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On Saturday, finance ministers from eight of the world's wealthiest nations formally agreed to cancel the debt owed to international agencies by 18 of the world's poorest countries -- most of them in Africa. The total owed by those nations is at least $40 billion. Salih Booker, executive director of the advocacy group Africa Action, describes the ways the debt-relief deal may help the continent's neediest citizens.

The G8 group of industrialized nations wipes out $40 billion in debt owed by 18 poor nations. Most are in sub-Saharan Africa. Some observers say much bigger steps are still needed. British officials will push for a larger effort at G8 talks in Scotland, coming in July.

In 2000, Jill Scott's critically acclaimed, platinum-selling debut CD pushed the R&B singer into the spotlight. Scott's latest project tackles a different, yet equally lyrical genre: poetry. She shares her personal poetry collection in The Moments, the Minutes, the Hours.

NASA postpones shuttle Discovery's planned May launch to July 13, at the earliest. Engineers discovered that the shuttle's external fuel tank still needs work to reduce the chances that hazardous debris will fall from it during liftoff.

The Washington Nationals play their home opener Thursday night at RFK Stadium. It will be the first regular season pro baseball game in the nation's capital in 34 years. Melissa Block talks with Tom Boswell of the Washington Post.

The House of Representatives approves an overhaul of the nation's bankruptcy laws, voting 302 to 126 in favor of a bill that will make it more difficult for people to erase debts by declaring bankruptcy. The Senate passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act last month.

To mark the day taxes are due, we hear from taxpayers in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., who talk about how they filed their federal tax returns.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meets with President Bush this week. As the two leaders discuss economic reform and human rights in Indonesia, efforts to rebuild areas devastated by a tsunami at the end of 2004 continue.

General Motors is still the world's largest car manufacturer, despite losses of more than $1 billion in the first quarter of 2005. GM is unlikely to declare bankruptcy anytime soon. But it still has to turn itself around -- and it can't depend on Washington to bail it out. This report is the second in a series on the U.S. auto industry.

Next week, Roman Catholic cardinals will convene to elect the next pope. Noah Adams discusses the process with John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.