CHINA QUAKE: Chinese media say a team of Chinese police is preparing to blast a hole in a natural dam that has created a so-called "quake lake" in central Sichuan province. Authorities say thunderstorms and aftershocks have increased the risk that the barrier, created by the massive May 12th earthquake in a remote area of Beichuan county, could burst and cause a flood. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from areas below the expanding lake because of the flood risk.
SPACE-Mars-Landing: A U.S. space probe has successfully landed on Mars, beginning a three-month mission to assess whether the red planet's subterranean ice ever supported life. The legs of the Phoenix probe touched down in unexplored terrain Sunday evening (U.S. time) after the craft used a parachute and onboard rocket engines to slow its descent through the hot Martian atmosphere.
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: NATO is urging Pakistan not to sign agreements with militants that endanger troops in neighboring Afghanistan. A NATO spokesman (Mark Laity) told reporters in Kabul (Sunday) that Pakistan has a sovereign right to make agreements. But he said those agreements should not lead to an increase in violence in neighboring Afghanistan.
US MEMORIAL DAY: Americans later today (Monday) will honor those who died in military service to their country on this Memorial Day holiday. President George Bush plans to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia near Washington, D.C. During a speech afterwards, he will pay tribute to the American men and women who have fought and died for their country. Arlington National Cemetery holds the remains of more than 300-thousand Americans -- members of the military services from conflicts dating back to the U.S. Civil War, nearly 150 years ago.