NPR 2010-08-22

After three weeks of relentless 1 rain and floods, one fifth of Pakistan is under water. The BBC's Mike Wooldridge reports there are more pledges of aid from United Nations members meeting in New York.

The economic impact of this disaster’s already becoming apparent in higher prices for some food because of disruption to supply wheat and in concerns about higher inflation and lower growth. The extensive damage to crops, to irrigation and other infrastructure 2 of the agricultural industry is another heavy blow because this is such an important part of the economy. It's another sign of international concern about the huge long-term costs of recovery from the disaster and of the consequences, if Pakistan's economy is left weaker.

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge reporting from Islamabad.

Despite strong opposition 3 from the US and other Western nations, Jessica Gallaher reports Russia is helping 4 Iran fuel up its first nuclear power plant.

In an irreversible step, specialists from Russia and Iran began loading uranium-packed rods into the reactor 5 at the Bushehr facility. The move comes amid continued fears from the West that the plant will be used to make nuclear weapons, a charge the Islamic republic and Russia vehemently 6 deny. The Kremlin says its recent agreement with Iran to supply the fuel and then take back the spent fuel rods should lessen 7 those fears. Officials say it'll take about three months for the plant to start producing electricity. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

It was a brief political career for a Haitian-American hip 8 hop 9 star. Wyclef Jean is headed back to the US after he was ruled ineligible 10 to run for president of Haiti. NPR's Jason Beaubien says it may be because the entertainer has not been a resident of Haiti for years.

After several delays, election officials in Haiti had released a list of the approved presidential candidates, and Wyclef Jean's name is not on the list. The decision ends Jean's bid to leave the earthquake-ravaged nation. In a statement, the former lead singer of The Fugees said he disagrees with the commission's decision, but accepts it. The electoral commission accepted 19 presidential candidates and rejected 15 others. The commission did not give reasons for why individual bids were rejected, but one requirement is that candidates have lived in Haiti continuously for the last five years. The commission also excluded the candidacy of Jean's uncle, Raymond Joseph, who's the current Haitian ambassador to Washington. Among the candidates who were approved are two former prime ministers and another popular Haitian singer, Michel Martelly. Jason Beaubien, NPR News.

A huge heist in Egypt. The nation's culture minister says a Vincent van Gogh painting has been stolen from a Cairo museum. The painting "Vase with Flowers" is worth $50 million, according to the museum's website. Police have launched an investigation 11 and all Egyptian airports and seaports 12 are on alert.

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A day after issuing an arrest warrant for the founder 13 of Wikileaks, Swedish prosecutors 14 dropped rape 15 charges against Julian Assange, saying they were unfounded. They're still investigating a molestation 16 accusation 17 against him. Assange calls the charges a 'dirty trick'. His website is poised 18 to release more Afghan war documents.

Without fanfare 19, Dutch teenager Laura Dekker is off on a voyage, aimed at making her the youngest person in the world to sail solo around the world. Teri Schultz kept tabs on the early morning launch of her yearlong trip.

The mediashy 14-year-old Dekker slipped away in her boat, the Guppy, from an unannounced Portuguese 20 harbor to avoid press coverage 21. The Dutch teen has been in Portugal for the last couple of weeks, making final preparations for the journey, in which she's heading first in the direction of the Canary Islands, the region where she plans to wait out the hurricane season before continuing on to the Panama Canal. Dekker has long wanted to make the trip and had her parents' permission, but her first attempt was blocked by Dutch child welfare authorities, who put up a ten-month fight that just ended in Dekker's favor last month. Currently, the record is held by Australian Jessica Watson, who this year completed a round-the-world trip just before her 17th birthday. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz.

Tourists at a luxury seaside hotel in Rio de Janeiro got quite ascared today. Thirty people were briefly 22 taken hostage by gunmen armed with high-caliber rifles, grenades and pistols, but they were released within hours. Before the standoff, the gunmen exchanged fire with police and a bystander was killed, getting out of a taxi. Police evacuated 23 about 400 hotel guests, many of whom were there for a dentist convention.

Pam Coulter, NPR News in Washington.