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Your reporting on the Achille Lauro hijacking fallout was excellent [TERRORISM, Oct. 28]. It is astonishing, however, that State Department lawyers have not emphasized that the U.S. had a legal basis for its action under international maritime law: visit and search. Since aircraft cannot be stopped on the high seas for legitimate search for criminals and contraband, by extension they can be brought to land in a neutral port for this purpose. Herbert Maza International Association of University Presidents Aix-en-Provence, France
Endangered PlantsI do not wish to belittle the important role that botanic gardens play [ENVIRONMENT, Nov. 4] in the conservation of threatened plants. I do take issue, however, with Frank Thibodeau's comment that the Fort Collins, Colo., seed-storage facility will ensure that "despite power losses, hurricanes, fires or any other natural disaster that could befall a greenhouse or garden, we will always have the seeds available for study and propagation." One of the major issues the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources stress is that ex-situ seed banks, otherwise described as "in the refrigerator" conservation of plants, are not valid substitutes for in-situ, or "in the forest," conservation. An ex-situ seed bank is susceptible to natural disasters, power failures and political turmoil. Instead of creating new banks, we should pay more attention to looking after the wild areas in which some 10% of the world's 250,000 flowering-plant species are threatened. Paul Wachtel World Conservation Center Gland, Switzerland
I was pleased to learn that serious work is being undertaken in the U.S. to conserve its threatened plants by stockpiling seeds of endangered varieties. The same kind of effort should be mounted in Canada, where some superb wild flowers are on the verge of extinction. Our planet is fragile, and it will never be the same if any of these beautiful species is allowed to disappear. E. Michel Azouz Côte Saint Luc, Canada
Battle WonYour article on the rise of Soprano Kathleen Battle [Music, Nov. 11] was a jewel. The human voice can touch the emotions in a manner transcendent. Hearing Battle in recital, I found her singing to be ethereal. Frank R. Wynne Los Alamitos, Calif.
Your reviewer's attempt to name Kathleen Battle the "best coloratura soprano in the world" does not sit well with true opera lovers. She has yet to learn, much less conquer, such coloratura roles as Lucia and Norma. You have done Battle's promising career a disservice by pitching her against long-established and legendary divas. Edward P. Bordes New York City
Contracting AIDSIn your coverage of the AIDS scare [NATION, Sept. 23], you say, "A nurse in Britain who contracted the disease was accidentally pricked with a contaminated needle." She has not developed AIDS. She was injected with the virus and developed antibodies to HTLV-III/LAV. Patricia Solenberger Camillus, N. Y.
TIME regrets the error.