BRAZZAVILLE - The victor of the Congo Republic's civil war, Denis Sassou Nguesso, was poised to enter the capital, but the killing of 17 of his Cobra militia in an ambush underlined security concerns.
MONROVIA - Liberia closed its border with Sierra Leone and said it would strictly limit the use of its territory for military action to reinstate its neighbour's president.
HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks suffered their worst beating ever, ending the Thursday morning session down more than 1,000 points but off the day's low with most brokers cautiously forecasting the worst was over.
DUBAI - Iraq has implemented all U.N. resolutions and will now accept nothing less then the lifting of sanctions imposed on it, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said.
CHISINAU - Leaders of the the Commonwealth of Independent States began a summit amid apparent discord about the future of the loose regional grouping.
PHNOM PENH - Cambodians expressed disbelief and dismay that hated Khmer Rouge guerrilla chief Pol Pot felt no remorse for the death and suffering endured under his disastrous 1975-79 "killing fields" regime.
RANGOON - Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week travelled on her first political trip outside the capital since being released from house arrest two years ago.
ATHENS - Thousands of Greek workers began a 24-hour nationwide strike for better pay which disrupted travel, industry, state banking and government services.
WASHINGTON - President Bill Clinton's plan to fight global warming came under a torrent of criticism from environmentalists, farmers, automakers, the U.S. Congress and foreign allies.
WASHINGTON - Compaq Computer Corp. supplied U.S. government lawyers with documents that allegedly show Microsoft Corp. threatened to withhold its Windows 95 operating system from PC makers if they did not include its Internet software on their computers.
TOKYO - Japanese police said they have arrested three executives of Mitsubishi Motors Corp on suspicion of making illegal payoffs to corporate racketeers.
BOGOTA - The head of Colombia's armed forces said he had been given the go-ahead to use U.S. anti-drug aid to fight the country's Marxist rebels.
BRASILIA - At least 20,000 people have been left homeless after heavy flooding devastated towns and cities in southern Brazil, authorities said.
LONDON - Canadian officials indicated that Commonwealth leaders looked set to give Nigeria another year's breathing space before deciding whether to impose sanctions on it.
LONDON - British Prime Minister Tony Blair was booed when he ventured onto the floor of London's bustling financial futures exchange, but officials insisted the reception he got was just good-natured fun.
