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Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide steps down, bowing to months of protests and a growing armed rebellion that had taken over several cities. International attempts to broker a power-sharing agreement between Aristide and the opposition proved fruitless, leading several nations -- including France and the United States -- to call for Aristide to step down. NPR's Liane Hansen talks with NPR's Gerry Hadden from Port-au-Prince.

The U.S.-backed Haitian Council of Sages chooses businessman Gerard Latortue as Haiti's interim prime minister. The council noted Latortue's experience in the United Nations and frequent visits to Haiti as qualities that make him a good candidate, despite his living outside of Haiti for most of the past 40 years. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and council member Anne-Marie Issa.

A large explosion destroys the Mount Lebanon Hotel in downtown Baghdad, sparking fires, damaging nearby buildings and causing an unknown number of casualties. Rescuers are still pulling bodies from the rubble. Earlier, angry Iraqis pushed back U.S. soldiers trying to help. Hear NPR's Madeleine Brand and Los Angeles Times reporter John Daniszewski in Baghdad.

E. Lockhart's prequel to We Were Liars works perfectly well, too, as a standalone coming-of-age novel about grief, addiction, young love, and learning to navigate the world.

Ten coordinated explosions tear through trains and stations along a commuter line in Spain, killing at least 190 people and wounding 1,200 others at the height of Madrid's morning rush hour. Spain's interior minister says a van has been found near Madrid that contained seven detonators and a tape in Arabic. Jerome Socolovsky reports from Madrid.

Spain's prime minister-elect, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, says he may pull Spanish troops out of what he calls a disastrous occupation in Iraq. Zapatero's election is being seen as a public rejection of the Popular Party's support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq, which many blame for Thursday's bloody train bombings. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli and NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

One year after the U.S.-led war in Iraq, a media-led poll of Iraqis finds many are optimistic but unclear about their future. A majority of those surveyed say they're better off than they were before the war. But many say they lack confidence in occupying forces, and only about half prefer democracy over a strong leader or Islamic state. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Gary Langer, director of polling for ABC News.

President George Bush appeals to U.S. allies not to withdraw support from the occupation of Iraq, saying terrorists must not be allowed to influence international policy or leadership. Spain's new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has called Iraq a "great disaster" and vowed to bring home Spanish troops deployed there. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

U.N. inspectors in Iran discover equipment capable of producing enriched uranium, according to U.S. and U.N. officials. The components -- more advanced than Iran has previously acknowledged -- could reportedly be used as either nuclear fuel or in making an atomic bomb. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Joe Cirincione, director of the Non-Proliferation Project with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

U.N. envoys say it's not possible to hold open elections in Iraq before June 30, the date U.S. authorities plan to hand over power to an interim Iraqi government. Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, a Shia Muslim cleric at the heart of the debate, said he accepts the U.N. determination but urges elections as soon as possible. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Deborah Amos.