NPR News 2010-05-24 加文本

NPR News 2010-05-24

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

Scathing criticism is building against BP, the latest coming from Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. He just wrapped up his fourth trip to BP's offices in Houston to get a progress report on the oil spill cleanup in the Gulf of Mexico. Salazar was not happy.

"I am angry and I am frustrated that BP has been unable to stop this well from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading."

Salazar says if BP keeps missing deadlines to stop the oil from leaking, the government will push the company out of the way of the operation.

Authorities are still trying to identify victims from yesterday’s plane crash in southern India. One hundred fifty-eight people were killed when the plane tried to land in Mangalore but overshot the runway and burst into flames. In Delhi, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder says victims' families have begun arriving near the crash site .

At Mangalores main hospital, distraught relatives are still trying to locate the remains of their loved ones. Many of the bodies of the crash victims were burnt beyond recognition, and doctors are trying to use dental records and other means to identify them. A team of forensic experts have also arrived and will be taking samples for DNA testing, a process which could take days.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder.

Towns and cities across Poland are bracing for another day of floods. From Warsaw Dave, McGuire reports at least 12 deaths have been blamed on the floods.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk is calling the flooding Poland's worst in 160 years. In Warsaw, the Vistula River has reached 24 feet and is rising by a centimeter every few hours. There're reports of local flooding, and emergency crews are dealing with a 50-foot break in one barrier. Of particular concern are smaller villages that do not have sophisticated levees like the capital. The Polish army has been activated to help with sandbagging, and residents have been evacuated from areas under threat. Water management officials say the flood will not crest in Warsaw for at least another day, and there is rain forecasted for Sunday evening and Monday. For NPR News, I'm Dave McGuire in Warsaw.

British Airways' workers are about to go on strike. The first in series will start tomorrow. The union representing the airline's cabin crew is in a dispute with management over job security, pay and working conditions.

Shuttle Atlantis is coming home. It undocked from the International Space Station earlier today after spending about a week delivering supplies and doing maintenance work. Atlantis Commander Kenneth Ham says everyone enjoyed some laughs before saying goodbye this morning.

"We've bonded up here in space, which is an interesting experience. And I think part of that comes from working really hard and then having pride in your own success. Sort of sets up the human emotion for being happy and being happy together."

Atlantis is scheduled to land in Florida Wednesday, effectively ending its final mission in space. NASA is retiring its shuttle program later this year.

From Washington, this is NPR News.

A fire aboard a German cruise ship forces evacuation of more than 600 people today. Authorities say everyone got off safely. The fire broke out in a machine room while the cruise ship was at a port in western Norway. It has been contained.

A battle between the Department of Homeland Security and a Vermont farmer over a federal plan to buy or take some of his land to expand the port of entry on the Canadian border appears to have reached an impasse. Charlotte Albright reports from Vermont Public Radio.

At a crowded public hearing in Franklin Town Hall, a few miles from the Canadian border, Customs and Border officials from Washington D.C. fended off attacks from angry Vermonters supporting the property rights of Clement Rainville, a popular dairy farmer. His son, Brian, got the loudest applause.

"I represent the small business community, a foundation industry in the state. We had a dairy farm for three generations. And I'm a little put-off when folks come in and tell me the best way to create jobs is to put my family out of work."

The Rainvilles say they need all 220 acres of their land to grow hay for their cows. The Department of Homeland Security says it needs at least 2.2 acres to curb illegal cross-border traffic. For now, the plan is on hold, pending final review. For NPR News, I'm Charlotte Albright in Franklin, Vermont.

The Taliban says it was behind the overnight raid on Kandahar Airfield, NATO's main military base in southern Afghanistan. Insurgents fired rockets and mortar shells as they tried to storm the site. Several coalition personnel were injured. This was the second attack of its kind on a major military installation this week.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.