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Jon Miller reports from Lima on the latest developments in the hostage crisis there. Local media reported today that the government of President Alberto Fujimori has tentatively decided not to give in to the kidnappers' demands that their imprisoned comrades be released. The leftist rebels who took over the Japanese ambassador's residence during a party Tuesday night are holding some three hundred and seventy-five hostages. They are threatening to kill the hostages if their demands are not met. Among the hostages are senior Peruvian officials and numerous foreign diplomats and businessmen.

From Jerusalem, Laurie Neff reports that the special U.S. Middle East envoy is returning to Washington to report to President Clinton on his two-day mission to the Middle East, where he has been trying to jump start the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. As Palestinian demonstrators in the West Bank clashed with Israeli troops for the ninth straight day, Ross met Yasser Arafat in Morocco and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to urge them to get back to the negotiating table.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that Islam is a potent force throughout much of Africa. In Sierra Leone, more than half of the people are Muslim, and they exist in an atmosphere of tolerance with their Christian compatriots. But Christian evangelists from the United States are preaching a more hardline doctrine that threatens to undermine the traditional good relations between the two religions. This is the first of a series of reports on religion in Africa by NPR.

Last week, the Social Security Advisory Council offered three separate options for reforming the social security system. The 13-member panel could not agree on a single approach for shoring up the nation's main retirement program, so it split into three factions, each with its own proposal. In the first report of a three-part series, NPR's John Ydstie reports on the go-slow approach advocated by council-member, Robert Ball.

In a format-breaking report, John Biewen reports on the controversy over the use of genetically modifed seeds in India. Despite the fact that the failure of a crop can lead to a farmer's suicide, many poor Indian farmers oppose the use of genetically modified seeds which might improve the chances of raising a successful crop. There is fear of the multi-national corporations selling the seeds. Many of the companies have included Indians in their research, development and marketing of the products.

Retailers set sales records as the holiday shopping season gets underway. Discounter Wal-Mart had its biggest one-day sales ever, hawking $1.43 billion of merchandise. Trend analyst Shoppertrak says U.S. retailers report a 12 percent sales increase over last year. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

New incinerators built to destroy U.S. chemical weapons may present a risk for nearby residents, according to a report from the National Research Council. The U.S. Army must eliminate 31,000 tons of chemical agents stored at eight locations. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Norway's parliament today voted to compensate the so-called "German children," the offspring of Nazi soldiers and Norwegian mothers. Between 10,000 to 12,000 children were born of relationships between Norwegian mothers and occupying troops. They were pampered as "super Aryans" during the occupation. But after the war, these children became a living symbol of collaboration and endured a life of hatred, discrimination and abuse. Reporter Gregory Crouch reports from Oslo.

DNA is revolutionizing the criminal justice system by clearing dozens of people who were wrongly convicted. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on two convictions in Ada, Oklahoma. In one case, two men were convicted and twelve years later were exonerated by DNA. In the other case, two men were convicted but there was no DNA to test. As Barbara Bradley reports, DNA not only exonerates the innocent, but shows the flaws in our traditional legal system.

DNA is revolutionizing the criminal justice system by clearing dozens of people who were wrongly convicted. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on two convictions in Ada, Oklahoma. In one case, two men were convicted and twelve years later were exonerated by DNA evidence. In the other case, two men were convicted but there was no DNA to test. As Barbara Bradley reports, DNA not only exonerates the innocent, but shows the flaws in our traditional legal system.