LATVIAN GOVERNMENT FALLS

. Prime Minister Andris Skele resigned yesterday after President Guntis Ulmanis and various political circles — including some within the governing coalition — objected to Skele’s choice of Vasily Melnik as finance minister. A successful private entrepreneur and a member of the Managers’ Democratic party (Saimnieks), Melnik has been widely criticized for improper business activities and violations of anti-corruption legislation. Under Latvian law, the premier’s resignation extends to the entire government, which continues as a caretaker until Parliament confirms a new government. (Radio Riga, BNS, January 20)

Yeltsin Discharged from Hospital.