Peruvian congress elects new president

The opposition in Peru has elected one of its own politicians to lead congress, further weakening president Alberto Fujimori's hold on power.

Valentin Paniagua, of the Popular Action party, is the first opposition figure to head congress since Mr Fujimori took control of the parliament and the courts eight years ago.

The BBC correspondent in Lima says the change comes at a time of tremendous instability in Peru, which has been compounded by the absence of Mr Fujimori, who's been attending the Asia-Pacific summit in Brunei.

Stopping off in Japan on his way home, President Fujimori refused to comment on reports that he would be seeking political asylum there. Mr Fujimori's ability to govern has increasingly been questioned since his intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, was caught up in a bribery scandal.

He has called early elections and offered to step down next July.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service