Jury convicts former CIA man

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal jury convicted a former senior CIA official, Clair E George, yesterday on two counts of lying to Congress about the Iran-Contra affair but acquitted him on three other charges of lying.

George's trial gave some idea of the CIA's operations as Oliver North's secret arms programme for the Nicaraguan Contras unravelled in late 1986. It was the second trial on George's role in the Iran- Contra affair. The first ended in a mistrial.

George, 62, was accused of lying to Congress in late 1986 about his knowledge of key players in the Reagan administration's arms-for- hostages deals with Iran and the military resupply of the Contra rebels when official lethal aid was banned.