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Confusion surrounds reports that Sunni militants have taken more than 100 Shiite hostages in Madaen, south of Baghdad. Searches by Iraqi forces found no evidence of kidnappings. The kidnapping reports -- carried on Iraqi television -- highlight how quickly rumors spread in a country plagued by daily violence and sectarian tensions.

The writer W. Somerset Maugham plays a central role Tan Twan Eng's entrancing new novel that encompasses at-the-time risky interracial and homosexual love stories and a scandalous murder trial.

In Sri Lanka, it's not only buildings and infrastructure that need to be put back together after the tsunami. The disaster created massive psychological damage, including nightmares and fears of returning home. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

The number of attacks in Iraq rises and falls, but that is just one way to try to measure progress in the war. Other factors are harder to quantify. One is the way Iraqis view the American troops who still patrol their cities. Philip Reeves spent a day with an American platoon in and around the northern city of Mosul.

There have been new attacks in Baghdad. Insurgents fired half a dozen mortar rounds and reportedly killed one person, hit by a round that landed near a mobile phone office. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

Margaret Hassan, the British aid worker abducted by insurgents in Baghdad last month, may have been put to death by her captors. The Al-Jazeera television network said it received a videotape of a woman, presumed to be Hassan, being shot. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

Dozens of Arabic language interpreters working with U.S. forces in Iraq have been killed over the course of the war. NPR's Philip Reeves profiles one translator who feels like a constant target.

Pressure increases on the Nepal's King Gyanendra to give up absolute power, which he seized last month by sacking his government. Protest organizers say Gyanendra is arresting and detaining hundreds of opposition demonstrators.

Beginning Jan. 1, World Trade Organization quotas restricting the amount of textiles North America and Europe can buy from any individual country will be lifted. India is expected to emerge a winner from the shakeup, but analysts say the effects could be devastating for Bangladesh. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

American forces have been combating insurgents this past week in Fallujah, Mosul and other hotspots around the country. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.