The Senate defeated a move to blockdlrs 40 mln in military aid to the Nicaraguan "contra" rebels,
virtually assuring the aid will go through.
    The 52-to-48 vote was a victory for President Reagan, who
made the contra program the centerpiece of his Central American
policy.
    The vote virtually guaranteed that 40 mln dlrs -- the final
installment of a 100 mln-dlr aid package approved by Congress
last year -- would reach the rebels fighting the leftist
Managua government.
 Reuter
