World Notes SUDAN

Drought. Floods. Famine. Disease. Civil war. How could the situation in Sudan get worse? Last week it did, as workers staged a general strike that closed the airport in Khartoum and shut down most telephone and telex lines. Rumors of coup attempts swept the capital as angry demonstrators took to the streets demanding the head of Prime Minister Sadiq el Mahdi.

The strike was triggered by sharp government-ordered rises in the prices of key commodities, including sugar and cigarettes. To cushion the steep hikes, the government approved pay raises for both public and private employees, supplementing incomes by as much as 500%. But the ploy did not work.

By week's end, as police scattering crowds killed at least one demonstrator, the government backed down and revoked the price increases while leaving the pay hikes intact. The swift reversal does not ensure a return to relative stability. The Democratic Unionist Party withdrew from Sadiq's coalition government, and the Prime Minister reportedly intends to form a new Cabinet with his other partner, the Muslim fundamentalist National Islamic Front.