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The United States plans to reduce the size of its military force in South Korea by a third. The U.S. plan to cut troop levels will be enacted by the end of 2005, when enhanced technology is expected to play a role in securing the Korean Peninsula. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

For 9 months, teen girls have been pretty much unable to go to school. Protests have been shut down. Now clerics — including some affiliated with the Taliban – are urging an end to the school ban.

President Bush urges the use of NATO troops in Iraq after the transfer of power to the country's interim government. Bush made his remarks during Group of 8 meetings being held at Sea Island, Ga., which bring together the leaders of wealthy industrial nations. French President Jacques Chirac objected to the proposal. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea and NPR's Robert Siegel.

Ghazi al-Yawer, the Sunni head of the Iraqi Governing Council, is named Iraq's interim president, ending a deadlock over the composition of the interim government. The Iraqi Governing Council immediately dissolves, handing its responsibilities over to the interim government ahead of the June 30 transfer of sovereignty. Meanwhile, an explosion rips through the Kurdish party headquarters in Baghdad, killing several people. Hear NPR's Emily Harris.

A controversial federal ban on a type of abortion procedure has been struck down by a federal judge in San Francisco. The "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act," signed into law by President Bush last November, was declared to be unconstitutional and an infringement on a woman's right to choose. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Richard Gonzales.

At least 17 Iraqis die and more than 40 are injured in a bombing in Hilla, 60 miles south of Baghdad. And three Turks are the latest victims of insurgent attacks on foreign civilians in Iraq. The Arab TV network Al-Jazeera reports that a suspected militant group is threatening to behead the captives within 72 hours unless Turkey ends support for U.S.-led operations in Iraq. NPR News reports.

Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Africa next week to examine the situation in the Darfur region in Western Sudan, where government-backed militias are accused of carrying out rape, murder and forced evacuations against black farming communities. U.S. officials say they are investigating whether the situation amounts to genocide, but a growing number of lawmakers say the case is already clear. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.

Saudi Arabian authorities are searching for three men accused of staging an attack on a compound that houses major Western oil firms. The Saudis say the men are suspected to have links to al Qaeda. Twenty-two people died during the two-day siege in Khobar, which ended when Saudi security forces stormed the building and freed several dozen hostages. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Rashid Hussein, Saudi correspondent for the Pakistani newspaper, The Dawn.

Preliminary hearings in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal begin in Baghdad with a bombshell allegation: A witness testifies that a U.S. colonel in military intelligence helped to cover up the beating death of a detainee. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Jackie Spinner of The Washington Post.

President Bush hosts a summit of the Group of Eight nations in Sea Island, Ga., this week. Though trade and economic issues are on the agenda, Iraq is expected to dominate the discussions. President Bush is trying to win support from world leaders for a U.N. resolution on the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Don Gonyea.