Around the World Soldiers nd body of Russian general MOSCOW - Russian forces in Chechnya said they had found and retrieved the body of a top general from the rubble of a collapsed building yesterday, six days after he went missing during fierce street battles in the capital of the rebel republic. The disappearance of Gen. Mikhail Malofeyev last Tuesday and the military command's inability to confirm whether he was dead or captured had become a vivid illustration of how Russia has lost the upper hand in its war to regain control of the separatist territory. In recent days, fighting has intensified throughout the capital, Grozny, as Russians and Chechens have battled block by block and building by building. Each side has repeatedly claimed control of various districts or sites, and the contradictory reports have created strong suspicions that neither side is making significant gains or telling the truth. Although the Russians continue to rely heavily on their superior firepower - using aerial bombardments and long-range artillery - they are increasingly being drawn into the kind of close, bloody street combat that they fear and at which the Chechens excel. U.S. to develop geothermal energy ZAGREB, Croatia - Voters are hoping to complete Croatia's quiet revolution today with the choice of a new president from three front-runners with one promise in common: Whoever wins must surrender much of his power. The election is to replace Franjo Tudjman, who died of cancer Dec. 10. Opinion polls published over the weekend showed a centrist, former Yugoslav President Stipe Mesic, in the lead, with social democrat Drazen Budisa running second and Mate Granic, Tudjman's foreign minister, in third place. Originally on page 2A in the 1-24-2000 issue of the Daily.