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Authorities in Iraq announce that an arrest warrant has been issued for Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in connection with the murder of a rival cleric last spring. Attacks by Sadr's followers left at least eight coalition soldiers dead in Najaf and Baghdad Sunday. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves, NPR's Michele Norris and professor Juan Cole of the University of Michigan.

The U.S. military concedes disappointment with the performance of some U.S.-trained Iraqi units in the wake of widespread attacks by both Sunni and Shiite Muslim insurgents. Chief U.S. administrator Paul Bremer acknowledges that the Iraqi army and civil defense force will not be in a position to control the country when the U.S. hands over sovereignty to an interim government at the end of June. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

Amid fighting in several Iraqi cities, an increasing number of foreigners are missing or held hostage by insurgents. Meanwhile, Vice President Cheney goes to Japan as a crisis builds over threats to kill three Japanese who are captive in Iraq. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves and NPR's Rob Gifford.

On Friday, the mother of the youngest of three Japanese hostages being held in Iraq appealed to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to withdraw Japanese troops. But Koizumi says he has no intention of withdrawing the troops, and pledges that Japan will do its utmost to rescue the hostages. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Tokyo.

U.S. Marines besiege the Iraqi town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, where crowds mutilated the bodies of four American civilians killed in a roadside attack last Wednesday. The Marines are preparing a new offensive in Fallujah to root out those responsible for the killings. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Eric Niiler of member station KPBS in San Diego.

Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's chief national security adviser, will appear Thursday before the Sept. 11 commission. Rice will testify under oath for the first time. She met privately with panel members in February. This appearance follows questions raised by others who have testified before the commission. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vows to maintain his country's participation in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, despite the execution of an Italian hostage by Iraqi militants. The militants are threatening to kill three other Italian hostages seized this week if Italian troops aren't withdrawn. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry criticizes the stay-the-course strategy President George Bush reiterated in his White House news conference Tuesday night. Kerry, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, said at a news conference in New York that the president has been too inflexible in his plans and has alienated U.S. allies. NPR's David Welna reports.

U.S. Marines in Fallujah have discovered weapons, documents and tapes that suggest non-Iraqi Arabs have played a substantive role in the anti-U.S. insurgency in Fallujah. Letters suggest many of the foreign fighters are Sunni Muslims who came to fight the Shiite majority. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and KPBS reporter Eric Niiler in Fallujah.

Negotiations continue to end the fighting between U.S. Marines and insurgents in Fallujah. U.S. forces have besieged the Sunni stronghold after the killing and mutilation of four U.S. security contractors there last month. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Washington Post correspondent Karl Vick.