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As the Ganges River's journey nears an end, it passes through Calcutta, one of India's great cities. Renowned for its slums, militancy and red tape, Calcutta is changing, as it remakes itself into an IT hub. But the change has met with resistance.

In the third of a five-part series on the Ganges, Philip Reeves visits Varanasi, one of the holiest cities in Hinduism, where religion and domestic life coexist. Then he travels to crime-plagued Bihar, one of India's poorest states.

India has overtaken Japan as home to the most billionaires in Asia. Yet it also has the world's largest population of hungry people, as one reporter's continuing journey down the Ganges River reveals.

In Sri Lanka, government forces say they've won crucial victories, allowing them to cut off the rebel Tamil Tigers' supply line and secure terrain used to shell a naval base. But for 40,000 Tamil refugees displaced by civil war and a tsunami, the question is when — and how — they'll be able to return home.

Iraq's interim government seeks to stem the rampant lawlessness that has plagued Baghdad since the fall of Saddam Hussein more than a year ago. A raid that began Monday night has netted more than 500 suspected criminals. But that may not be enough to stop the wave of kidnappings for ransom that have swept the capital. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Police fire on protesters in Katmandu, capital of Nepal. The demonstrators violated a curfew and marched on the palace of King Gyanendra. For many protesters, the king's vow to move to a multiparty government is not enough.

Sri Lankans vote Thursday in a close presidential race. The election comes as the country grapples with a range of problems, including the distribution of tsunami aid. But political analysts say at heart, it's referendum on the peace process in an ongoing ethnic conflict.

Under intense security, President Bush arrives in Pakistan, where he is greeted with violent protests. Bush will meet with President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday. The newly announced nuclear agreement with Pakistan's neighbor, India, could affect Musharraf's cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

A series of explosions Saturday in the Indian capital, New Delhi, left about 50 people dead. Bombs went off at three marketplaces in the city. The bazaars were crowded with shoppers preparing for major Hindu and Muslim holidays.

This weekend, Pakistan raised its estimated death toll from last week's earthquake to nearly 40,000, with more than 60,000 injured. A severe shortage of tents is hampering rescue and relief operations in the mountains there, where's it's been raining. There is a serious risk more people will now die for lack of shelter.