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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has denied media reports of a major explosion at one of its uranium enrichment sites, describing them as "Western propaganda" designed to influence upcoming nuclear negotiations.

Reuters has been unable to verify reports since Friday of an explosion at the underground Fordow bunker, near the religious city of Qom, that some Israeli and Western media have said caused significant damage.

Tehran has accused Israel and the United States of being behind cyber attacks and the assassination of its nuclear scientists, aiming to sabotage a nuclear program which the West suspects hides an attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

"The false news of an explosion at Fordow is Western propaganda ahead of nuclear negotiations to influence their process and outcome," state news agency IRNA quoted the deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Saeed Shamseddin Bar Broudi, as saying late on Sunday.

The IRNA report also quoted the head of parliament's national security and foreign affairs committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, strongly denying there had been an explosion.

The plant at Fordow in late 2011 began producing uranium enriched to 20 percent fissile purity, compared with the 3.5 percent level needed for nuclear energy plants, and has been operating 700 centrifuges there since January this year, according to Western diplomats.

Western governments are concerned that high-grade enrichment is a significant step towards developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Iran maintains its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and that it began producing high-enriched uranium that it was no longer able to obtain from abroad for medical use.

The two sides are set to resume negotiations in coming weeks but the talks have been beset by delays and wrangling over dates and location.

(Reporting by Marcus George; editing by Patrick Graham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iran-denies-explosion-underground-uranium-facility-071928837.html

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Arrests made in Brazil fire as funerals begin

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (AP) ? Brazilian police say they've made three arrests and are seeking a fourth person in connection with a nightclub fire that killed more than 230 people.

Inspector Ranolfo Vieira Junior said at a Monday press conference that the arrests are for investigative purposes. He says the detentions have five-day limits.

He declined to identify those arrested or the fourth person sought.

More than 230 people died early Sunday during the fire at a university party in southern Brazil. Police have said they think a band's pyrotechnics show ignited sound insulation on the ceiling, causing the blaze.

The Zero Hora newspaper quotes lawyer Jader Marques as saying his client Elissandro Spohr, a co-owner of the club, was arrested. The paper also says two band members were arrested.

Funerals began Monday in the city of Santa Maria, Brazil, where the blaze took place.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/arrests-made-brazil-fire-funerals-begin-142600715.html

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Tancredo Won't Smoke Pot, After All

Tom Tancredo has just said "no."

Under pressure from his wife and grandchildren, the former GOP congressman will renege on a public pledge to smoke marijuana, which he made after losing a bet on Colorado's pot-legalization initiative on Election Day.

Tancredo, a conservative Republican who has been out of Congress since 2009, supported Colorado's Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana in his home state when it passed on election day. Tancredo said he had never smoked marijuana and that he did not condone its use, but argued that the government shouldn't tell adults what they can or can't ingest.

The former congressman never thought it would pass. "I thought it would take at least one more time around to do it," Tancredo told ABC News last week. He made a bet with film producer Adam Hartle, who was in Colorado to make a film on the pot measure, agreeing to smoke marijuana if it became legal.

Recently, Tancredo said he would make good on the bet, agreeing to inhale "just a puff" with Hartle, leaving the filmmaker to handle the marijuana procurement. On Friday, he even suggested Democratic Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper should join in.

But that made a lot of people unhappy, including Tancredo's family, and now the former congressman says he won't do it.

"My wife is absolutely-she's pissed," Tancredo told ABC News last week. "Oh man, she is not happy."

Neither were his conservative backers.

"My conservative friends just believe what I'm doing is encouraging people to smoke it," Tancredo said. "I don't think people should. That decision is up to an individual. An adult, in this society, is not something the government should have any control over."

Finally, on Friday night, Tancredo cracked under pressure from his grandchildren.

They were "very upset with grandpa," Tancredo told ABC News, and for him, that was it.

"Will have to welch. Political heat is one thing. Am use to that," Tancredo wrote in an email. "Heat from my family is quite another."

