One of three American hostages held by Moslem gunmen in the Philippines has reportedly been wounded in a clash between the kidnappers and government troops.

5-month-old Israeli baby is in very serious condition after being hit by a rock following a new outbreak of violence in the Middle East late Tuesday. According to the Israeli military, the baby was hit when Palestinians pelted a car with rocks that was traveling north of Ramallah near the Jewish settlement of Shilo Junction in the West Bank.

The pilot of the doomed Air France Concorde that crashed just outside Paris insisted that the thrust reverser on one of the plane’s engines be changed before takeoff, the airline said today. The part was changed, Air France said in a statement. The thrust reverser was on engine number two, the engine suspected of blowing and causing the crash. “There was work done on the plane just before the flight and there was a flight delay. It was work on an engine,” said Francois Brousse, vice president of Air France corporate communications.

Four separate Brazilian exhibitions are displaying the beautiful and most representative images depicting the South American giant's contemporary art panorama. The four shows are included in the La Mar de Músicas Art Festival. The first show is made up of a careful selection of portraits by Marta Sentís. The second exhibition features the works Mario Cravo Neto. The third show displays Sebastião Salgado's powerful images. Finally, the fourth exhibit is made up of the works of five young Brazilian artists coming from the Bahia area. The exhibtions run through different dates in the month of September, 2000.

An Air France Concorde jet crashed after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris today, killing all 109 on board, the French Interior Ministry confirmed. The plane was en route from Paris to the New York area when it went down, hitting a hotel and restaurant which firefighters said were on fire after the crash. It was the first crash involving one of the supersonic jets. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries at the hotel, the 72-room Relais Bleu, or the nearby restaurant. The plane had been chartered by a German tour company, Air France said, and the passengers were on their way to New York to join a cruise ship.