MADRID

For their part in the 1983 kidnapping of a French Basque businessman mistaken for a terrorist from the Basque separatist movement E.T.A., two former Spanish government officials face sentences of 13 years in prison. Former Socialist Interior Minister Jose Barrionuevo and Rafael Vera, the ex-Secretary of State for Security, are alleged to have been members of the shadowy Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups that conducted a "dirty war" campaign against E.T.A., allegedly with state support. Ten other former senior officials have also been convicted and face sentences. Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, who was called as a defense witness, denied that his government had approved or ordered any acts of state terrorism.

LONDON

The U.S. and Britain may agree to allow the trial of two Libyans accused of the l988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 to be held in the Netherlands under Scottish law, rather than in the U.S. or Scotland as the two governments previously insisted. Libya has said the suspects, accused of killing 270 people in an explosion over Lockerbie in Scotland, must stand trial in a "neutral" country. The U.N. imposed sanctions on Libya in l992 for refusing to hand over the men. Although British families of victims mostly welcomed the announcement, many American families expressed reservations. The White House, however, says the negotiations are still in a preliminary stage.

THE HAGUE

When two suspected Bosnian war criminals were flown into the Hague July 23, the British Ministry of Defense proudly announced that "British SFOR (NATO's Stabilization Force) troops are to be congratulated on this latest action in Prijedor." Unfortunately, the troops arrested the wrong men. The soldiers sought Bosnian Serb twins Predag and Nenad Banovic, suspected of torturing prisoners at the Keraterm prison camp in 1992. When the war crimes tribunal began questioning the men, who, like the wanted Banovic brothers, are also 29-year-old twins, it discovered the mistake and released them.

ABUJA

Nigeria's new military ruler, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, has promised to step aside for an elected leader by next May. Nigerians are encouraged, but skeptical--the military has pledged to relinquish power eight times in the past 22 years, but has kept only one of those promises. General Abubakar rose to power after his predecessor, General Sani Abacha, died of a heart attack on June 8. The late leader had promised a transition to civilian rule by Oct. 1, and the new military ruler has extended that deadline. But Abubakar has tried to prove that he is sincere about reform by disbanding the old, discredited electoral commission and by releasing political prisoners jailed by the late General Abacha.

ASMARA

Eritrea and Ethiopia--two nations that seemed headed for peace and prosperity--have been buying large amounts of weapons, apparently for use against each other in a full-scale war that could destabilize the region and put a heavy burden on their fragile economies. Washington ordered a suspension of U.S. arms shipments to the two countries, but former East bloc nations such as Bulgaria and Ukraine, as well as China, have been eager to sell. Fighting broke out in May when Eritrean troops invaded a small rocky territory claimed by Ethiopia.

GROZNY

Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded in a parked car as his motorcade passed, killing his top bodyguard and wounding six others. Maskhadov, who sustained minor injuries, said it was the fourth attempt on his life. The incident increased tensions in Chechnya, where Maskhadov has struggled to restore order in the wake of the 1994-96 war between the Russian government and Chechen rebels.

TEHRAN

Iran's moderate President Mohammad Khatami suffered a political blow when Iranian courts convicted the Tehran mayor--a key supporter--of embezzlement. The long-serving mayor, Gholam-Hossein Karbaschi, was sentenced to five years in prison and was barred from office until 2018. A sentence of 60 lashes was suspended out of regard for his social standing, the court said. Khatami's supporters say the real target of the trial was the President and his campaign to liberalize Iranian society 20 years after the country's Islamic revolution. In another victory for hard-liners, a court ordered the pro-reform newspaper Jameeah to cease publication.

KABUL

Thirty-eight foreign aid groups left the Afghan capital Kabul after refusing to obey a decree by the Taliban government ordering them to move to abandoned university dormitories on the city's outskirts. The groups--including Doctors Without Borders, Care International and Oxfam--protested that the new location would leave them vulnerable to the violence that has plagued the country since it dissolved into war between Islamic factions in 1992. The ultra-conservative Taliban group, which controls about 85% of the country, has closed schools for girls and forced women out of work. Many women, like the tens of thousands of people maimed during the war, are dependent on foreign aid.

PHNOM PENH

Though hundreds of foreign election observers were invited to watch over Cambodia's weekend vote, they did little to settle fears the process would be rife with violence and fraud. Leading candidates--strongman Hun Sen and opposition rivals Prince Norodom Ranariddh and former Finance Minister Sam Rainsy--paraded supporters through the nation's capital in what amounted to a show of force. Citizens rushed to stock up on food in anticipation of possible unrest. Reports of politically motivated kidnappings and shootings prompted the U.S. to withdraw financial support during the campaign. It was feared that Hun Sen--who ousted co-Prime Minister Ranariddh in a bloody coup last year--will not accept defeat.

DHAKA

Monsoon rains in Bangladesh have begun to abate, bringing hope that floods will soon recede. The floods have brought the unofficial death toll above 140 and stranded 8 million in areas surrounding the capital. The government has dispatched some 17,000 doctors and paramedics to treat waterborne diseases in nearly half the country's 64 districts. High water has damaged thousands of acres of crops, breaching embankments, roads and railways. Dhaka, girded by the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers, is especially vulnerable to life-threatening natural disasters. Soldiers have been put on alert for relief and rescue work as more rivers overflow during torrential rains. In northern Mymensingh district, a boat sank in the flooded Kangsha River. Twenty passengers managed to swim ashore, but another 30 are presumed drowned.

BEIJING

The People's Liberation Army will have to get out of the smuggling business, Chinese President Jiang Zemin announced. The P.L.A., deeming the outbreak of a major war unlikely, has increasingly turned its attention to the economic battlefront. It operates a lucrative business empire that includes hotels, factories, karaoke bars and smuggling rings, which cost China more than $12 billion in losses a year. Everything from cars to cigarettes to automobiles to petroleum sneaks across the country's borders. Leaders in Beijing have failed repeatedly in their efforts to crack down on the P.L.A.'s smuggling operations. To show that he is serious this time, Jiang has announced the establishment of a new anti-smuggling national police force.

GREENSBORO

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency was wrong to declare that secondhand tobacco smoke helps cause cancer. The decision could threaten hundreds of local ordinances banning indoor smoking. The EPA report, issued in 1993, called secondhand smoke a Class A carcinogen responsible for 3,000 deaths from lung cancer each year. Tobacco companies demanded that the report be withdrawn, and now U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Osteen of the Middle District of North Carolina has sided with the industry. The EPA says it will appeal.

BUENOS AIRES

Argentine President Carlos Menem--to the relief of many of his citizens--abandoned his quest for a third term. His "re-re-election" campaign, as it was called, had the opposition threatening civil disobedience and nearly opened a rift in his party. In 1994, Menem managed to change the constitution to allow him a second term. A third term would require another change. His announcement throws the election open. Opinion polls favor the Alianza coalition of the opposition Radical and Frepaso parties.