Up to 60 people are feared dead after an airliner carrying 100 people crashed near a Peruvian jungle town as it was attempting an emergency landing.

A lawyer for a British journalist found guilty of libelling an alleged drugs baron said the court ruling represented a precedent-setting setback for press freedom in Peru.

About 150 followers of a retired army major seized a police station early today in a remote Andean town, demanding the resignation of President Alejandro Toledo. At least seven people were wounded in a shootout during the takeover.