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NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports on President Bush's White House meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Today, the president said he will not to try to "force peace," in the Middle East. Mr. Bush also said that America's role should be to facilitate talks and not dictate a timetable. For his part, Prime Minister Sharon said he wants an end to violence before he'll resume talks with the Palestinians.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from northwest Macedonia that army tanks today began shelling positions held by ethnic Albanian rebels in the hills over Tetovo. The government tonight gave the rebels 24 hours to clear out of the hills -- or face an all-out assault. In the capital, Skopje, the European Union's security chief, Javier Solana, warned the rebels they would achieve nothing by force. The rebels said they were prepared to negotiate, but vowed to continue fighting if the government refuses to grant the Albanian community greater civil rights.

NASA and its Russian counterpart have been quietly sparring over an American businessman named Dennis Tito. Tito is paying the Russians a reported $20 million for a ride into space. Russia plans to take him to the international space station. NASA doesn't like that idea. NPR's Larry Abramson reports on the first official response by NASA to Russian determination to send Tito to the station.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Cumbria in Northern England, the region hardest hit by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Farmers are challenging the government's insistence on slaughtering all animals within two miles of infected sites. With "Keep Out" signs posted throughout the English countryside, the outbreak has caused huge losses in the tourism industry, as well. The government has deployed army troops to help dispose of the animal carcasses that have been piling up.

Commander Scott Waddle, skipper of the USS Greeneville, stunned a Navy court of inquiry in Hawaii today by taking the stand to testify without immunity. He is taking full responsibility for the sub's deadly collision with a Japanese fishing trawler. Waddle and his attorney had said he would not testify in the inquiry unless assured that his answers would not be used against him in a court martial or other criminal proceeding. But in a dramatic opening statement, Waddle said he wanted to be heard by the families of the nine killed in the Feb. 9 collision. Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Andy Bowers who's at the hearing in Pearl Harbor.

Commentator and high school junior Thessaly La Force says it's still pretty easy for a teenager to keep her life a secret from her parents. In addition to feeling she has too much independence, she thinks kids only tell other kids their closest secrets because it's too big a risk to tell an adult.

Kathy Witkowsky reports that lung damage may be much greater than expected for residents of Libby, MT. Residents were exposed to asbestos from a local mine --and recent health reports indicate even people with no direct contact with the mining operations have sustained asbestos-related lung damage.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports on Russia-Ukraine relations after the death of an opposition journalist. Ukraine is trying to lure investors from the West, but the country's reputation for corruption is not helping.

Vice Premier Qian Qichen is in Washington. He is the highest ranking Chinese official to visit since the Bush administration took office. Qian will meet with the president tomorrow at the White House. China's top concern right now is a decision Mr. Bush must soon make on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Taiwan wants to buy advanced anti-missile technology (Aegis destroyers) but China is adamantly opposed to such a sale. If the sale goes through, some analysts say China will drop the more moderate stance it has recently adopted toward Taiwan. Other analysts say China's views should not be a factor in any U.S. decision to sell weapons to Taiwan.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from Macedonia that ethnic Albanian guerrillas today announced an unlimited, unilateral cease-fire to allow for negotiations with the government. The guerrillas made the offer just hours before a government ultimatum was to run out. The government ordered the rebels to surrender or withdraw from the areas they hold around the city of Tetovo or face an all-out assault.