NPR World News

Violence has exploded in Mexico's northeastern border cities, just across the Rio Grande from South Texas, as two drug mafias engage in a vicious new fight for turf. Gunfights have killed dozens of people, and communities up and down the river fear it's just the beginning.

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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has rejected international calls for the Chinese currency to appreciate. Many American economists and members of Congress complain that an undervalued currency gives Chinese exports an unfair advantage and makes other countries' exports relatively more expensive, slowing economic growth in the U.S. and elsewhere.

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Mexican and U.S. leaders have vowed to track down the gunmen who killed three people, including two U.S. citizens, with ties to the U.S. Consulate in the border town of Juarez. Mexican authorities say they believe the killings are linked to the country's raging drug war.

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A program broadcast Saturday by Georgia's Imeldi Television used file footage from the 2008 Russian invasion of the former Soviet republic to depict a fictional "new" invasion. The episode stirred panic in Georgia reminiscent of Orson Welles' famous War of the Worlds radio broadcast. Freelance journalist Matthew Collin offers his insight.

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U.S. and Afghan forces are continuing an offensive to clear insurgents from Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. But the most difficult part of the operation — paving the way for Afghans to take the reins and establish effective local governance — has only begun.

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U.S.-Israeli relations are in crisis following Israel's announcement of new housing for Jews to be built in East Jerusalem, on territory that Palestinians hope will be their future capital. With Israel's prime minister scheduled to be in Washington next week for talks, who will seek to mend fences first — and fast?

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The pope's former diocese said Monday a priest who had been convicted of sexually abusing minors during the pontiff's tenure as archbishop has been suspended from his pastoral duties for violating a condition he not work with youth.

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In the throes of a vicious drug war, Mexico's border city of Juarez — with its endless wave of kidnappings and executions — has become one of the most violent places on earth. The city is shouldering unfathomable sorrow, and its mothers are the most public face of that suffering.

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Tens of thousands of red-shirted protesters vowed to continue their push to oust the government, threatening to pour more than 2,000 pints of blood drawn from their ranks at Government House, the seat of government, if their renewed dissolution demand is rejected.

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Authorities suspect members of a gang of hit men allied with the Juarez drug cartel separately ambushed two cars carrying families with ties to the U.S. consulate in this violent border city, killing an American couple and a Mexican man.

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Since the first media reports emerged in January, hundreds of Germans have come forward to say they were physically or sexually abused by priests. The victims say their complaints were dismissed or ignored by the church hierarchy. The Vatican says Pope Benedict, who was archbishop of Munich when some of the cases occurred, was not involved in the cover-up. Reporter Thomas Marzahl talks with Linda Wertheimer about the allegations.

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Two American citizens and a Mexican citizen, all associated with the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, were killed in a drive-by shooting over the weekend. The State Department issued a warning to U.S. citizens traveling and living in Mexico, and also authorized government personnel from U.S. consulates in six border cities to send their families out of the area because of drug-related violence.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confronting growing political problems following last week's announcement that more Israeli settlements would be built in East Jerusalem. The announcement was made while Vice President Joe Biden was in the Middle East promoting peace talks.

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Only about 30 percent of votes are counted from last week's parliamentary elections in Iraq. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki holds a strong lead from declared results in Baghdad. But there are no results yet from the next two biggest cities: Mosul and Basra. One popular TV astrologist says he has done complete astrological charts for several candidates.

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Along the U.S.-Mexico border, violence related to the country's vicious drug war is escalating. At the same time, Mexican cartels are increasing activities in their top market, the U.S.

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A U.S. couple shot to death within sight of the border with their baby in their vehicle's back seat was among those killed in drug-plagued Ciudad Juarez, officials said Sunday. President Obama expressed outrage over the killings, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon promised a swift investigation.

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The deadly attacks on the southern city show NATO's top general that the insurgents are ready for the war's next major offensive in their heartland, the Taliban said Sunday. The series of bombings demolished buildings and killed dozens. Residents said they have no confidence that the government or foreign troops can protect them.

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NATO forces, who took the southern Afghan region of Marjah last month, are now trying to establish their hold on it by winning the confidence of local people. That includes paying for damage to businesses and farms from battle and paying condolences to families of civilians who were killed. A U.S. Marine commander faces one of his hardest tasks: apologizing and paying compensation to the family of a father whom Marines killed by mistake.

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Afghanistan produces about 90 percent of the world's supply of opium poppies, the plant used to make heroin. About half of that supply comes from the Helmand province. Earlier efforts by NATO forces to destroy the poppy crops were unsuccessful; when the Taliban came back, so did the farmer's poppies. In the most recent offensive, NATO took a mostly hands-off approach, leaving the farmers and their crops alone. Guest host Audie Cornish speaks with author and journalist Gretchen Peters about the effects of the NATO offensive around Marjah on the poppy trade in Afghanistan.

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Tens of thousands of protesters are rallying in Thailand's capital. They are demanding that the government dissolve the parliament and hold new elections. The demonstrations are peaceful so far, with protesters singing, waving signs and dancing, but police are braced for possible violence as demonstrations are expected to last several days. Guest host Audie Cornish updates the latest developments in Bangkok.

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