The BBC's Zubair Ahmed reports from a shantytown in the middle of Mumbai, India. It's home to thousands of single-room factories that produce goods for export. Those factories are seeing a drop in orders in the wake of the global financial crisis.

photo: Zubair Ahmed

Europe's economic picture is ailing, but West Africans continue to flock to Europe, looking for a better future. The World's Gerry Hadden has the story.

photo: Charlie Mahoney

Our daily geography puzzler.

The US military will soon hand over responsibility for paying Iraq's "Awakening Councils" to the Iraqi government. The councils are largely made up of Sunni Arab militias. The US military has put them on the payroll to act as "neighborhood watches" against insurgent activity. The World's Quil Lawrence has the story.

Polls in Mexico show that most Mexicans would like to see Barack Obama as the next US president. The World's Lorne Matalon reports.

American courts have long been held up as a guide for other judicial systems around the world. But as The World's Laura Lynch reports, that influence seems to be on the decline.

Sony has delayed the release of a much-touted new video game in response to objections from some Muslim game players. Background music used in the game includes two lines from the Koran. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from technology journalist Cyrus Farivar, who's been following the story.

Northern Virginia is home to an estimated 72-thousand Muslim voters. Many of those are immigrants from Arab countries and South Asia. Those voters could play a role in deciding which presidential candidate carries Virginia, and which candidate wins the national election. Muslims in Virginia have become increasingly politically active. But political activism for Muslims can have its perils. The World's Jason Margolis brings us a profile of one of Virginia's Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi immigrant and VA resident Mukit Hossain

President Bush has said he wants to close the American military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba...but news from the White House today suggests it will still be open when Mr. Bush leaves office. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Katy Clark's Guantánamo stories

Today on The World: We meet an immigrant from Bangladesh who's run into some American bigotry; We visit some small factories in India that are seeing a drop in business because of the global economic slowdown; and India's space agency gets ready to send a research probe to orbit the moon.