Top Stories - The Christian Science Monitor

Washington - The US Army is short as many as 300 substance-abuse counselors and 800 mental health professionals as it attempts to stem the rise of soldier suicides, which is expected to break new records again this year.

Atlanta - As the Army prepares an exhaustive probe into whether any red flags were missed in the lead-up to the Fort Hood rampage, a clearer portrait is emerging of Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the alleged shooter facing 13 charges of murder and a possible death sentence.

Washington - An unusually harsh White House statement on an Israeli settlement construction project suggests both a widening rift between the White House and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a deep freeze of the Obama administration's Mideast peace initiative.

Boston - Even as the Copenhagen climate change negotiations have moved into the slow lane, greenhouse gas emissions are accelerating, according to new evidence released today.

Kampala, Uganda - Some 4,000 miles away from the spiral of violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the simultaneous arrests of two key Rwandan Hutu rebel leaders in Germany could help bring the troubled region a step closer to peace.

A group of native Americans have lost their bid to force the Washington Redskins pro football team to change its name because they consider it to be a racial slur.

Washington - Iran's newly revealed uranium enrichment plant near Qom is at an advanced stage of construction, according to a report from the first group of UN inspectors allowed inside.

Washington - When Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared this "International Education Week," he waxed eloquent about the "era of global exchange" – American students heading abroad in increasing numbers, while foreign students flood Texas universities, returning home "with a greater understanding of the values we hold dear."

By midnight, former Patriot turned broadcaster Rodney Harrison – a man so ferocious he was once voted the NFL's dirtiest player – was marshalling all his strength to keep from weeping like a child on the air. Boston talk radio hosts were yelling at one another as though on the verge of blows. And across New England, disbelief rose like a mushroom cloud.

The space shuttle Atlantis – carrying a crew of six and some 14 tons of supplies for the International Space Station – is scheduled for launch Monday afternoon at 2:28 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Beijing - As President Obama surveys the range of global problems that his administration is called on to grapple with, he is searching for someone to give him a hand.

Jerusalem - Palestinian Authority leaders say that they are launching a new diplomatic campaign to gain international backing for a Palestinian state, after which they will unilaterally declare statehood in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem – without waiting for a peace treaty with Israel.

MazariSharif, Afghanistan - The insurgents' tactics are familiar. Night letters warn village elders to cooperate or face death. Religious "taxes" must be paid, and fiery sermons in mosques attack the Karzai government and international forces.

Washington - On the eve of a world food summit that will acknowledge 100 million additional hungry mouths in the world since last year, a new study chronicles 20 good ideas that have helped feed millions of people.

Boston - Sunday night, the New England Patriots mark Peyton Manning's date with reality.

Marine researchers have found a pair of Imperial Japanese Navy submarines on the sea floor off Hawaii's Oahu Island – vessels so advanced for their day they would provide plenty of fodder for a fresh novel by Tom Clancy.

Washington - Two classified cables sent to the White House by US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry last week are bringing a new wrinkle to the already protracted debate over how the US should proceed in Afghanistan.

The US government moved Thursday to seize four mosques and a skyscraper owned by the Alavi Foundation, an Islamic nonprofit organization in New York that federal prosecutors say is a front for the Iranian government.

Military prosecutors started the court martial process against Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan Thursday, charging the Army psychiatrist with 13 counts of premeditated murder for the Nov. 5 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Tex.

Washington - Barack Obama makes his first trip as president to Asia this week. He's intent on forging new relationships with emerging Asian countries, including China, and on reinvigorating ties to longtime allies such as Japan and South Korea.

Richard and Mayumi Heene, the parents of the boy falsely reported to have floated away in a homemade balloon last month, will plead guilty in a deal to ensure Mayumi, a Japanese citizen, averts the possibility of deportation that any felony conviction could bring, according to news reports Thursday.

Kabul, Afghanistan - First came the Brezhnev Market. Then the Bush Market.

Chicago - With the US in two ongoing conflicts and the recent shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, Veterans Day has taken on a new meaning for many Americans – and a renewed prominence in schools.

Washington - First Lady Michelle Obama wants Americans to recognize the sacrifices of the nation's veterans by contributing to a grass-roots volunteer and community service network that will expand services for veterans and, supporters say, enrich American society.

Monrovia, Liberia - The local ataye center is a small, leisurely oasis on an otherwise bustling commercial street in Liberia's capital of Monrovia. Here, men sip bitter green tea, play checkers and Scrabble, and debate the day's politics.

Islamabad, Pakistan - At least 24 people were killed Tuesday in the third bombing in as many days in Pakistan's militancy-plagued northwest, as extremists continued to wreak revenge for a US-backed offensive against Taliban guerrillas.

Washington - President Obama is turning to Rajiv Shah, a medical doctor who served on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation before joining the Department of Agriculture, to head up the US Agency for International Development.

Washington - President Obama used a Fort Hood memorial service honoring 13 service members slain last week to reflect on the sacrifices of all service members, saying "we are a nation that endures because of the courage of all those who defend it."