HOSTAGES IN LAND DISPUTE RELEASED

HANOI // More than a dozen police and officials held hostage by Vietnamese villagers in a land dispute were released yesterday, ending a week-long standoff. The rare act of defiance happened in My Duc, a suburban district of the capital, Hanoi. An 82-year-old man was among those detained. Villagers retaliated by taking 38 police officers and officials hostage. Despite strict censorship, flash points occur, with property disputes a key source of tension in a country where all land is technically owned by the state.