Anchor Aaron Schachter speaks with New York Times correspondent Richard Oppel about today's bombing attacks in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk. At least 85 people were killed. The biggest explosion happened near the offices of a Kurdish political party. The second bomb exploded in a busy shopping area.

This past weekend, Israel offered an amnesty deal to nearly 200 Fatah gunmen who've been on the run for seven years. Reporter Matt Gutman traveled to the West Bank city of Nablus to speak with one of the Palestinian militants who accepted the deal.

The World's Katy Clark reports on a new Bush administration initiative to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It includes additional financial aid and a plan to convene an international conference aimed at reviving the stalled peace talks.

This week on Ye Olde Technology Podcaste, we have a story highlighting the explosive growth of internet use in China. Also, how the web is NOT playing a role in Japan's election campaign. Then, a look at a French company's plan to help you track your kids. It's called Kiditel. And we'll end with a look at some recently completed work tracing the DNA of Brazilian celebrities. There WILL be surprises, we promise.

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First up -- a new report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty highlights how Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq are using the internet to put out their messages. No real surprise, but the report is a real behind the scenes look at this material, most of which is in Arabic. Next up -- information overload goes global. Tired of being connected 24/7 to your BlackBerry, Palm, or gulp...iPhone? Well, apparently you're not alone. The World's Jason Margolis will fill you in. Third -- Iran says it will soon stop producing gas-only cars, in favor of dual-fuel vehicles that can run on gasoline, or on Liquified Petroleum Gas. We'll hear more from the LA Times Middle East Correspondent. And we send you out into your weekend with a report I did on July 4th about the release of BBC Gaza Correspondent Alan Johnston. He was held captive for 114 days by a Palestinian group calling itself the Army of Islam. It ain't tech, but it's a good story.

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As promised, Tech Podcast 158 features absolutely nothing about either Paris Hilton or the iPhone. Instead, we delve into the intricacies of Internationalized Domain Names. Non-speakers of English are pushing ICANN, the California non-profit responsible for, well, the domain name system, among other things. They want to be able to enter URLs in scripts other than ASCII. Also, Zimbabweans are finding it hard to buy essential goods, because of rampant inflation. Now, websites are springing up to help Zimbabweans outside the country to buy fuel, food and soap for friends and family back home. And finally, the humble cash machine turns 40 years old this week. Cha-ching!

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