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The Taliban has denied responsibility for what is being called the worst bombing in Afghanistan's history, in which at least 80 people were killed and dozens more wounded by a suicide bomber's blast at a dog-fighting event. Funerals have already begun in Kandahar, where the governor expressed outrage at the attack.

The president said he worries that "as soon as we leave the prayer breakfast, everything we've been talking about the whole time at the prayer breakfast is forgotten." He and other leaders, Obama said, need to retain the "humility" they express when praying.

Formally accepting Yasser Arafat as a peace partner, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today for the first time with the Palestinian leader he had long shunned and reviled as a terrorist. After meeting for more than an hour, Netanyahu said he was committed to carrying out peace agreements Arafat had signed with Israel's previous dovish government. Arafat also expressed his readiness to move forward. The encounter constitutes the first recognition of Arafat by an Israeli premier from the hard-line Likud Party, which has long opposed Israel-PLO peacemaking. Linda Gradstein reports.

Marius Benson reports from Cape Town that former President F.W. de Klerk apologized to South Africa's Truth Commission today for the decades of white minority rule carried out by the apartheid regime he once led. De Klerk expressed sympathy for all those who suffered under apartheid, although he denied allegations his government ordered the murders of some anti-apartheid activists. De Klerk, the last president under apartheid, freed Nelson Mandela in 1990 and set in motion the dismantling of the system of white domination.

NPR's John Burnett reports on how religion has fared under the Clinton Administration. The issue of religious liberty has received little attention during the presidential campaign. But it turns out that by signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, ordering guidelines for religious expression in public schools and easing certain rules limiting religious businesses, President Clinton has earned praise from conservative and liberal religious leaders alike. But on social issues such as abortion and homosexual rights, some conservative Christian groups still give the President a failing grade. For them, even Republican candidate Bob Dole has not spoken out strongly enough.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Camp Zeist in The Netherlands, where a special Scottish court today sentenced Libyan Abdel Basset al-Megrahi to life in prison -- with the possibility of parole -- for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The judges acquitted the second Libyan defendant, Al-Amin Khalifa Fahima . Relatives of some of the 270 people who died in the attack expressed satisfaction with the verdict against Megrahi. They said they still hold Libyan leader Muammar Gaddhafi responsible. President Bush applauded the work of U.S. investigators and the Scottish court, and said Libya must take responsibility for the crime and pay compensation to the families.

Warning of a "third World War," North Korea has withdrawn from the global treaty that bars it from making nuclear weapons. Japan described it as a "serious matter." China expressed concern over Pyongyang's move. And South Korea called the nuclear standoff a "matter of life and death." NPR's Eric Weiner reports on North Korea's latest move of nuclear brinkmanship from South Korea's capital, Seoul.

Banning Eyre reviews the new CD Post Scriptum by young Portuguese singer Cristina Branco, who specializes in a traditional form of music called "fado." The word "fado" means "fate" and fado songs are typically expressions of yearning, lost love, separation and angst. Branco did not grow up in the poor neighborhoods of Lisbon, which is home to fado music; she happened to discover the style as a teen-ager 10 years ago, and is now one of the singers helping to bring about a fado revival. Cristina Branco's CD is Post Scriptum, on Harmonia Mundi USA. For more info contact: www.harmoniamundi.com

As the United States and allies formally ask the U.N. Security Council to lift sanctions on Iraq, France and Germany question aspects of the resolution and Russia's stance is unclear. Russia's foreign minister shows support for lifting sanctions, but its U.N. ambassador expresses reservations. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that the U.N. should complete arms inspections before sanctions are lifted. NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports.

Patriot Pay would offer employers a payroll tax credit to encourage temporary bonuses to essential workers — up to $12 an hour on top of their wages.