POLL PUTS YELTSIN WELL AHEAD.

A poll released Sunday put incumbent President Boris Yeltsin well ahead in the Russian presidential race, with 53 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him in the July 3 runoff and only 34 percent backing his Communist challenger, Gennady Zyuganov. The poll, commissioned by NTV’s Itogi news program, was conducted Tuesday through Friday and had a margin of error of four percentage points. (NTV, AP, June 23)

Azerbaijan Launches Retail and Service Sector Privatization.