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Jon Miller reports from Lima on the hostage crisis in Peru, following last night's dramatic release of two hundred and twenty-five hostages. The leftist rebels holed up in the Japanese ambassador's residence are still holding some one hundred and forty people, including senior Peruvian government officials and foreign diplomats. The guerrillas are still demanding the release of jailed comrades, and the Peruvian government is still insisting it will not free anyone. Miller talks to a Canadian released last night and learns about conditions inside the residence.

Daisann (day-ZANN) McLane reports on last week's annual Carnival in Port Au Prince, Haiti. In 1990, the group Boukman Eksperyans (BOOK-mahn ex-pair-YANS) first brought overt politics into the music of the annual street party known as Carnival. Now politics are an expected part of music at Carnival. The most notable political song this year was the group Koudjae's (KOO-jai) dig at the democratically elected government. But the most appealing song was by a group of Haitian American teenagers calling themselves King Posse. (6:00) ((ST

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports that a decision regarding control of the northern Bosnian town of Brcko (BURCH-koh) is due in the morning. Whether the town remains under Bosnian Serb control or reverts to the Muslim Croat Federation is an extremely sticky question. Each side has threatened to go to war again if the decision is not in its favor. The town sits astride a narrow corridor of land that is strategically important for both entities. The Bosnian Serbs want the town to maintain the link between their east and west entities. The Muslim-Croat Federation wants the town to open up the north-south trade with the rest of Europe.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports that President Bill Clinton announced today that he will sign the welfare reform bill resulting from a compromise between the House and Senate. One of the President's campaign promises was to "end welfare as we know it" but he vetoed other welfare legislation passed by the Congress. There was great political pressure on the President coming from both sides on this legislation. If he vetoed it, the Republicans would charge that he reneged on his campaign promise, but many advocates for the poor and for children charged that this legislation would hurt poor children.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that leaders of the Opposition movement in Serbia have come to the United States asking for help in achieving democratic reform there. Three months of protest this past winter in the Serbian capital of Belgrade failed to dislodge Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Those protests began in November after the Milosevic government annulled results that gave Opposition parties victories in some municipal elections. In late February, Milosevic acknowledged the victories and the street protests stopped. But the Opposition leaders say that since then, Milosevic is returning to his old ways -- even refusing to meet with them.

NPR's Edward Lifson reports from Brussels on the appointment today of a panel to adjudicate an argument between the United States and the European Union. The argument centers on the Helms-Burton law, which is aimed at stopping non-U.S. firms from doing business with Cuba. Nearly all of the 130-countries belonging to the World Trade Organization argue that the law violates open-trade rules and extends U.S. judicial reach beyond its national territory. The U.S. claims the law is a matter of national security and not a trade matter.

N-P-R's Jennifer Ludden reports from Kinshasa that Zaire's six-month-old civil war is likely to continue. President Mobutu Sese Seko [moh-BOO-too seh-say SAY-koh] refuses to resign while rebels prepare to attack the capital. Despite the President's resolve, he has little real power, and the rebels may soon unseat him. They control almost half the country, and the remnants of Mobutu's army guarding Kinshasa will probably not offer much resistance.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports that the Democratic National Committee announced today that it would no longer accept certain campaign contributions, after widespread criticism about foreign contributions it accepted last year and its practice of rewarding donors with access to the White House. The party's new leaders, Colorado Gov. Roy Romer and Massachusetts businessman Steve Grossman, said the Democrats would not accept donations in excess of $100,000 or from subsidiaries of foreign-owned corporations, even if operating in the United States. Donations would also not be allowed by foreign nationals with permanent resident status. President Clinton addressed the Democratic meeting, also calling for campaign finance reform.

NPR's David Welna reports from Mexico City that another Mexican general has been arrested for allegedly working with a drug cartel. This comes just a month after the army general who'd been Mexico's drug czar was sent to prison on similar charges. In the latest case, the general is charged with offering a million-dollar bribe to an anti-drug official to turn a blind eye to the activities of the main cartel in Tijuana. This latest scandal comes as the Senate is set to decide whet her to overturn President Clinton's certification of Mexico as cooperating in the drug war.

NPR's Michael Skoler reports from Kinshasa that Zaire's new prime minister said today that peace talks with rebel forces scheduled to begin in South Africa this weekend are unnecessary, because he did not appoint the government team. Etienne Tshisekedi's remarks heightened questions about what can be achieved at the South Africa talks. Tshisekedi also offered six cabinet posts to the rebels, and said he is dissolving parliament. Rebel officials spurned the offer to join his government, saying Tshisekedi serves President Mobutu Sese Seko, and their goal remains Mobutu's ouster.