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The thirty-sixth Republican National Convention opened today for what amounts to a four-day salute to presidential candidate Bob Dole and his running mate Jack Kemp. The opening session was devoted to consideration of the party platform, but the most contentious differences -- over the party's position on abortion -- were resolved last week. The message of the convention has been scripted, but some moderate Republican governors say they feel excluded. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

The BBC's Paul Wood reports from Belgrade that the federal Yugoslav court has turned down an appeal by the Opposition to re-instate election results from last month's local elections. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic had annulled those elections when results showed his ruling party had lost. Opposition parties continue to protest in the streets...and their demonstrations are drawing support from the international community.

The campaign reform group Common Cause today asked for an independent counsel to investigate what it called "an illegal scheme" on the part of both the Republican and Democratic parties to circumvent campaign finance laws by buying television ads that presidential candidates Bob Dole and President Clinton should have paid for, because the ads weren't for party-building, but were meant to support the candidates. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

As part of Morning Edition's regular Monday coverage of third party Presidential politics, Host Bob Edwards talks to David Gillespie, an expert on the subject. Gillespie is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina. He says Green Party nominee Ralph Nader could tip critical electoral votes from Democrat Al Gore to Republican George Bush and effect the outcome of the election.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports French voters will cast ballots this month for mayors and city councilors under a new law requiring political parties to field equal numbers of male and female candidates. The idea of mandating gender parity on party lists originally met resistance. The French public, however, has now embraced the idea enthusiastically. Until now, France has had the lowest rate of participation in politics of any European Union nation.

A former senior member of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein has been found dead. Denis Donaldson, expelled by the party in December after admitting he spied for Britain, had been shot in the head. Melissa Block talks with Gerry Moriarty, Northern Ireland editor for the Irish Times.

A suicide driver detonates a car bomb outside Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party headquarters in Baghdad. At least 10 people were wounded. The al Qaeda affiliate in Iraq claimed reponsibility for the attack just a day after its leader declared an all out war on the upcoming election. This is the second attack on Allawi's party in a week.

Ross Douthat discusses the future of the Republican Party. He is co-author of "The Party of Sam's Club," published in The Weekly Standard. Douthat says that in the post-Bush era, Republicans will need to change domestic policies to focus more on working-class voters and less on wealthier voters.

NPR's Deborah Amos reports on the difficulties facing American officials trying to create a new civil administration in Iraq. One particular problem is whether and how to work with members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. Paul Bremer, the head of the U.S. civil administration in Iraq, has outlawed the Baath Party.

Linda talks with Ron Elving of Congressional Quarterly about how the Democratic National Convention will run, and how the party will try to gloss over divisions within their own ranks. Elving says that Hillary Clinton should not try to imitate Elizabeth Dole's performance at the Republican National Convention. He also says that the Democratic Party's return to Chicago is an effort to finally put the incidents of 1968 in the past.