Belfast

In Washington, President Bill Clinton begged visiting politicians from Northern Ireland not to throw away "the chance of a lifetime for peace;" but that hope received a setback with the brutal killing of an inmate in Belfast's Maze prison. The murder of David Keys was widely believed to have been carried out by other loyalist inmates who largely control the wing of the prison where he was housed. A murder last December, by republican inmates, of another loyalist leader held in the Maze, led to tit-for-tat sectarian killings which threatened to derail the peace talks altogether.

Paris

The gains made by the left in regional elections have deeply divided France's mainstream conservative parties over proposals to join forces with the extreme-right National Front. The vote left the national government's coalition of Socialist and leftist parties poised to control 12 of France's 22 regional councils--up from just two previously. Despite orders by conservative leaders to continue treating the National Front as pariahs, some regional conservatives accepted alliances with the Front to keep out the left. Jean-Francois Mancel, former secretary-general of President Jacques Chirac's neo-Gaullist party, was expelled for urging deals with the Front.

Pristina

Envoys from the U.S., France, Germany and Russia descended on Kosovo and Belgrade hoping to ease tensions and push for talks between separatist Albanians and the forces of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. But they failed to agree on an approach to solve the crisis. Milosevic offered talks without preconditions, hinted at autonomy for the province and agreed to withdraw special Serb police units, but the U.S. and local Albanians said the offers were bogus and that the continuing presence of Serbian forces in the province made meaningful talks impossible. Sporadic violence between the forces and demonstrators left one dead. Underground elections for the ethnic Albanians' shadow government were scheduled for Sunday; current "president" Ibrahim Rugova looked set to win, but the militant Kosovo Liberation Army called for a boycott.

Riga

Several hundred veterans of the so-called Latvian Legion--locals who fought alongside Nazi troops in WW II against Soviet forces--staged a very public reunion on their unit's 55th anniversary. As they sang songs from their fighting days, the SS volunteers claimed that resisting the Soviets had been their patriotic duty. Some 100,000 Latvians belonged to the Legion and historians remain divided on their role: some believe they volunteered to bolster the Nazis, others say they were conscripted by force. Nonetheless, thousands of outraged Latvians condemned the rally as a shameful insult to Hitler's victims.

Moscow

Boris Yeltsin's continuing ill health led to the cancellation of a summit of former Soviet states--and the first signs that some of his staunchest admirers now view him as irrelevant. One came from Boris Berezovsky, the financier-politician who had been quietly urging a third Yeltsin presidential term. Writing in a Berezovsky-owned newspaper last week, two journalists known to represent his views portrayed hopes of a third term as remote. Presidential elections cost big money, they noted, but "for investors the risk of putting money into this President is very high."

Afyon

After a rare trial of policemen for human rights abuses, a Turkish court found five of 11 accused guilty of beating leftist journalist Metin Goktepe to death. They were sentenced to seven years. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz's faltering minority coalition is under increasing pressure from the military to crack down harder on Islamist activities, particularly the wearing of veils in universities and other government institutions. Yilmez has so far refused to bow to the generals, saying that the ban on headscarves in schools is unconstitutional."

Jerusalem

Hoping to move the Arab-Israeli peace process forward, British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook instead became the focus of a diplomatic contretemps. Israeli authorities had agreed to let Cook, visiting Jerusalem on behalf of the European Union, make a trip to Har Homa--a controversial Jewish settlement in traditionally Arab East Jerusalem--on condition he have an Israeli, rather than his intended Palestinian, escort. Cook acquiesced but once at the site held a brief, separate meeting with a Palestinian official. In retaliation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a dinner for Cook.

Maputo

Last week an embarrassed South African government announced that Robert McBride, a Foreign Ministry official held in the Mozambique capital on allegations of gun-running, had been suspended from his post. As a young African National Congress militant in the 1980s, McBride was sentenced to death--later commuted to life imprisonment--for his part in bomb blasts which killed three people. Released in a 1992 amnesty, McBride later became director of the Department of Foreign Affairs' Asia desk. The Mozambicans gave no details of the possible charges involved, leading to speculation that he was involved in activities ranging from gun-running to a plot to overthrow the government of Nelson Mandela.

Kampala

President Yoweri Museveni publicly apologized to northern Ugandans for failing to protect them against attacks by a bandit army made up of child-soldiers. The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, backed by the Sudanese government, has kidnapped thousands of children, mostly from the Acholi tribe, to use as fighters and sex slaves. Museveni has now taken personal control over the operation in the north and promises to protect the compounds where Acholis have taken refuge.

My Lai

On the 30th anniversary of the murder of 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians by U.S. soldiers, two Americans who tried to stop the massacre returned to the village to take part in memorial services. Lawrence Colburn and Hugh Thompson, along with the late Glenn Andreotta, were recently awarded the Soldier's Medal--given for bravery not involving conflict with enemy forces--for landing their helicopter in the middle of My Lai, shielding fleeing villagers and calling in gunships. More than 1,000 people, including former American and Vietnamese soldiers, listened to speeches and attended the groundbreaking of a peace park.

Beijing

Endorsed by China's National People's Congress as the country's new Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji gave a riveting performance in a nationally televised press conference, vowing to keep economic growth at 8% despite the financial troubles in Asia. He assumed control from Li Peng, who had served 10 years in the post. As head of China's cabinet serving under President Jiang Zemin, Zhu faces the immediate task of steering China's burgeoning population through its precarious passage of economic reform. The N.P.C. also approved the rest of the new cabinet, including Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan, who is credited with restoring China's image overseas after the Tiananmen Square incident.

Manila

Two months before presidential elections in the Philippines, President Fidel Ramos ordered an investigation into the conduct of former film star and Vice President Joseph Estrada--the leading candidate to succeed him. Estrada is accused by a former aide, Colonel Reynaldo Berroya, of conspiring to assassinate Ramos. The Vice President denied the allegation and questioned its timing. Ramos had already launched a separate inquiry into reports that the wife of one of Estrada's top associates was involved in a multi-million dollar scam that would allegedly have produced cash to be used to fund his campaign.

Lima

A scandal over allegations of government wiretapping escalated when Vlademiro Montesinos--the de facto head of Peru's secret police who is said to be the country's second most powerful man--was accused of personally coordinating a campaign of spying and intimidation. Former intelligence officer Luisa Zanatta, who fled to Miami last December, alleges that the secret police were responsible for several assassinations, including the murder of a fellow intelligence officer for leaking information to the press, as well as planning to murder a leading television journalist and critic of President Alberto Fujimori. Montesinos maintained his usual low profile by making no comment. The President voiced support for an investigation, although the congresswoman leading the wiretap inquiry has publicly aired her doubts about Zanatta's claims. Despite the grave charges, few think Fujimori will fall.