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A new study finds the overall death rate among people hospitalized for SARS in Hong Kong may be as high as 20 percent, nearly triple the previous estimates. The findings, published in the British medical journal Lancet, suggest death rates for patients age 60 and over are as high as 55 percent. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Host Robert Siegel talks with Newsweek correspondent Babak Dehghanpisheh, who is currently in Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq. Dehghanpisheh says oil facilities in the region have started functioning on a limited basis, producing enough oil for domestic needs. He also said that ethnic cleansing by Kurds has decreased, and that the Americans have been playing a role in that despite their having tried to stay out of ethnic issues.

President Bush names former ambassador Paul Bremer as the new head of the transition team in Iraq. Bremer takes over for retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who has been leading the post-war reconstruction effort so far. Observers say the appointment is aimed at downplaying the impression that Iraq is under U.S. military occupation. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Alarm and confusion have grown in the three weeks since sweeping new federal rules took effect to protect the privacy of health information. The changes give patients many new rights, but rules that are meant to reassure patients in some cases are making them more worried than ever. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Chayes is a former NPR reporter, is now field director of Afghans for Civil Society. It's a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded to promote a democratic alternative and to assist in the development of a civil society. ACS involves the community in reconstruction efforts, from physical reconstruction of a bombed-out village, to organizing a women's income generating project, to launching an independent radio station. The new independent documentary Life After War chronicles the group's efforts. While at NPR, Chayes reported from Paris, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

A top commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq says troops have recovered "documentary evidence" that the country's former regime had an active chemical and biological weapons program. But Lt. Gen. William Wallace says no signs have surfaced that Saddam Hussein's forces deployed the banned weapons for use against U.S. forces. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

In the Iraqi city of Kut, anti-American feeling is rising. Shia leaders say they support the Americans, but that if U.S. forces remain in the country too long, Iraqis will resist their presence. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

As U.S. forces seek an interim administration to run Iraq until elections can be held, the Iraqi National Congress -- a group that opposed Saddam from exile -- is likely to have major influence. Shia Muslims also expect to play a part. Hear from NPR's Jackie Northam, NPR's Melissa Block and Christian Science Monitor reporter Peter Ford.

Soldiers with the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry division conduct patrols in Baghdad to help re-establish law and order in the city. U.S. forces are also helping Iraqi engineers to restore power. Many Iraqis welcome the Army's increased presence but want the U.S. military to do more, faster, to increase security and repair damage. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

NPR's Ivan Watson in Baghdad reports Shia Muslim clergymen have mobilized militias and money in a growing bid to fill the vacuum left by the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Some Shiite clerics are advocating establishment of an Islamic state in Iraq, similar to the government in neighboring Iran.