Americas roundup

MEXICO

MEXICO CITY -- An explosion ripped apart a factory in the Mexican capital Tuesday, blowing glass and concrete for blocks and tearing away nearby roofs. Dozens of people were injured.

Red Cross workers, firefighters and trained dogs searched for victims among the ruins of the Puente soap and oil factory. Authorities were investigating the possibility that a gas leak caused the blast, which came without warning at midday.

``The earth shook and there was this tremendous roar,'' said Enrique Ortiz, who pulled out two bloody workers as other survivors yelled for help. ``They were screaming, just screaming.''

The government said 39 people were treated for injuries, and that two of them were in grave condition.

HAITI

After five months of deadlock, the Clinton administration and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, R-N.C., have negotiated an agreement that will lead to the release of almost $10 million in humanitarian aid to Haiti.

As part of the deal, the U.S. Agency for International Development withdrew funding requests for five health and education programs and restructured them so that most of the money will be channeled through private groups or the United Nations, not the Haitian government.

Helms, a longtime critic of former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and of the Clinton administration's policy in Haiti, agreed in turn to release the money, according to congressional staff members and AID officials.

ETC.