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From NPR news in Washington, I'm Carl Kasell.

Students and faculty at Virginia Tech returned to campus and to the classroom today. Classes are restarting a week after the deadly shootings in which 33 people died. NPR's Rachel Martin reports from Blacksburg, Virginia.
Students started trickling back on the campus all weekend. Many had left after the shooting last week to be with family, but they’ve returned to try to put the tragedy of the past week behind them and move on with the rest of the semester. Virginia Tech faculty has spend the past few days discussing what to say to their students on the first day back, and they have been given advice from the school's mental health professionals and counselors. Professors have been told to expect a wild range of questions and conversations from students still grappling with the killings and the emotional aftermath. University officials have given students a choice. They can take their grades for the semester as they stand now and leave school with no penalty, or they could finish out the last couple weeks of the year. Those students who died in the attacks will be honored with academic degrees posthumously at graduation on May 12. Rachel Martin NPR news, Blacksburg Virginia.


The US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said the US military will respect the wishes of the Iraqi government which has ordered the halt to construction of a barrier around the Sunni enclave in Baghdad. The ambassador says the 12-foot height, 3-mile long fence was aimed at protecting the community not segregating it. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered the building of the barrier to stop yesterday after the project drew strong criticism from residents and Sunni leaders. They complained that it was a form of discrimination that would isolate the community. Hundreds protested the barrier yesterday. The US hasn't said when construction of the barrier will stop.


Defense secretary Robert Gates is in Russia today to calm Moscow's angry over a Washington's plan for a missile defense system in Europe. NPR's Gregory Feifer reports.
Moscow is furious over American plans to install components of this system in Poland and the Czech Republic, both former Soviet bloc countries that are now members of NATO. The White House says the planned missile defense system is designed to stop attacks from “rogue states”, such as Iran and North Korea. But the Kremlin says the US plans are a threat to its national security. Angry over the missile shield has helped plunge US-Russian relations to their lowest level since the Cold War. Defense secretary Gates is expected to push a US offer to share data from the system with Russia, but American officials have said Washington will go ahead with its plan whether or not Russia agrees. There is also wide-spread European opposition to the plans. Gates is said to travel to Poland and Germany to address the issue after his Moscow visit. Gregory Feifer NPR news Moscow.


Oil prices fell in Asian trading today. US light crude for June delivery fell by 16 cents to $63.95 a barrel.

This is NPR news.

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is facing another call for his resignation today. The Financial Times newspaper has published a open letter form a group of former top bank executives advising him that the only way for him to further the mission of the bank is to step down. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.
The fate of Paul Wolfowitz now lies in the hands of World Bank executive board. The board is considering whether his role in the arrangement of a pay and promotion deal for a female companion at the bank amounts to a violation of bank rules. The board report should come in the next few days. But 42 former top bank executives including 3 former managing directors and 14 former vice-presidents aren’t waiting for the report. In an open letter published in the Financial Times newspaper today, the group said the bank's effectiveness and credibility as an institution will be quote, fatally compromised if Wolfowitz does not resign. Wolfowitz's own governance record at the bank gets special scrutiny, because he's put great emphasis on the fight against corruption in countries served by the bank. Tom Gjelten NPR news Washington.


French voter will choose a new President in a run-off election in 2 weeks. In yesterday's voting Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Segolene Royal vanished forward ahead of 10 other candidates. Sarkozy is considered the favorite after winning about 31% of the vote. With 95% of ballots counted, Royal had 25%. Sarkozy is promised to loose in labor laws and cut taxes in hopes of invigorating French’s sluggish economy. Royal is also advocating change, but says it should not be brutal.

I'm Carl Kasell, NPR news in Washington.