toronto and Friday in Vancouver.

Taj Mahal Harmony: Although he had already paid the local government for the use of privately owned farmlands near the Taj Mahal monument, Greek-born musician Yanni has paid an additional undisclosed settlement to five farmers who had threatened to set themselves on fire to protest Yanni’s concerts this week at the world-renowned site, a spokesman for the singer said Tuesday. In addition, the Indian Supreme Court has refused an environmentalist’s petition to move the concerts from the Taj Mahal, but did rule that Yanni must control the sound level of his music to avoid vibration damage to the white marble monument. An estimated 25,000 concert-goers are expected to attend the three concerts, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday. Yanni’s spokesman said the musician spent $4 million of his own money on the show and will donate all proceeds--an estimated $3 million--to restore and preserve the Taj Mahal. The Indian concerts are part of Yanni’s “Global Music Event,” which began with a show at the Acropolis in Greece in 1994 and will conclude in late May with two concerts performed at the Working People’s Cultural Palace in China’s Forbidden City. The shows will be chronicled for TV and in an upcoming live album.

QUICK TAKES

It didn’t set any records, but considering that it was being shown for the fourth time, KCET-TV Channel 28 officials were kicking up their heels Tuesday over Monday night’s telecast of the Irish dance spectacular “Riverdance.” The program was watched in about 301,000 Los Angeles-area homes, more than tuned in for the network fare on KNBC-TV Channel 4 and generated a hefty $73,360 in pledges for KCET’s fund-raising drive. KCET plans another telecast for Sunday evening at a time to be announced. . . . CNN opened a bureau in Havana on Monday to become the first U.S. news organization to man a Cuban outpost in 27 years. CNN was one of several news organizations, including the Associated Press, to receive a license from the Clinton administration last month to operate permanently in Cuba. But so far, CNN is the only organization to get permission from the Cuban government. . . . Mike Myers returns to his alma matter, “Saturday Night Live,” as host on Saturday. Aerosmith is the musical guest. . . . “Mother” star Albert Brooks, 49, wed Kimberly Shlain, 31, creative director for multimedia company Lightray Productions, in San Francisco on Saturday. . . . Speaking of mothers, actress Adrienne Barbeau, 51, gave birth to twin boys on Monday at an L.A. hospital.