NPR 2011-05-29

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From NPR News in Washington, I'm Nancy Lyons.

President Obama says the US must always leave room to throw financial and moral support behind nations fighting for freedoms. NPR's Scott Horsley reports on his last stop on a six-day European tour, the president cited Poland for being a shining example of how democratic change can transform a country.

While in Warsaw, President Obama met with some veterans of Poland's Solidarity¹ reform movement, some of whom are already consulting with democratic activists² in the Middle East, Mr. Obama calls Poland a "living example" of what's possible for newly democratizing countries like Egypt and Tunisia.

"It has gone through what many countries want to now go through and has done so successfully."

Mr. Obama had dinner on Friday with a number of Central and Eastern European leaders. He said they expressed gratitude³ for America's support during their own transitions to democracy. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Warsaw.

In northeastern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber⁴ killed six people, including two NATO soldiers and two top Afghan government officials, during a meeting inside a government building. NPR's Ahmad Shafi says ten others were wounded, including a top German NATO commander.

The explosion happened as officials along with a team from the German service members of a NATO reconstruction⁵ team were meeting at the governor's compound in Takhar province in northeastern Afghanistan. A local government official says the chief of police for Takhar province along with a prominent anti-Taliban government official, General Dawood Dawood, were killed on spot. The governor of Takhar province says as well as scores of local government officials have been wounded. Ahmad Shafi, NPR News, Kabul.

The death toll⁶ keeps rising in Joplin, Missouri with at least 139 known dead. That makes it the deadliest single tornado⁷ since 1950, based on figures from the National Weather Service. Joplin Mayor Mike Woolston tells CBS's "Early Show" residents are already starting to rebuild.

"I believe it was Thursday morning, less than 96 hours after the event, I actually saw a building going back up. Walls were up. They were putting up roof rafters. And I believe it was yesterday morning, our public school district announced that they had begun reconstruction of rebuilding."

One of the most delicate jobs is to identify those bodies that have been recovered. A federal team of forensic⁸ experts is using scientific methods instead of visual IDs.

A record snowfall in California's Sierra Nevada is melting fast and, according to the Associated Press, Yosemite Falls, the nation's tallest, is spewing enough water to fill a gasoline tanker⁹ truck every two seconds. The peak melt is expected in mid-June and tourists will see more water and hear more thunderous sound as the water pounds Yosemite's granite¹⁰ walls.

Endeavour's astronauts are taking care some last-minute space station chores before packing up to come home. Today, they worked on an air purifier on the station. The space shuttle and its crew will be undocking from the space station tomorrow night.

This is NPR News.

After a 40-year blockade of its border with Gaza, Egypt says it is now easing restrictions¹¹. The move will allow thousands of Palestinians to move freely in and out of the area. The blockade of the Palestinian territory by Israel and Egypt was intended to isolate¹² Hamas. One Hamas leader says the change is a unique move and a positive development.

Security is being tightened¹³ in Serbia ahead of a nationalist rally scheduled for tomorrow. It's being led by those opposed to extraditing former Bosnian Serbian military commander Ratko Mladic. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports Mladic could be extradited to the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague as early as Monday.

If a judge rejects Mladic's appeal, the extradition¹⁴ could take place Monday. He's indicted¹⁵ for genocide in the massacre¹⁶ of some 8,000 men and boys at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. Mladic's lawyer said his client knows he'll be extradited but would like to recover first. The defense¹⁷ team and Mladic's family says he suffers from several health problems. The lawyer told reporters his client is in a state of confusion. Police chief Ivica Dacic said police will closely monitor a rally planned for Sunday in Belgrade. But he added that the situation in Serbia is stable. Since Mladic's arrest Thursday, groups of soccer hooligans have rallied in city squares, calling Mladic a "national hero", but were quickly dispersed¹⁸ by police. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Belgrade.

An American is now free after being held by North Korea for six months. South Korean press reports say Eddie Jun had been accused of proselytizing¹⁹.