NPR 2009-5-26

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack 1 Speer.

North Korea's latest nuclear test has drawn 2 global condemnation 3, the underground test prompting an emergency session at the United Nations with the Security Council condemning 4 the North's actions. Speaking at the White House today, President Obama, for his part, called the test "a threat to international peace and security and a blatant 5 violation 6 of the international law."

"We will work with our friends and allies to stand up to this behavior. And we will redouble our efforts toward a more robust 7 international non-proliferation regime that all countries have responsibilities to meet. In this effort, the United States will never waver from our determination to protect our people and the peace and security of the world."

According to some monitors, the blast was roughly equal to the power of the US atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War Two. It is also far larger than a previous nuclear test done in 2006.

President Obama went to Arlington National Cemetery 8 today where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. There were also Memorial Day celebrations across the country today. At a ceremony of a cemetery outside the old state hospital Athens Ohio where mentally ill veterans were treated, they had a ceremony. Fred Kight from member station WOUB Athens was there.

Nearly 2,000 Athens' mental health center patients are buried here. At least 25 are known to be veterans. There could be more, but most of the graves are marked only with numbers. However, over the years, a local group has gained access to records to match the numbers with names and patient information. The most recent veterans are from the Korean War. Reverend Jim Parker says they should not be forgotten.

"We come here and ask God to be with us to take care of this ground, so that it will be honored in the future."

Officials say many soldiers here were admitted as patients because they suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder 9. For NPR News, I'm Fred Kight in Athens, Ohio.

More than two million people have now been displaced because of the fighting in northwestern Swat Valley in Pakistan. From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports.

Citing provincial 10 government statistics, the UN says that nearly 2.4 million people have registered with authorities as the civilian 11 population fled the ongoing 12 anti-Taliban offensive. The number is expected to fluctuate after cross checks in the coming days. Nonetheless, it's a staggering number of people left homeless. As the influx 13 of displaced people reached other regions, unrest has erupted. Riots and strikes have upset the poor city of Karachi in the southern province of Sindh. The Sindhi nationalist parties are disturbed the prospect 14 of Pashtuns from the northwest Swat Valley, upsetting the ethnic 15 balance of the province dominated by Sindhis. Dangerous ethnic violence adds pressure on the military for a quick end to the conflict before the fallout from it starts to destabilize the country even more. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

This is NPR.

New York City police are continuing to investigate an early morning blast outside a Starbucks on the Upper East Side. Officials say it appears the explosive device which destroyed a sidewalk bench was made from fireworks. No one was hurt in the blast. Investigators 16 are looking in the similarities between the explosion and others that have occurred in the city over the past several years.

UN Relief and Works Agency or UNRWA reports conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip continued to deteriorate 17 because of the Israeli blockade of essential goods. The group said the blockade is having a serious impact on the refugees' health and well-being 18. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.

UNRWA Health Director Guido Sabatinelli says before Israel's military incursion into Gaza, his agency was able to import 4,000 essential items through the border. Now only 40 items are allowed.

"So UNRWA cannot repair the health centers that were damaged, neither our warehouse 19. We cannot repair the schools, because the building materials are, is, not allowed to, admitted to enter."

Sabatinelli says Israel's closure policy is making it difficult for the Palestinian refugees to reach health facilities and get treatment. He says people have less money to buy food. As a result, 30% of children are anemic, as are 50% of pregnant women. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

Coast Guard officials said they are continuing to search for a Louisiana man believed to have gone overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf 20 of Mexico. They say 18-year-old Bruce O'Krepki is believed to have gone over the side of the Carnival 21 Fantasy around 9:45 pm Sunday, some 150 miles southwest of Tampa.

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington