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The Bush administration realizes that Syria is one key to a peaceful resolution of the current conflict in the Middle East. But the president has so far refused to talk directly with the government in Damascus. Instead, the U.S. has decided to try and put pressure on Syria through other Mideast governments.

A group of foreign ministers makes urgent calls for a sustainable cease-fire along the Israel-Lebanon border -- and the deployment of an international force under a United Nations mandate. Many of the ministers said they wanted an immediate end to the fighting -- but they could not agree on a way to achieve that.

Hezbollah is being portrayed by Arab TV as the winner in its conflict with Israel. The Lebanese Shiite group, quietly backed by Iran, is seen as the first Middle Eastern group to stand up to Israel and win.

Residents of southern Lebanon are returning to the villages they had fled and emerging from hiding places. Back at home, they are checking on the friends they left behind -- and beginning the grim work of recovering the dead.

Salif Keita has been called the "golden voice of Mali" and a pioneer of the music called Afro-pop. But his latest CD, M'bemba (Ancestor), features traditional African instruments and a "more spontaneous" sound.

In a closely watched court case in Mississippi, a federal judge rules that a couple cannot collect damages from Hurricane Katrina's storm surge because their insurance policy excludes flood damage. The ruling could set a precedent for thousands of other cases.

A majority of Shiites believe that Hezbollah has won a victory. But Michael Young, Lebanese commentator and opinion editor of the Daily Star, the English language newspaper in Beirut, also hears less optimistic views, including the fear of sectarian tension in the future.

The Lebanese government faces a number of problems in the wake of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, including how to help thousands of refugees returning to their homes in Beirut's suburbs and the country's south.

Adults make a tough audience. But that's nothing compared to performing for children. Award-winning actor John Lithgow talks about the challenges of keeping the younger set entertained. His latest CD for kids is The Sunny Side of the Street.

At the International Astronomical Union meeting, now underway in Prague. astronomers will vote over whether Pluto's small status should cause it to be declassifed as a planet. At left, the first-ever glimpse of Pluto's surface, taken by Hubble in 1994.