Russia
MOSCOW - President Boris Yeltsin told lawmakers during a speech opening the fall session of the upper house of parliament that the government plans to expand its role in the economy.
Yugoslavia
BELGRADE - Slobodan Milosevic's party failed to win a majority in Serbia's Parliament for the first time in a decade, and his chosen successor as president must face a runoff, final election results confirmed.
Nigeria
LAGOS - The death toll has risen to at least 30 after three days of renewed fighting between communities in the southwest town of Ife, local newspapers reported.
Cambodia
PHNOM PENH - Government forces have re-taken territory in the west of the country from renegade Khmer Rouge guerrillas loyal to deposed premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh, officials said.
England
LONDON - People who eat more than five ounces of red meat a day should cut back their consumption to reduce the risk of bowel cancer, the British government said.
India
NEW DELHI - Fishermen rescued 26 teenagers who were earlier feared drowned after an overcrowded boat capsized in a swollen river in northern India, the United News of India said.
Slovenia
LJUBLJANA - Parliament elected Boris Frlec, a member of Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek's center-left Liberal Democrats, as foreign minister.
Tajikistan
DUSHANBE - A bomb blast ripped through the offices of the state news agency here, damaging the roof and blowing out windows, witnesses said. There were no casualties.
Pakistan
LAHORE - Gunmen killed three policemen in Bahawalpur town in the central province of Punjab, police said.
Mongolia
ULAN BATOR - Three universities bowed to student protesters and cut tuition and lodging fees after the country's prime minister intervened.
Jordan
AMMAN - Two men attacked the political head of the militant Islamic group Hamas, sources said. Khaled Meshal was not injured in the attack.
Lebanon
BEIRUT - The army commander, dismissing warnings that Israeli troops would retaliate if fired upon by Lebanese forces, vowed to go on fighting the Jewish state's occupation of south Lebanon.
Afghanistan
KABUL - Taliban authorities have ordered all private hospitals in Kabul to close as part of a plan to return the country's health sector to its pre-communist form, the movement's health minister said.
Vietnam
HANOI - Typhoon Fritz slammed into the central coast Thursday morning, bringing torrential rain and winds of up to 62 mph, disaster relief officials said.
Mexico
MEXICO CITY - Amnesty International expressed worry over a growing number of reported attacks against Mexican journalists, a trend it said signals a decline in human rights for Mexicans overall.
Uganda
KAMPALA - Raiders attacked a town in western Uganda, killing about a dozen civilians and wounding six others in an assault without clear motivation.