NPR 2009-09-29

In a move the White House says is an effort to provoke the West -- Iran capped off several days of missile exercises with the launch of a medium-range missile today. Analysts 1 say it could reach Israel as well as US military bases in the Mideast. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact the test launch comes just days before a meeting between the country and other world leaders on Iran's disputed nuclear program. Mark Fitzpatrick is a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He says all of this is of great concern to the international community.

"Iran, on one hand, is developing the capabilities 2 to produce nuclear weapons even if they haven't made a decision to actually do so. And they are also developing missiles that could potentially carry these weapons should they decide to do so. And that is a dangerous combination."

Iran's foreign minister said the testing has nothing to do with recent revelations about an Iranian nuclear enrichment site, saying it's part of a long-planned military exercises.

Another Al-Qaeda audio message has surfaced on the Internet, this time calling President Obama a fraud because he failed to bring about a freeze in Israeli settlement building. Dale Gavlak reports.

Al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri accused President Obama of pretending to be affected 3 by Palestinians' suffering only to allow Jewish settlements to flourish in the West Bank and Jerusalem and to press Arab leaders for more concessions 4. Zawahiri then scornfully asked on the tape whether more crimes in Kabul, Baghdad, Mogadishu and Gaza were needed to ensure what he called “the president's criminal nature”. Many experts believe that Al-Qaeda is struggling in the face of President Obama's general popularity in the Muslim world. This latest recording 5 follows several al-Qaeda tapes, threatening attacks against Germany and its troops in Afghanistan if German election results did not please the terror network. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in Amman.

At least 140 people have died in the Philippines after a weekend storm caused flash floods in the capital and surrounding provinces. Doualy Xaykaothao has more.

Two days after tropical storm Ketsana poured down 16 inches of rain in and around Manila, rescue workers and civilian 6 volunteers are still trying to access villages that have been blocked by floating cars, furniture and other debris 7. Officials say about 8,000 people have been rescued, but many are still stranded 8 on the rooftops of their homes while others are walking in chesty brown waters trying to get to safety. Nearly half a million people have been affected by the storm and disaster officials say 150,000 Filipinos are crowding evacuation centers, at schools, churches and open air gyms. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said in a statement that rescue efforts will continue until everyone in danger is accounted for. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao.

In Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 124 points to close at 9,789. The NASDAQ was up 39 points today.

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Chicago officials say three teenagers are facing first-degree murder charges in connection with the beating death of another Chicago teen. Witnesses say 16-year-old Derrion Albert was killed after he was hit repeatedly with two-by-fours. Family members believe the honor student was killed for refusing to join a gang, though others at the scene say it appears he simply became swept up in the violence. Police have been using a video taken at the scene to identify those involved and say three teens were charged today as adults in Albert's killing 9.

Roman Polanski's lawyer says he will fight his extradition 10 request from Switzerland to the US to face justice in a three-decade-old sex case. Eleanor Beardsley sends this report.

French lawyer Herve Temime spoke 11 with reporters after meeting with Polanski Monday. He said his client was holding up after his first 24 hours in a Zurich prison.

"He says he is shocked by what has happened, but he's not in bad shape because he's a man with dignity and force, he said to me." The lawyer said Polanski was combative 12 and ready to fight. He also said his client was touched and surprised by the outpouring of support for him across the world. The 76-year-old filmmaker was arrested Saturday as he arrived in Zurich to accept an award from a film festival. The US is seeking him for pleading guilty to having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl and fleeing to France a year later. Polanski's victim, now in her 40s, has said she wishes to put the incident behind her. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

Health care products maker 13 Johnson & Johnson has purchased an 18% stake in a Dutch biotechnology company. Johnson & Johnson is taking a 440 million-dollar stake in Netherlands-based Crucell, hoping the company can develop a universal flu vaccine 14.

I'm Jack 15 Speer, NPR News in Washington.