COVER

Summit to Save the Earth: Rich vs. Poor

North and South will meet in Rio to confront the planet's most pressing ills. The event could change the world -- or be a disaster of global proportions.

NATION

Frantic Final Hours (The Week: Nation)

A convicted killer dies amid claims of innocence and cries of indignation

Giving Away the Weapons Store (National Security)

The proposed sale of a troubled defense contractor to the French triggers an argument over America's security needs

The Politics of Cells (The Week: Nation)

Bush tries to fend off his first veto override, on fetal-tissue research

Virtual-Reality (The Week: Nation)

Politics In the Northwest, Perot wins hearts even while Clinton and Bush win votes

WORLD

Against All Odds (The Week World)

Calm weather and abject despair drive Haitians back into the sea

Growing Pains (Thailand)

Why the burgeoning middle class in a prosperous Asian country rose up to insist that a flawed democracy was better than military rule

In From The Cold (The Week World)

Always aloof, Switzerland moves closer to its European partners

The King and Them (The Week World)

Thailand's monarch forces an ending to his country's bloody confrontation

Up Against the Border (The Week World)

Ethnic strife in the former Soviet Union threatens to involve Turkey

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Kicking The Habit (The Week Health & Science)

Smoking is at a record low in the U.S., but worldwide deaths are still rising

They Just Don't UNDERSTAND (Health)

A maverick gynecologist argues that male physicians are poorly equipped to care for female patients

BUSINESS

A Thirst for Competition

Gatorade, the long-reigning champ of the billion-dollar sports-drink field, braces for a big-league challenge from Coke, Pepsi and other contenders

Paper Profits (The Week: Business)

GM sets a new sales record, but it's not in the showroom

Underground Partners (The Week: Business)

An American giant stakes out a big oil position in Kazakhstan

LAW

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

And One for the Road (The Week Arts & Entertainment)

After a week's worth of tributes, Johnny Carson says his last good-night

Rite Of Spring (The Week Arts & Entertainment)

The 45th annual Cannes film festival yields few surprises

SOCIETY

The Tomb of Queen Nefertari (Culture)

Mummy Dearest Damaged by humidity and humanity, the wall paintings memorializing the favorite wife of King Ramses II are gloriously restored

TO OUR READERS

MISCELLANY

ESSAY

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

But Seriously, Folks . . . (U.S. Politics)

Dan Quayle's wacky attack on TV's Murphy Brown obscures a serious discussion about motherhood, morality and government's responsibility

The 34% Solution (U.S. Politics)

Faced with the Perot challenge and a rejiggered electoral map, Bush and Clinton abandon the center to shore up their traditional bases