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Samsung plays favorites, blesses Korean Galaxy Grand with quad-core and LTE

After being unveiled at the close of 2012, yesterday Samsung announced the Galaxy Grand for its native South Korea. At a glance the domestic build of this handset looks nearly identical to its foreign counterpart, however the device's spec sheet tells a different story. Opposed to a meager dual-core chip and faux 4G connectivity, the Korean version of the Galaxy Grand sports a beefy 1.4GHz processor, along with LTE network support. Additional unique features include NFC capabilities and USB 3.0. Aside from these hometown enhancements, the device's 5-inch WVGA display, dual-cameras and Android 4.1 operating system remain intact. Set to be available on three unannounced Korean carriers at an undisclosed time, potential suitors can pick up this superior version of the Galaxy Grand for 350,000 won (around $325).

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Via: Android Headlines

Source: Samsung (translated)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/25/samsung-korean-galaxy-grand-quad-core/

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Lawmakers see immigration overhaul this year

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Republican and Democratic lawmakers were cautiously optimistic Sunday that a long-sought overhaul of the nation's immigration system that includes a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the country will clear Congress this year, the result of changes in the political landscape shown in November's election.

"We are trying to work our way through some very difficult issues," said Illinois' Sen. Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate. "But, we are committed to a comprehensive approach to finally, in this country, have an immigration law we can live with. We have virtually been going maybe 25 years without a clear statement about immigration policy. That's unacceptable in this nation of immigrants."

Sen. Robert Menendez, who along with Durbin and Sen. John McCain, is part of the six-member, bipartisan Senate group working on a framework for immigration legislation to be announced this week, said current politics dictate that a pathway for citizenship must be included.

"Let's be very clear: having a pathway to earned legalization is an essential element. And I think that we are largely moving in that direction as an agreement," said Menendez, D-N.J., said.

But the package "will have the enhancement of the border security," he said, nodding to Republicans' priority to tighten borders to prevent future illegal immigration.

He also said the package would have to crack down on employers hiring undocumented workers.

Arizona Republican McCain has returned to the issue after having led a failed push to fix the nation's broken immigration system ahead of his 2008 bid for the White House.

McCain said: "What's changed is, honestly, is that there is a new, I think, appreciation on both sides of the aisle ? including, maybe more importantly on the Republican side of the aisle, that we have to enact a comprehensive immigration reform bill."

Despite making little progress on immigration in his first term, President Barack Obama won more than 70 percent of the Latino vote, in part because of the conservative positions on immigration that Republican nominee Mitt Romney staked out during the GOP primary. Latino voters accounted for 10 percent of the electorate in November.

Obama is to press his case for immigration changes during a trip to Las Vegas Tuesday: a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants that includes paying fines and back taxes; increased border security; mandatory penalties for businesses that employ unauthorized immigrants; and improvements to the legal immigration system, including giving green cards to high-skilled workers and lifting caps on legal immigration for the immediate family members of U.S. citizens.

In an opinion piece published online Sunday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sen. Marco Rubio, also a member of the bipartisan Senate group, laid out his proposal to address the issue. The Florida Republican, son of Cuban immigrants, wrote that "significant progress" on enforcing immigration laws must be certified before unauthorized immigrants now in the country are allowed to apply for residency and "get in the back of the line."

Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 Republican candidate for vice president, said he backs Rubio's proposal.

"Immigration is a good thing. We're here because of immigration. We need to make sure it works," Wisconsin's Ryan said.

If Republicans fail to act, they will pay the price in elections for generations, McCain warned.

"Well, I'll give you a little straight talk: Look at the last election... We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours for a variety of reasons," McCain said.

McCain and Menendez spoke with ABC's "This Week," Durbin appeared on "Fox News Sunday" and Ryan was on NBC's "Meet the Press."

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Associated Press writer Philip Elliott contributed to this report.

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Follow Michele Salcedo on Twitter at http://twitter.com/michelesalcedo.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-27-US-Immigration/id-85b4577bb52f4c54a43bc0b82d7501c5

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