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The U.S. military plans to send an Army brigade to Africa next year. Some 4,000 soldiers would deploy — in small units and at different times — to help train and advise African troops. It's part of an Obama administration plan to address the growing challenge posed by terrorism in Africa.

Tokyo's flamboyant and ultraconservative governor, Shintaro Ishihara, said last spring that his city would buy some islands in the East China Sea. Today, China and Japan are caught in a war of words over who controls those islands. Some observers call Ishihara's move a power play that has sparked a crisis.

The president and his Republican rival agree something needs to be done about the enormous gap between what the federal government collects in taxes and what it spends. But they fundamentally disagree on how to solve that problem.

Mo Yan was one of three writers favored to win. He is perhaps best known in the West as the author of Red Sorghum, which was made into a film. He is only the second Chinese writer to win the Nobel — the other is poet Gao Xingjian, who won in 2000.

Women with HIV have a high risk of getting cervical cancer, but the traditional screening method for the disease — a pap smear — isn't available in many poor countries. Now doctors have developed a cheap, simple alternative way to detect cervical cancer, and it's saving lives in Africa and Asia.

It hasn't exactly been a barrel of fun flying American Airlines lately. The carrier, which is in bankruptcy, is in a bitter contract dispute with its pilots union. Its on-time performance has plummeted while cancellations are way up. Meanwhile, some of American's best customers are rethinking their loyalty.

NPR's Ari Shapiro joins host Scott Simon to preview a pair of pieces he's reported for next week on the political ad wars. He talks about the unprecedented number of ads, the money and how it feels in one community: Colorado Springs.

Ohio is in the political spotlight Wednesday. President Obama will be stopping at college towns, courting the young voters who helped him win Ohio four years ago. GOP challenger Mitt Romney is finishing a bus tour that kicked off earlier this week by his running mate Paul Ryan.

Drug- and gang-related shootouts have killed 20 people so far this year in France's second largest city. The crime wave has prompted one Marseille politician to call for the army to be sent in. The city's isolated housing projects breed despair and are home to a parallel economy based on drugs.

Economic progress in China's countryside helps explain the varied reaction to the once-in-a-decade leadership transition. In big cities and online, some derided the process as an authoritarian charade. In rural China, though, there is a reservoir of goodwill and people are more accepting even if they don't know the leaders well.