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The appeal of soccer's quadrennial World Cup tournament baffles many Americans. With the world's greatest soccer players convening in Germany for the monthlong FIFA World Cup 2006 — where the United States team has hopes of contending for a top spot — we have tips for potential Cup viewers.

With his band the Belmonts, singer-songwriter Dion rose to fame as a '60s teen idol, topping charts with hits like "The Wanderer" and "I Wonder Why." The latest album in his long career is Heroes: Giants Of Early Guitar Rock.

Lahiri famously brought a disco vibe to India's biggest film industry. He composed dozens of hits in the 1970s and '80s — which appeared in many top Bollywood movies.

A British artist named Banksy has been able to sneak his work into some of New York's top museums over the past month. He tells Michele Norris what he does and why.

Store shelves these days are packed with products claiming to be "eco-friendly." But it's hard to know exactly what that means. An exhibition in New York tackles that question with the help of 10 top designers. The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum — together with the Nature Conservancy — asked the designers to create surprising products out of renewable materials from 10 different areas in the world.

Steve Martin is at the top of his game. He has just been awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, at the same time that his newest movie, Shopgirl, is winning strong reviews around the country.

The legendary songwriting trio, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland wrote many early Motown hits, and helped turn the company into powerhouse. Their songs include "You Can't Hurry Love," "Reach Out I'll Be There," "Baby, I Need Your Loving," "Heat Wave," and "Stop! In the Name of Love." Their songs were recorded by Diana Ross and The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Four Tops, and Martha Reeves and The Vandellas. In 1990 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A top official at Iraq's foreign ministry is killed in Baghdad during an ambush by unknown gunmen. Bassam Kubba, who had been a career diplomat, is the first member of Iraq's new interim government to lose his life amid continuing violence and security problems. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer and NPR's Emily Harris.

A U.N. envoy meets with Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, seeking to resolve the dispute over the cleric's call to elect a transitional assembly. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he agrees with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's demand for elections but is unsure whether a vote could be held before a June 30 U.S. deadline for a power transfer. NPR's Deborah Amos reports.

The Justice Department says Jose Padilla, accused of plotting to detonate a bomb containing radioactive material, had conspired with top al Qaeda leaders in his plan. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, has been designated an enemy combatant and held without charge or access to counsel for two years. Officials say he planned to detonate explosives, possibly to destroy apartment buildings in U.S. cities. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.