NPR 2009-03-22

President Obama is seeking to refocus debate on his federal budget proposal away from his 3.6-trillion-dollar price tag to focus instead on the components 1 of the plan. "These investments are not a wish list to priorities that I picked out of thin air. They are a central part of a comprehensive strategy to grow this economy by attacking the very problems that have dragged it down for too long." Mr. Obama speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address today. But GOP Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi says the price tag of the president's budget is a crucial issue. "President Obama's budget spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much, breathtaking." Barbour gave the Republican's weekly radio address today.

The Obama administration is reportedly planning to take steps to boost oversight 2 of executive pay of banks, financial institutions and possibly other companies as well. It's part of a plan to overhaul 3 financial regulations. While the details of the plan have not yet been worked out, the New York Times says the proposal could include requirements that executive compensation including bonuses be more closely tied to the financial performance of a firm. The plan is being developed in advance of the upcoming meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations where a major topic is expected to be oversight of financial firms.

Courts in Canada and the US have given permission to Nortel Networks to pay bonuses to executives. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the approval comes despite objections from a group of workers who were laid off.

Eight senior Nortel executives are now eligible 4 for up to 7.3 million dollars in bonuses under a plan approved by judges in Delaware and Ontario. The payments are part of a much larger incentive 5 plan worth 23 million dollars that would cover more 90 staff members. Nortel says the bonuses are needed to help keep their top employees from defecting while it restructures. The bonuses are tied to cost-cutting targets in affected 6 key employees with specific skills and experience. The court approvals came despite objections from the lawyer representing about 60 of the 1,100 employees laid off last year without severance 7 or benefits. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

Farmers in Argentina have escalated 8 their protest against the government's agricultural policies, setting up dozens of road blocks around the country as part of a strike. Nick Ali reports.

Angry farmers are blocking major roads throughout Argentina's provinces in an effort to force the government to listen to their demands. The government is refusing to lower what farmers say a crippling export taxes on soy. The country is also in the midst of its worst drought in half a century and rural leaders say the government has provided no significant relief. Argentina's key exports are soy, livestock 9 and grains, but the drought has drastically reduced output. While the government denounces the road blocks, farmer leaders say the destructions are unfortunate but necessary response to the government's agricultural policies. For NPR News, I'm Nick Ali in Buenos Aires.

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President Obama says the US has not done a good job of sorting out who should be released from the Guantanamo Bay detention 10 center. In an interview taped for airing tomorrow on CBS's 60 Minutes, Mr. Obama said some of those released so far have rejoined to terrorist groups. But he said the Bush administration's policy of holding detainees indefinitely with no trials is unsustainable and has only fueled anti-American sentiment.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says an estimated 200,000 people are trapped in Northern Sri Lanka's conflict zone where government forces are fighting with Tamil Tigers rebels. Lisa Schlein has the story from Geneva.

The Red Cross reports thousands of people are confined to a rapidly shrinking area. Spokesman Simon Schorno says many people are heading for the coast to escape the fighting in search of safety, food and medical care. "Many of the people trapped in Puthukudiyiruppu are forced to shelter in trenches 11. They are in considerable physical danger. After being forced to move from place to place for weeks and even months, they depend entirely 12 on food from outside of the conflicted area." Schorno says Red Cross workers continue to assist civilians 13, but the humanitarian 14 situation is deteriorating 15 by the day. He says people are at risk of epidemics 16 because of the lack of clean water and proper sanitation 17. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Schlein in Geneva.

Two space walking astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery are working to complete a number of tasks outside the International Space Station. They have been doing upgrades on the power grid 18 framework and loosening bolts that are holding down some batteries that are set for replacement 19 on the next shuttle mission scheduled for June.