As a global power, Japan is fading, but increasing numbers of people outside the country are opting to learn Japanese. What's fueling the new interest is a growing obsession with Japanese Manga comics and Japanese animation. The World's Patrick Cox has the story.

Last week's attacks on Mumbai have been referred to by some as "India's 9/11." The World's Alex Gallafent reports there's some concern about the widespread use of the term "9/11."

The answer to today's Geo Quiz is the town of Obama in Japan. In Japanese, Obama means "little beach." The city's residents have cheered on US President-Elect Barack Obama. The World's Patrick Cox tells us more.

Haruki Murakami: AFP/Getty ImagesHaruki Murakami is one of the most widely read novelists in the world. Novels like "Norwegian Wood" and "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" have sold millions of copies. And they're translated from the original Japanese into nearly 40 languages. Here in the U.S., Murakami's rare public appearances are greeted with great excitement and reverence. The World's Patrick Cox has this report on the people who read and follow Haruki Murakami.

Murakami receives the 2006 Franz Kafka Prize:

Despite efforts to limit bilingualism in classrooms, more and more American parents are raising their children to speak two or more languages. And as The World's Patrick Cox reports, there's a fast-growing industry of nannies, preschools and books to support them.

Oregon voters will decide next week whether to ban bilingual education in favor of fast-track English learning classes. Over the last ten years, voters in three states have passed laws tightly restricting how much help students can get in their native languages. From Oregon Public Broadcasting, Rob Manning reports.

Rwanda has decided to change the language of instruction for its entire educational system from French to English. The World's Jeb Sharp explains.

When Spanish collides with English, the result is Spanglish. It's a language that comedian Bill Santiago knows well. So much so that he's written a book called "Pardon My Spanglish." Anchor Marco Werman speaks with him.

Modern Jewish New York humor has its roots in Eastern Europe. It's said if you want to go to where funny was born, go to Odessa, the Ukrainian city on the Black Sea. That's what The World's Jason Margolis did recently.

The American writer David Foster Wallace died on Friday at the age of 46. His death is presumed a suicide. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with translator Ulrich Blumenbach, who has been working on a German edition of Wallace's novel "Infinite Jest" for the past five years.