NPR 2010-01-03

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From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

President Obama says an al-Qaeda affiliate¹ in Yemen was apparently² behind the failed attempt to blow up a jetliner bounded for Detroit last week. Mr. Obama said today he thinks about the nation's security every moment of every day. NPR's Renita Jablonsky has more.

President Obama described in his weekly address the path through Yemen a bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He said the 23-year-old Nigerian had been trained and equipped by the Islamic militant³ network. It was the president's most direct public language today tying the incident to al-Qaeda. He repeated his warning that anyone involved in the Christmas Day plot would be held accountable and said a top-to-bottom review of the nation's intelligence agency is ongoing⁴.

"I've directed to my counter-terrorism and homeland security advisor⁵ at the White House, John Brennan, to lead these reviews going forward and to present the final results and recommendations to me in the days to come."

Mr. Obama added he's made it a priority to strengthen the country's partnership⁶ with the Yemeni government. Renita Jablonsky, NPR News, Washington.

The head of US Central Command, General David Petraeus, arrived in Yemen today. He met with that country's president and discussed ways to boost military and economic cooperation. Petraeus says the United States will more than double its counter-terrorism assistance to the impoverished⁷ area of the nation.

Afghanistan's parliament is dealt to set back to the country's President Hamid Karzai in his effort to assemble a cabinet. Lawmakers have rejected 17 of the 24 names on Karzai's list of nominees⁹. Among them, a powerful warlord nominated for a new term as the country's Energy Minister, and a lone¹⁰ female nominee⁸. But NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says the nominees who were approved include several who were in the good graces of US officials.

In a Salute¹¹ to Americans, I think, they did approve some of the, the ministers who are already in office that Americans and that the Europeans would have preferred to see stay on. And in fact, they will be staying on and that includes the Defense¹² Minister, the Interior Minister, the Agriculture Minister, Finance Minister. People like that that the Americans have found pretty easy to work with who they consider to be a professional in technic crafts. So what's gonna happen at this stage is that President Karzai has said he will submit more names for nomination¹³. But this will obviously slow progress down at a time that’s very vital for Afghans to be seeing their government doing things for them. This is just gonna delay that further. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reporting from Kabul.

Iran has set a one-month deadline for the United States and other western nations to accept its counterproposal to the United Nations-backed plan, or it will begin producing nuclear fuel on its own. Under the UN plan, Iran would swap¹⁴ most of its enriched uranium for a nuclear power plant fuel. Iran wants to swap smaller batches¹⁵ of its enriched uranium stockpile than the UN plan calls for, a move that would leave it with enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon.

This is NPR News from Washington.

A winter storm is settling into New England, bringing periods of heavy snow and strong winds to the region. Forecasters say wind gusts¹⁶ could cause drifting over some major roadways.

Searchers have recovered the bodies of at least 64 people killed by mudslides in a resort area of Brazil. Heavy rainfall over the past week has heightened the possibility of further slides. Jeff Brown reports from Rio de Janeiro.

The death toll¹⁷ continues to rise in the wake of torrential rains and mudslides in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state. Many were smothered¹⁸ as they slept before dawn on New Year's Day. Many of the victims died on Ilha Grande, an island popular with foreign eco-tourists. Others were killed in Angra dos Reis, a city swarmed¹⁹ with workers seeking jobs at shipyards and a new nuclear plant. In Angra, 3,000 homes remained in areas at risk of landslides²⁰. An offshore²¹ oil boom has brought prosperity to the region, boosting the popularity of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Local officials, though, say little has been done to ensure safe housing for workers in a mountainous rain forest region. For NPR News, I'm Jeff Brown, Rio de Janeiro.

Military bands set the tone for today's New Year's rally in North Korea where tens of thousands of people gathered in a square decorated with red flags to voice support for the communist regime. The crowds shouting "Let's implement²² it" meaning the government's policy goals. The country's President Kim Jong-il did not make an appearance, but other top officials watched from a balcony. In a New Year's message, the North Korean government urged an end to hostile relations with the United States.

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.