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NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Tel Aviv on the suicide bomber who walked into a crowded cafe and blew himself up, killing three Israelis and wounding dozens. The suicide bombing was the first in a year, even as the Middle East peace process has turned acrimonious as a result of Israel's decision to build a new housing settlement on disputed land in East Jerusalem.

- As El Salvador prepares to hold congressional and local elections tomorrow, the leftwing National Liberation Front -- now a political party after fighting a guerrilla war for five years -- is poised to win a sizeable chunk of the vote from the ruling ARENA Party. Reporter Mike Lanchin profiles one of the more interesting candidates for Congress, a charismatic former guerrilla leader named Maria Navarette (nava-RET-tay).

Jon Miller reports from Lima on the emotional strain the three-month hostage standoff has created for the families of the hostages being held in the Japanese ambassador's residence. The wife of one hostage, the Bolivian ambassador to Peru, talks about how hard it's been, the brief letters she and her husband are allowed to exchange, and her efforts to remain strong for her family.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Moscow that President Boris Yeltsin has ordered his entire cabinet to resign, except for the top two men. Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin and his deputy Anatoly Chubais will stay on to form a new government. Giving control to Chernomyrdin and Chubais is seen as an attempt by Yeltsin to gain control of the Russian economy and push for economic reforms begun in the early 90's.

Carolyn Jack reports from Toronto on the growing exodus of English-speaking people from the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec. Ever since Quebec nearly voted to break away from Canada in October 1995, Anglophones have been choosing to move to other parts of Canada. Those who leave say they can no longer tolerate living under Quebec's independence-minded government.

A panel headed by Republican Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee is preparing to investigate allegations of improper fundraising by the Democratic National Committee. NPR's Peter Overby reports on whether Thompson's approach to the investigation is more likely to resemble the Watergate or Whitewater hearings. The process could be crucial to President Clinton's second term, pending campaign finance legislation, and Thompson's political future. He is being touted as a possible presidential candidate.

NPR's Mark Roberts profiles Stephen Jones, the defense attorney for Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing trial. In this report Jones explains why he took the case. Some tell Roberts that Jones is just a well prepared defense attorney who has a penchant for representing underdogs. Others, especially families of victims of the bombing, describe him as a media hound seeking notoriety. -b-

The Pentagon today admitted that the Army was warned as early as 1991 that soldiers might have been exposed to chemical weapons in the Persian Gulf when troops blew up a weapons depot there. The information came from the Central Intelligence Agency. The Pentagon had been saying that it had learned of the possibile exposure only last year. NPR's Martha Raddatz reports.

Twenty years ago, Natan Sharansky was jailed for being a refusnik (re-FYOOZ-nik) and his part in working for the rights of Russian Jews to emigrate. The Soviet Union called him a spy and threw him in prison. Today the CBC's Mike Hornbrook reports on Sharansky's return to the prison. This time, the prison visit was on Sharansky's itinerary as a foreign dignitary...he is now the Israeli Minister of Trade and Industry.

NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports from London on the troubles of British Prime Minister John Major. With a little more than three months before a general election, his authority within the Conservative party is disappearing. The most recent setback is over his get-tough-on-crime legislation. Last night, the House of Lords rejected a key portion of that legislation which concerned wiretapping.