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NPR's Madeleine Brand talks to Edmund Sanders of The Los Angeles Times about the tentative peace agreement between U.S. forces and the followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in the holy Shiite Muslim city of Najaf.

France, Russia, Germany and China call for major revisions to the draft resolution on the future of Iraq currently before the U.N. Security Council. The nations want the resolution to include a clear timetable for withdrawing international troops from Iraq and to give the Iraqi interim government total control over security. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Vicky O'Hara.

NPR's Alex Chadwick chats with Slate contributor Fred Kaplan about President Bush's Monday night speech laying out the U.S. strategy in Iraq. Kaplan believes that this effort came late, but that many of the president's ideas represented a step forward.

As the Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to recover from a five-year civil war, one priority is restoring a vital rail link in the central African nation's interior. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

President Bush says George Tenet has resigned as CIA director for "personal reasons" and will leave the spy agency next month. Tenet has been under intense fire for intelligence failures in Iraq. His deputy will lead the agency temporarily until a successor is found. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

U.S.-led special operations troops in Iraq free four Western hostages who had been kidnapped in April. Although few details were available about the operation, a security source said three Italians and a Pole were released in a raid 11 miles south of Baghdad. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said a number of men were captured during the raid. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Emily Harris.

Authorities now say that all the missing from the collapse in Changsha had been accounted for, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The U.S. military suspends offensive operations in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf. The move is part of a deal, brokered by Shiite leaders, to have insurgent cleric Muqtada al-Sadr withdraw his militia from the besieged city. Sadr's fighters have suffered heavy casualties in recent clashes with U.S. forces. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Attorney General John Ashcroft says the United States is in danger of being "hit hard" by the al Qaeda terrorist organization, noting intelligence suggesting a looming attack. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller drew new attention to photos of seven suspected al Qaeda operatives at a news conference prompted by what Ashcroft called "a clear and present danger." NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

A day-long hostage standoff in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, ends as government commandos storm a resort building, freeing dozens of hostages and leaving several dead, including an American. Gunmen had taken between 45 and 60 hostages during attacks in the heart of the kingdom's oil region Saturday. An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Thomas Lippman of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.