Peru
LIMA — The powerful armed forces declared their support for President Alberto Fujimori, ending days of silence over his decision to call new elections and not run again.
Japan
TOKYO — Yamato City is ending friendly ties with the U.S. Navy to protest noisy aircraft-landing exercises at a nearby airfield, a local official said. Local residents lodged more than 550 complaints about noise from nighttime takeoff and landing exercises at Atsugi Naval Air Station near Tokyo.
Iran
TEHRAN — An Iranian appeals court has reduced the sentences of 10 Iranian Jews convicted of spying for Israel, a senior judiciary official said. The court annulled two of the three convictions on which the 10 were found guilty and reduced the prison term from ranges of four to 13 years to terms of two to nine years.
Myanmar
YANGON — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's latest bid to defy government restrictions on her freedom of movement was foiled when she was barred from boarding any trains to visit the northern city of Mandalay.
Philippines
MANILA — A day after two French hostages fled to freedom on a jungle-clad Philippine island, the government held out hope that a military operation now under way could soon free American hostage Jeffrey Schilling.
Russia
MOSCOW — Gunmen seized at least four hostages in a southern town of Lazarevskoye, demanding $30 million or freedom for all ethnic Chechens imprisoned in Russia, officials said.
Spain
MADRID — A town councillor for Spain's ruling party was shot dead in a Barcelona suburb in the latest in a series of attacks blamed on ETA Basque separatist rebels.
India
JAMMU — The government vowed to build a fence along the border in southern Kashmir, a long-thwarted project aimed at stopping infiltration of militants from Pakistan.
China
BEIJING — Chinese judges are expected to hand out a large number of death sentences to officials on trial for a smuggling and kickback scheme called China's biggest corruption scandal, a state-run newspaper reported.
Cambodia
PHNOM PENH — The death toll from floods in Southeast Asia reached 235 as the Red Cross issued a fresh appeal for emergency aid in Cambodia, saying the situation was worse than originally thought.
Israel
JERUSALEM — The United States plans to present a new proposal shortly to help the Palestinians and Israel reach a final peace deal, a senior Palestinian negotiator said.
Ethiopia
GODE — The U.N.'s special envoy to the Horn of Africa visited drought-stricken areas of Ethiopia and said a widespread famine had been averted by a huge international relief operation.
Colombia
BOGOTA — Amid clashes with troops, leftist rebels released twelve of the 43 hostages they seized last weekend along a highway in Colombia.
Mexico
MEXICO CITY — Tropical storm Norman formed in the Pacific, dumping heavy rains on portions of Mexico's southwest coast that left nine dead in flooding and mudslides as it headed toward land.
France
PARIS — Photographer Jean-Louis Sieff, best known for sensual fashion shots in black and white, has died in Paris at age 66, hospital officials said.
Afghanistan
KABUL — The ruling Taliban continued its advance in the north, capturing two towns near the Tajikistan border and pushing opposition forces deeper into the northeast corner of the country.