World Notes

AFGHANISTAN The Fighting Grows Furious

On the ground and in the air last week, fighting in the 6 1/2-year-old revolt of Afghan rebels against Soviet invasion forces reached its fiercest level. In an all-out drive to cut the guerrillas' main supply line from Pakistan, Soviet troops overran a key stronghold in Jawar in eastern Afghanistan. The mile-long underground complex was a major training and storage site for the anti-Communist mujahedin forces. Meanwhile, waves of war-planes blasted insurgent positions along the Afghan-Pakistani border as some 10,000 Soviet and Afghan troops advanced on the ground. "This is the worst fighting we've ever seen," said a guerrilla leader. "The air attacks are terrible."

The Reagan Administration, which has been supplying arms to the rebels through a clandestine CIA pipeline, was closely watching the latest offensive. "We don't think the Soviets can beat the Afghans," said one official. Washington fears, however, that heavy rebel casualties and the psychological toll of battle could slow resistance as the war grinds on. Concurred Jonathan Alford, deputy director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies: "It is beginning to look like a very bleak future for the mujahedin." The new Soviet drive is certain to be one of the first topics when stalemated talks aimed at ending the conflict resume next week in Geneva. EXILES Mrs. Marcos' New Shoes

Although she left behind as many as 3,000 pairs of shoes in the presidential palace when she fled the Philippines, former First Lady Imelda Marcos arrived in exile in Hawaii with just one presentable pair. Thus she was teary-eyed with gratitude last month when, a day after breaking a heel, she received a pair of size-8 Bally shoes made of soft leather, with scalloped, stitched edges and semi-open toes. Said Mrs. Marcos: "Somebody up there heard my prayer." The gift from Corazon Medina, a Philippines-born nurse from Michigan, was one of a number of presents, ranging from food to a color TV, that the Marcoses have received. INDONESIA Paradise Lost And Regained

Smiling and eager to hit the beach, 79 Australian tourists streamed off a Garuda Indonesian Airways jet last week on the tropical island of Bali. Their joy turned to dismay when Indonesian authorities denied them entry because they lacked visas, which vacationing Australians are not normally required to present.

The incident marked the latest stage in a war touched off last month by the Sydney Morning Herald, which accused Indonesian President Suharto's family and business associates of "waxing fat on government capital, credit and concessions and accumulating $2 billion to $3 billion." The Jakarta government retaliated by threatening to reject Australian military-aid programs. By midweek, however, Indonesia eased its stance and waived the visa requirement for Australian tourists, who bring the archipelago millions of dollars in annual revenue. IRELAND Breaking Up May Be Easier

Of all the countries of Western Europe, only Ireland, which is 95% Roman Catholic, and tiny Malta still ban divorce. That could soon change, at least in Ireland. Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald last week announced plans for a summer referendum on whether to amend the constitution to permit couples to end their marriages legally. If voters approve, the government will seek legislation allowing husbands and wives to divorce after five years of separation.

The referendum is overwhelmingly opposed by Ireland's Catholic hierarchy. But a poll taken in February by the Market Research Bureau of Ireland found that 77% of those surveyed favored divorce in some circumstances. FRANCE A Teenager for All Seasons

He began writing computer programs at the age of twelve and sold one to Apple Computer a year later. Now, at 15, Cyrille de Vignemont has become the youngest member of Jacques Chirac's government and France's most youthful civil servant ever. De Vignemont, as a special consultant to the Ministry of Civil Service and Planning, will advise Minister Herve de Charette on the needs and hopes of French youth.

The curly-haired teenager commutes twice a week to his Paris office from his home in Lyons and spends off-hours on correspondence-school courses and tinkering with his computer. Although ineligible for a government salary, which workers must be at least 18 to receive, De Vignemont has few financial worries. He has already earned thousands of dollars from sales of computer programs. Warns the budding technocrat: "And my parents better not touch it!"