RUSSIAN "SPACE TUG" READY.

Russia has completed the assembly and ground testing of the International Space Station’s first component — the "Functional Cargo Block" — a sort of space tug which will serve as a hub for assembling the station’s segments. An official in charge of the Russian part of the station said yesterday that work on a second component, the Russian-built Service Module, is 30-40 percent complete. The cargo block was to have been launched in November but will now go into orbit in June 1998. (RIA, May 19)

Georgia Seeks Italian, Turkish Training of its Border Troops.