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NPR's Rob Gifford reports China has mounted a massive cleanup and construction campaign in Beijing in an effort NOT to lose out again on a bid to host the Olympics. Beijing was bitterly disappointed when Sydney, Australia won the right to host the 2000 summer games, beating Beijing by only two votes. The people of Beijing now hope their city will be chosen to host the 2008 Olympics. They say it's a matter of national pride. But winning an Olympic bid also would force the government to address severe problems with noise, traffic and air pollution.

NPR's Howard Berkes reports the International Olympic Committee has said it would like to broaden its base and add more women to the organization. As the IOC concluded three days of meetings in Sydney, Australia today, it added fourteen new members, all of them male. The nominees were put forth by National Olympic Committees and international sports federations, which are not under IOC control. Some women complain that having few females on the IOC results in inattention to their issues of concern; notably refusal by some nations to allow women to join Olympic teams.

Julie McCarthy reports from the Netherlands on today's developments in the trial of two Libyans accused of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Defense attorneys demanded that the United States produce more classified documents relating to a star prosecution witness, Abdul Majid Giaka. The court today saw previously blacked-out passages of CIA cables about Giaka, a Libyan informer. The defense said those passages cast doubt on Giaka's credibility. The prosecution wants to use Giaka to link the defendants to the bombing, which left 270 people dead.

The College Board today released its annual S.A.T. scores for this year's college freshman class. This year there are a record number of test takers. The highest percentage of foreign born students ever took the S.A.T. this year, and more test takers than ever are the first in their families to attend college. Although the overall math scores are the highest in 30 years, verbal scores did not budge for the fifth year in a row. NPR's Claudio Sanchez has a report.

NPR's Alex Chadwick reports that marine explorer Bob Ballard has found evidence of a 7000 year old human settlement under 300 feet of water in the Black Sea. Ballard believes the civilization was flooded after melting ice age glaciers caused the Mediterranean to surge over its banks and flow into what was then a shallower lake. The discovery could shed light on the biblical story of the great flood.

Martin Kaste reports from Brazil that South American politicians are talking more and more these days about economic integration. At a recent summit, Latin American presidents pledged to work for creation of a continent-wide free-trade zone by the year 2002. Analysts say the drive toward integration is spurred, in part, by the growing US involvement in the drug war in Colombia. Many Brazilian politicians, in particular, say the new billion-dollar US aid package to Colombia smacks of imperialism, and they want to counter the US presence by banding together.

The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing that airlines be required to improve the fuel system wiring and vent systems on Boeing 737s. The proposed rules, which are now in a 45-day comment period, stem from the investigation of the TWA Flight 800 explosion. The cause of that blast has not been determined, but the investigation turned up the possibility that sparks could reach the center fuel tank where fuel vapors could ignite. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

This year has been one of the best in a decade for the olive crop in the West Bank. But as N.P.R.'s Jackie Northam reports, tension between settlers and Palestinian farmers leaves many trees unpicked, and those farmers who do venture out risk running into armed nervous settlers who suspect them of being terrorists.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testifies before a congressional panel that worries about war and corporate corruption are a drag on growth, but overall the U.S. economy remains fundamentally strong. Greenspan also says the economy could absorb the cost of a war with minimal damage. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Argentina suffers a setback in its ongoing struggle to get out of debt. President Eduardo Duhalde says the nation can pay $79 million in interest on its World Bank loan, but won't be able to make the $805 million loan payment. Scott Goldberg reports from Buenos Aires.