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The U.N. Security Council is expected to approve a resolution that would end more than a decade of sanctions against Iraq, after France and Russia announce their support. The resolution would also allow the United States and Britain to run the country and use oil profits to fund reconstruction until a new government is established. Hear NPR's Vicky O'Hara.

The Pentagon says security in Iraq is improving, despite this week's attacks on U.S. troops that left four soldiers dead. But defense officials say U.S. commanders are concerned the small-scale attacks on U.S. forces could grow and are investigating whether the incidents could be an early indication of guerrilla activity. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

U.S. efforts to enlist security help from allies in postwar Iraq are met with frustration. Turkey, Pakistan and India have said no, citing the need for a new U.N. resolution on the governance of Iraq. But even if the Security Council does pass such a resolution, those nations have grave reservations about sending forces to Iraq. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

The Army orders some 20,000 military reservists to extend their tours of duty in Iraq to a full year -- months longer than expected. The change requires a juggling act from employers back home, who are filling reservists' civilian jobs while they're away. NPR's Michele Norris talks with retired Lt. Col. Courtney Wheeler, an ombudsman for the Employer Support Group for the Guard and Reserve.

Leaders of Iraq's Shiite majority criticize U.S.-led forces for what it sees as inefficient security at its holy sites. In an effort to step up security, Shiite militias are expanding their role in policing, establishing checkpoints and patrols, but U.S. forces demand they disband by today. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

Violence mars the beginning of the World Trade Organization talks in Cancun, Mexico, Wednesday when a Korean protester stabs himself in the heart, dying moments later. The otherwise peaceful protests have brought together an array of people lined up against the WTO, from farmers to anarchists to animal rights activists. Hear NPR's Gerry Hadden.

In Geneva, Switzerland, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council discuss a U.S.-backed resolution which would give the U.N. a larger role in post-war Iraq. NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Robert Kagan, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about the resolution's prospects.

Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to discuss improving security within Iraq. The meeting comes two days after an explosion at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad killed more than 20 people, including the top U.N. envoy in Iraq. Hear retired Gen. William Nash and Nancy Soderberg, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt receives a warm welcome from members of a Senate panel considering his nomination to head the EPA. But the hearing takes a partisan turn, as Democrats use the occasion to bash the Bush administration's environmental record. The panel is expected to confirm Leavitt next week. Hear NPR's David Welna.

A suicide car bomber struck a U.S. intelligence safe house in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil Tuesday, killing at least three people and wounding about 50 others, including several Americans. Until now, the Kurdish-controlled city had been largely peaceful. Hear NPR's Emily Harris.