NPR 2010-03-08

President Obama congratulated Iraqis for coming out to vote in today’s parliamentary elections in spite of violence by insurgents 1 that killed at least 38 people.

That's the sound of the morning call to prayer during voting this morning at a Baghdad polling station. The attacks were carried out even though extraordinary security measures were put in place including shutting down the country’s borders and the Baghdad International Airport. NPR’s Jamie Tarabay has more on President Obama’s reaction to today’s vote.

President Obama said he had great respect for the millions of Iraqis who refused to be deterred 2 by the violence and made it to the polling stations. In a statement released by the White House, he said he honored the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people who defied threats to advance their democracy. He also commended the Iraqi government and security forces for providing security at more than 8, 000 polling stations across Iraq. Bombs, rocket attacks and roadside bombs killed scores in Baghdad and other cities in the campaign by insurgents to scare people from coming out to vote. One of the deadliest incidents was an explosion in an apartment building in Baghdad. Rescuers frantically 3 worked to pull people alive or dead from the rubble 4. Jamie Tarabay, NPR News, Washington.

Iran’s defense 5 minister says his country is starting a production line of highly accurate, long range cruise missiles that cannot be detected by radar 6. The Iranian general told state television that the missile will be capable of destroying targets that weigh up to 100 tons. Iran has often made announcements about new military technology in the past that cannot be independently verified.

Flags have been lowered across Chile as the nation begins three official days of mourning for the victims of last Saturday’s earthquake. NPR’s Jason Beaubien describes the scene from Santiago.

Special church services are being organized and flags are being flown at half-staff as Chile moves forward from one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded. A weekend telethon in the capital called “Chile helps Chile” raised 60 million dollars for the relief effort. International aid continues to pour in; two US Air Force C130 cargo 7 planes arrived on Saturday to help ferry supplies into the hardest-hit areas. Schools are set to reopen in most of the country tomorrow although some students will be in temporary buildings because their schools were damaged or destroyed. And the inauguration 8 of President-elect Sebastian Pinera, scheduled for this week has been scaled back. Instead of a day packed with celebrations, Pinera will spend most of Thursday in meetings regarding the reconstruction 9. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Santiago.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised Greece today that euro-zone countries would help it emerge from its financial problems and vowed 10 to crack down on financial speculators that Greece blames for its problems. Sarkozy was speaking after meeting with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

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The US government has handed an ultimatum 11 to residents of a west Pacific island exposed to fallout from nuclear testing back in the 1950s. Stewart Cowan in Sydney reports they’ve been told they can either return home by October of next year or have their funding cut off. "Fifty-six years ago, the US government set off a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Residents on the islands downwind of the blast got no warning and most were exposed to a near lethal 12 dose of radiation according to scientists at the time. They were later evacuated 13 to a nearby atoll where they have been living in a temporary community. Now Washington wants the roughly 400 islanders to go home by October next year. Over the past ten years, the US has spent 45 million dollars on clean-up. But the people say much of the land is still unsafe for growing food. American scientists insist radiation is less than the usual environmental levels in the US and Europe. But the islanders say it’s hard to believe anything the Americans tell them after what happened more than 50 years ago. For NPR News, I’m Stewart Cowan in Sydney.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences delivers its 82nd annual awards ceremony tonight. Kathryn Bigelow is the front-runner to win Best Director with her Iraq war film “The Hurt Locker”. She is going up against her former husband James Cameron with his blockbuster Avatar. Millions of cable subscribers in New York may not be able to see the award show tonight, that's due to a dispute over money between ABC’s parent company and Cablevision. The Walt Disney Company which owns ABC switched off its signal to Cablevision customers at midnight after the two companies could not reach an agreement over fees. The companies are blaming each other for the disagreement.

I’m Carol Van Dam, NPR News in Washington.