Greek officials have been working with private lenders to try to reduce their debt-load. Meanwhile European Union officials are in Brussels to deal with the financial crisis. Renee Montagne talks to Zanny Minton Beddoes, an editor at The Economist, for an update on the crisis.

Fighting in Syria has intensified within a few miles of the capital city. Damascus has remained under firm government control but in the suburbs, the army has sent in tanks to retake areas that had been under the effective control of rebels. Activists inside Syria say more than 60 people have died in the past day.

Rough seas over the weekend again forced the suspension of recovery operations at the cruise ship that capsized off the coast of Italy. Officials estimate it will take 10 months to remove the ship. In addition to the loss of human life, there is fear there will be an environmental disaster.

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, religious authorities recently broke up a meeting of a controversial religious group. The group is observing the Prophet Muhammad's birthday with a campaign to promote what it describes as an "Islamic sex life," based on polygamy and the obedience of wives to their husbands. The group's critics are not sure whether it's a joke to be dismissed or a threat to be eliminated.

In northern Nigeria, a radical Islamist group known as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a series of deadly bombing attacks last week that left more than 200 people dead. The campaign of violence targeted churches as well as government institutions in the city of Kano and has left the minority Christian community there on edge. But as NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports, Muslims and Christians are responding to the troubles by bonding and protecting each other.

In Cesson-Sevigne, France, women no longer have to choose between "mademoiselle," the French equivalent of "miss," and "madame," thereby identifying as single or married. The town's mayor explains the reason for the decision, and why the town now uses just "madame" for women.