Aga Khan

The Epsom Derby, dominated in its 207-year history by British horses, owners and trainers, is bracing itself for a foreign invasion today. Only two horses in the 17-strong field chasing the coveted title over the 1 1/2-mile course--and the $356,497 first prize--will represent British interests--Bold Arrangement and Faraway Dancer. Instead, American-bred horses, mostly owned by Arabian sheiks and princes, dominate the field.

A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" and belonging to Tennessean Roberta Bauman will get a special preview showing here Wednesday before they're auctioned off by Christie's in NYC June 21.

Iraqi authorities Saturday freed a British businessman held for nearly six years on bribery charges, ending a freeze on some of Baghdad's badly needed funds impounded in London since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August, 1990. Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, the top U.N. envoy to Saddam Hussein's regime, broke the news at a press conference in Baghdad, announcing that Ian Richter, 45, a chemical engineer, had been turned over to his care. Richter is expected to leave Iraq today.

Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey won for the first time in Europe, riding Dubai Millennium to an eight-length victory Wednesday in the Prince of Wales' Stakes at the Royal Ascot meet. Bailey was the substitute rider for Frankie Dettori, who survived a plane crash at Newmarket, England, three weeks ago. With Dettori watching, Bailey won aboard a 4-year-old colt who is considered the best horse in the world. "I haven't seen anything on the other side of the pond that could touch him," Bailey said.

The hot topic seemed to be acid rain, but there were also the Super Bowl Shuffle, romance on the television soap "Dynasty" and the legs of congressional spouse Marty Davis as topics of discussion at the White House state dinner Tuesday night for visiting Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Guests at the White House dinner given by President and Mrs. Reagan on Saturday night in honor of Prince Charles and Princess Diana: Oliver Wright, British ambassador to the United States, and Lady Wright. John Riddell, the prince's private secretary. Michael Shea, the Royal Family's press secretary. David Roycroft, assistant private secretary to the prince. Anne Beckwith-Smith, lady-in-waiting to the princess. Lt. Cmdr. Peter Eberle, personal attendant to the prince.

Seven people died in a rocket attack on central Kabul on Wednesday as Muslim rebels intensified their campaign to hamper the Soviet Union's hurried troop withdrawal from beleaguered Afghanistan. Meanwhile, U.N. officials found a replacement for an EgyptAir plane whose crew refused to fly the first U.N. relief supplies to the embattled Afghan capital.

Laity Kama, the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, has died. He was 62. Kama, a judge from Senegal, died Sunday at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, where he was undergoing treatment for heart problems, U.N. officials said Monday. The U.N. flag in Arusha, Tanzania, was lowered to half-staff Monday at the court--charged by the U.N. Security Council with prosecuting those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide in which more than 500,000 people died.

Free-lance photographer Mary Altier was enticed to visit Pakistan's Hunza Valley by the oft-repeated story that the valley was the inspiration for Shangri-La in James Hilton's 1933 novel "Lost Horizon." The myth may well be just that: a false rumor. But Altier did find an isolated land of exquisite beauty, carved from harsh surroundings, often under brutal conditions. She visited two years ago during a monthlong trip through Pakistan.

Four million newborns die every year but three-quarters of them could easily be saved, researchers said Thursday. Most of the deaths occur in 10 countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and are caused by infections, prematurity and breathing problems related to birth complications. "If you look across 23 nations of Western Europe, there are 4 million births every year," said Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal Lancet.