NPR 2009-01-20

President-elect Barack Obama is spending his inauguration 1 eve observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is called a national day of community service. At a Washington D. C. high school, Mr. Obama pledged to provide service opportunities every day of the year. "If we're waiting for somebody else to do something, it never gets done. We're gonna have to take responsibility, all of us. And so this is not just a one-day affair. "People from all across the country are already crowding into the nation's capital, for tomorrow's historic inauguration of the first African-American president in the United States. NPR's Trina Williams reports the city is ready.

So many people are expected for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration that officials have anticipated the Capitol swearing-in site won't be able to accommodate everyone. So, the expected overflow 2 is being encouraged to watch from the National Mall, home to Smithsonian museums, the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Security will be tight with most bridges into the district closing early Tuesday morning. Many roads in the city also will be closed to vehicle traffic. Celebrities 3 are among those in town. Many performed at Sunday's Lincoln Memorial concert. They will also be on hand to perform at inaugural 4 balls, official and unofficial, which are being held through Tuesday night. Oprah Winfrey has brought her show to the district. She's broadcasting from the Kennedy Center. Trina Williams, NPR News, Washington.

In one of his last official acts, President Bush today commuted 5 the prison sentences of two former Border Patrol agents, who were convicted of shooting an unarmed Mexican drug dealer 6 and several other charges. The former agents have been sentenced to prison for ten years. Both Republicans and Democrats 7 urged the president to intervene, arguing the sentences were too harsh.

Israel's prime minister says Israeli troops will be fully 8 withdrawn 9 from Gaza by tomorrow if the ceasefire with Hamas holds. Meanwhile, the king of Saudi Arabia says his country will donate one billion dollars to help rebuild Gaza badly battered 10 by the 21-day Israeli offensive. Gaza is at the top of the agenda of an Arab economic summit taking place in Kuwait. Dale Gavlak, details.

Saudi King Abdullah criticized Israel at the summit's opening, saying it used excessive force in Gaza. He called the one drop of Palestinian blood more valuable than all the money in the world. Summit host Kuwait's Emir Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah called for practical steps to be taken by Arab countries to help stabilize 11 the ceasefire in Gaza. Arab leaders are also expected to discuss ways to deal with the impact of the global financial crisis that has so far cost the economies of their countries 2. 5 trillion dollars. Many wished to accelerate Arab economic integration 12, including the launch next year of an Arab customs union and power and grid 13 and railway projects. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan.

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In Iraq, a leading Sunni politician has been assassinated 14 ahead of provincial 15 elections at the end of this month. A suicide bomber 16 armed with a machine-gun shot his way into a guesthouse, where Hassan Zaidan al-Luhaibi was staying, and then detonated a vest full of explosives. Al-Luhaibi was the deputy leader of one of the main Sunni parties in parliament.

The Czech government has approved plans to increase its number of troops in Afghanistan, but as Bruce Konviser reports from Prague, the increase is smaller than originally called for, because of strong political opposition 17.

The government approved plans to add just 80 more troops to its contingency 18 in Afghanistan. The original plan called for 200 additional troops, but that was rejected by parliament in December. The failed bill also called for extending the mandate 19 of Czech troops abroad, most notably 20 in Afghanistan and Kosovo. With their mandate due to expire at the end of the year, the government was forced to pass a 60-day extension to maintain the troop deployments. The new plan approved by the minority government is set to meet some of the requirements of the leading opposition party, and appears to have a good chance of winning support in parliament. The US is asking its NATO allies to increase its troop commitments in Afghanistan in order to combat the growing insurgency 21 there. For NPR News, I'm Bruce Konviser in Prague.

Russia and Ukraine have signed an agreement that will resume natural gas supplies to Ukraine and Europe. Moscow has stopped shipping 22 gas to a frozen Europe nearly two weeks ago because of a contract dispute with Kiev. Under the deal, Ukraine will pay 20 percent less than Europe does for Russian gas, and Russia will get preferential transit 23 fees.