Today's Story Line

Young, urban, and better educated. That's the Mexico that elected Vicente Fox president. And it's the Mexico creating a "triangulo dinamico" of economic prosperity in the country's northern half .

Russia's security forces face a dangerous tactical shift as Chechen fighters get desperate. Historically, few standing armies have found a successful exit strategy from this kind of guerrilla warfare .

Signs of hope. Four times as many refugees have returned home to Bosnia this year than last year.

The US isn't getting much support from China with illegal immigrants.

So, you've read the Harry Potter books in English. But what about the Serbian edition? Or Faeroese? A global look at the literary phenom.

David Clark Scott World editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB..

HARRY POTTER STALKER: The Monitor's Kim Campbell was out interviewing readers of the Harry Potter books in London. She was trying to identify non-British fans. "I was trailing behind this Irish family, listening hard and trying to discern their accent. Finally, I realized I had to just approach and ask them - or risk being accused of stalking the poor folks." Under the truth-in-reporting clause in her contract, Kim reveals that she has read the first three of J.K. Rowling's books. And that she can't wait to buy a copy of the latest when it goes on sale Saturday.

FOLLOW-UP ON A MONITOR STORY..

SUIT GOES UP IN SMOKE: A billion-dollar lawsuit by the Canadian federal government against the tobacco industry has been thrown out of court in Syracuse, N.Y.The suit, reported on Jan. 6, charged R.J. Reynolds International and its Canadian subsidiary, RJR-MacDonald, with smuggling cigarettes into Canada. The suit said the trade undermined Ottawa's efforts to use high cigarette taxes to discourage smoking by young people. But the suit ran afoul of a US law prohibiting American courts from being used to collect revenue for other countries.

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