NPR 2011-09-25

 Finance ministers from around the world are meeting in Washington this weekend to discuss ways to keep the European debt crisis from spiraling out of control. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is representing the US. NPR's Allison Keyes reports Geithner says it's time the European Central Bank plays a larger role. 

 
Speaking at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, Geithner called the European debt crisis the most serious threat now confronting the world economy. He says decisions on how to address the region's problems cannot wait until the crisis gets more severe. Geithner says European governments should work alongside the European Central Bank. The Central Bank for the nation using the euro as their currency to ensure that European governments with sound fiscal policies have affordable financing, and that European banks have the capital they need to operate. Several other finance leaders including those from China and Canada also called for forceful action. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.
 
Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are fighting over money again. The Democratic-controlled Senate has blocked the bill passed by the Republican-controlled House that would provide enough money to pay for government programs once the new fiscal year begins next weekend. The temporary legislation also includes money to help people recover from natural disasters. The Democrats object to a provision in the bill that calls for cutting spending by 1.6 billion dollars to pay for the disaster relief.
 
In Libya, hundreds of fighters are pushing their way into the city of Sirte, attempting to rout troops still loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. Those troops responded with mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades.
 
It's now been more than a month since the rebels swept into Tripoli, forcing Gaddafi to go into hiding. They're still trying to take control of Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown and two other regime strongholds. Gaddafi claims he's still in Libya. He occasionally issues audio statements, urging his followers to keep fighting. Under the cover of the war in Libya, Larry Miller reports that US officials warned a significant hall of Libyan arms and advanced missiles may have found a way to al-Qaeda in Iran.
 
White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan says there are urgent efforts to retrieve looted Libyan weapons. Brennan told London's Daily Telegraph machine guns and surface-to-air missiles are missing, and he fears they could end up with al-Qaeda's North African branch that's closely linked to branches in Yemen and Pakistan. Friday, the telegraph reported Iranian Revolutionary Guards stole Stinger like Russian missiles and smuggled them to their bases in Sudan, where they train Islamic terrorists. Citing intelligence officers, the paper reports the missiles can shoot down aircraft flying at 11,000 feet. Sudan and Iran have a defense pact. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.
 
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Vladimir Putin announced today he'll run for president next year. The current President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday proposed Putin for his job. Putin has served as president from 2000 to 2008 and was barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term. Opinion polls suggest Putin will be elected in March for a six-year term. 
 
Prison guards in British Columbia say tough new laws on marijuana proposed by the federal government in Ottawa could swamp the province's prison system. Dan Karpenchuck reports the guards union says jails in the province are already as much as 200% over capacity.
 
The union that represents prison guards says with B.C. jails already bursting, some inmates have been forced to bunk in tents. The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union says the minimum sentences proposed by the Harper government's tough-on-crime law will only make the situation worse. If passed, the laws could result in a minimum six-month sentence for anyone convicted of growing between six and 200 marijuana plants, and trafficking convictions would begin with a one-year sentence. The union says responsibility of housing inmates sentenced to less than two years falls on the province, and that means more overcrowding. Critics say the tough laws will only affect small-scale growers and not deter larger criminal organizations. But with the Harper government now holding a majority in parliament, opposition parties can only delay, not stop the new legislation. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuck in Toronto.
 
A six-ton satellite fell to Earth early this morning. NASA doesn't know exactly where but thinks it entered the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. Officials say most of it probably burned in the reentry, and they haven't received any reports of injuries. The satellite had run out of fuel in 2005.
 
I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.