HUMAN RIGHTS . . . RUSSIA, CHINA FLUNK

The U.S. State Department accused Russia and China of persistent human rights abuses. In its 17th annual human rights report to Congress, the department said "human rights violations span the globe, and no region has a monopoly on abuses." Nonetheless, Russia was singled out for its prolonged and fierce suppression of the rebellion in Chechnya, then slammed for President Boris Yeltsin's failure to prevent arbitary arrests and illegal searches. China drew fire as "an authoritarian state" that tortured political prisoners and waged a war of repression in neighboring Tibet. The verdicts come amid conflicting signals within the Clinton Adminsitration, including a constructive engagement policy on China and a push to increase U.S. aid to Russia. "We stick up for human rights, but it doesn't seem a priority," says TIME State Department correspondent J.F.O. McAllister. "There isn't the anti-Communist card to play that brought conservatives on board during the Cold War."