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Highlights Pope John Paul II's trip to Cuba in January, 1998. Compare and contrast of the work, beliefs, and goals of both the Pope and Fidel Castro; How Cuba has fared under Castro's Marxist rule; Why Castro invited the Pope to Cuba; The Pope's motives in going to Cuba. INSET: `You should not expect a miracle'.

Addresses the question of who will rule Afghanistan if the Taliban falls. Possible contenders for leadership; Attitudes of bordering nations; Realization by the United States and its allies of the need for a stable postwar Afghanistan; The challenges which Afghanistan faces; Why Iran and Pakistan are interested in Afghanistan's future government; Question of United Nations involvement; Role of the U.S. in rebuilding. INSET: ONCE AND FUTURE LORDS?.

Recounts the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in January 1998. The Pope's efforts in stimulating new revolutionary ideas within Fidel Castro's closed society; How the Pope's message was only covertly political, chiding Cuba's lapsed family values harder than its lack of human rights, calling more for Catholic education than confrontation with the regime; Castro as skillful in extending his blessing over the visit.

Discusses how members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are standing firm on the crisis in the Serbian province of Kosovo. How the war has sharpened political tensions within a number of NATO counties; Challenges facing German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Prime Minster Massimo D'Alema and Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis. INSET: Hugging and Puffing in Moscow, by Paul Quinn-Judge.

Addresses relations between Italy and the Vatican. Dispute over Vatican Radio's powerful transmitters; Possible health issues involved with electromagnetic pollution from the transmitters; Political implications of the dispute between the Italian government and the Vatican.