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Reporter John Lawrence in Baghdad says units of the 101st Airborne Division entered Baghdad yesterday fully expecting to go into combat against Iraqi forces in one part of the city. There was no battle, but the troops had their first encounters with Iraqi civilians.

Russian, French and German leaders wind up two days of meetings held to discuss postwar Iraq, and reassert their demands for a leading U.N. role in postwar affairs. But the chief opponents of the U.S.-led war cautiously welcome the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports.

Kurdish commanders say their fighters will withdraw from Kirkuk after working with U.S. forces to gain control of the oil center in northern Iraq. Turkey is uncomfortable with a continued Kurdish presence in Kirkuk. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

U.S. Marines have moved into the Iraqi city of Kut, which fell with little resistance. NPR's Steve Inskeep spent an afternoon at a checkpoint just outside of Kut, where Marines stood guard trying to prevent Iraqi fighters from fleeing the city. The experience at the checkpoint hints at the challenges U.S. forces face now that central authority has collapsed.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says more peacekeeping forces may be needed to maintain order in Iraq. He says no decisions have been made, but suggests other nations may supply some of their own forces to provide security as Iraq moves to form a new government. Hear Dana Priest of The Washington Post.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with Barham Salih, the prime minister of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan about the aspirations of the Kurds.

Host Liane Hansen speaks with John Malcolm Russell of the Masschusetts College of Art and with Neil Brodie of The Illicit Antiquities Research Centre in London about the black market in looted antiquities, the laws involved and the possibility of recovering lost items. Russell is the author of The Final Sack of Nineveh (Yale Univ Press; ISBN: 0300074182).

The World Health Organization cautions travelers to avoid China's Shanxi province, Beijing and Toronto, saying the regions are high-risk areas for the deadly respiratory disease called SARS. But Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman and other officials call the warning an overreaction. Hear NPR's Richard Knox.

Although past experiences have taught the military to prepare for looting and lawlessness after the destruction of a government, the U.S. failed to prepare adequately in Iraq. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that not enough resources or troops were devoted to security.

A snappy new CD by the Charlie Hunter Quintet features harmonica, sax, trombone, drums, and guitar, underpinned by a funky bass line — but there's no bass player listed in the liner notes. That's because Hunter does double duty, playing bass and guitar lines with his custom-made eight-string guitar. NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Hunter about his unique playing style.