The late Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev made a stop in Iowa when he first visited the US in 1959. Iowa Public Radio's Rick Fredericksen has the story of something called the "Khrushchev Collection," a musical gift the Soviet leader left behind in the Hawkeye State.

For today's Geo Quiz we were looking for the home country of Amon Simutowe. He's a chess champion who is on the verge of becoming the first grand-master from sub-Saharan Africa. The answer is Zambia. Anchor Marco Werman speaks the young chess champion.

Correspondent Ruxandra Guidi reports on the charges facing former dictator Manuel Noriega, should he be allowed to return to Panama. Noriega remains in US custody, pending an extradition request from France. But many Panamanians would like him tried at home for murder, torture and disappearances.

The World's daily geography puzzler.

Scientists say that chemicals that were introduced to deal with the hole in the ozone layer now turn out to have contributed to climate change. Anchor Marco Werman and Australia reporter Phil Mercer have more on the story.

Warships from six NATO countries are circumnavigating the coast of Africa. NATO says there's getting a better handle on local maritime issues such as piracy and smuggling. Rhoda Metcalfe reports from South Africa on NATO's Africa mission.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon today convened a meeting to discuss Africa and the fact that the continent is struggling to meet the so-called Millenium Development Goals. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Calestous Juma a professor of International Development at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

The World's Quil Lawrence reports on a conundrum facing Israeli farmers at the start of a new year. Jewish tradition says the land of Israel should be left to rest over the next 12 months. But farmland isn't just abandoned for a year. So Israeli farmers have found ways to observe and get around this religious tradition.

Six years after 9-11, host Marco Werman explores what the names "Osama Bin Laden" and "al Qaeda" have come to symbolize.

The World's Matthew Bell reports on the Iraqi government struggle to meet a series of political benchmarks. President Bush has said political progress in Iraq will come slowly, and only as the security situation in the country improves.