3 American students arrested in Cairo flying to US

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 file image from Egyptian state television, three American students are displayed to the camera by Egyptian authorities following their arrest during protests in Cairo, where an Egyptian official said they were throwing firebombs at security forces. A spokeswoman for the American University in Cairo identified the students as Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student from Bloomington, Ind.; Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo.; and Gregory Porter, a 19 year-old Drexel University student from Glenside, Pa. An official says an Egyptian court has ordered release of 3 US students arrested during Cairo unrest.(AP Photo/ Egyptian TV, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011 file image from Egyptian state television, three American students are displayed to the camera by Egyptian authorities following their arrest during protests in Cairo, where an Egyptian official said they were throwing firebombs at security forces. A spokeswoman for the American University in Cairo identified the students as Luke Gates, a 21-year-old Indiana University student from Bloomington, Ind.; Derrik Sweeney, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo.; and Gregory Porter, a 19 year-old Drexel University student from Glenside, Pa. An official says an Egyptian court has ordered release of 3 US students arrested during Cairo unrest.(AP Photo/ Egyptian TV, File)

CAIRO (AP) ? Three American students arrested during a protest in Cairo caught flights out of Egypt early Saturday, according to an airport official and an attorney for one of the trio.

The three were arrested on the roof of a university building near Tahrir Square last Sunday. Officials accused them of throwing firebombs at security forces fighting with protesters. On Thursday, a court ordered them released. All three were studying at the American University in Cairo.

Luke Gates, 21, and Derrik Sweeney, 19, left the Egyptian capital Saturday on separate flights to Frankfurt, Germany, an airport official in Cairo said. Gregory Porter, 19, also left the country, his attorney said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.

Attorney Theodore Simon, who represents Porter, a student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, said police escorted the three students to the Cairo airport Friday. Simon later said his client was on a flight.

"I am pleased and thankful to report that Gregory Porter is in the air. He has departed Egyptian airspace and is on his way home," Simon said, though he declined to say when Porter was expected back in the U.S.

Simon said he and Porter's mother both spoke by phone with the student, who is from the Philadelphia suburb of Glenside.

"He clearly conveyed to me ... that he was OK," Simon told The Associated Press.

Indiana University spokesman Mark Land said Gates' parents haven't disclosed which flights their son is taking home. The family is private and Gates' parents are "really hopeful they can spend a little time with him without having to answer a lot of questions" in the media spotlight, Land said.

Gates was in the air Saturday morning and expected to return to Bloomington later in the day, Land said.

He said he spoke to Gates' father, Bill Gates, shortly after his son boarded a flight out of Egypt.

"He said he was doing very well and he was very excited to be on his way home," Land said.

Joy Sweeney told the AP her son, a 19-year-old Georgetown University student from Jefferson City, Mo., would fly from Frankfurt to Washington, then on to St. Louis. She said family will meet him when he arrives late Saturday.

"I am ecstatic," Sweeney said Friday. "I can't wait for him to get home tomorrow night. I can't believe he's actually going to get on a plane. It is so wonderful."

Sweeney said she had talked with her son Friday afternoon and "he seemed jubilant."

"He thought he was going to be able to go back to his dorm room and get his stuff," she said. "We said, 'No, no, don't get your stuff, we just want you here.'"

The university will ship his belongings home, she said.

Sweeney had earlier said she did not prepare a Thanksgiving celebration this week because the idea seemed "absolutely irrelevant" while her son still was being held.

"I'm getting ready to head out and buy turkey and stuffing and all the good fixings so that we can make a good Thanksgiving dinner," she said Friday.

___

Associated Press writers Sandy Kozel in Washington; Rick Callahan in Indianapolis; Kathy Matheson and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia; and Dana Fields in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Black Friday: What they're saying on Twitter

By msnbc.com staff

While millions flocked to U.S. retailers for Black Friday deals, others preferred to take potshots from the sidelines on Twitter.

@SirWilfridL ? a tweeter adopting the persona of Wilfrid Laurier, prime minister of Canada in the early 20th century ? was appalled by what he or she saw from north of the border:

Jill Tracy, a San Francisco performance artist and composer, went further:

Jeff McKinney, a fitness trainer in Austin, Texas, homed in on the apparent contradiction inherent in the retail frenzy:

Speaking of funny, comedians couldn't resist.

Baratunde Thurston, digital director of the satirical publication The Onion, noticed that an awful lot of the day's violent incidents were taking place at Wal-Mart stores:

And Eugene Mirman, a comedian who often appears on "Flight of the Conchords," had this idea:

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/25/9020957-black-friday-what-theyre-saying-on-twitter

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Motives of foreign student recruiters questioned

In this June 28, 2011 photo, Wang Chengdong, a Chinese student in the Executive MBA program, works in a library study room at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. As American colleges and universities welcome an ever-greater number of international students, some professors and admissions counselors are questioning the motives of the very professionals who have helped attract so many foreign scholars to their campuses. (AP Photo/The News-Leader, Bob Linder)

In this June 28, 2011 photo, Wang Chengdong, a Chinese student in the Executive MBA program, works in a library study room at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. As American colleges and universities welcome an ever-greater number of international students, some professors and admissions counselors are questioning the motives of the very professionals who have helped attract so many foreign scholars to their campuses. (AP Photo/The News-Leader, Bob Linder)

In this June 28, 2011 photo, Wang Chengdong, a Chinese student in the Executive MBA program, works in a library study room at Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. As American colleges and universities welcome an ever-greater number of international students, some professors and admissions counselors are questioning the motives of the very professionals who have helped attract so many foreign scholars to their campuses. (AP Photo/The News-Leader, Bob Linder)

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) ? As American universities welcome ever-greater numbers of international students, some professors and admissions counselors are questioning the motives of the very professionals who have helped attract so many foreign scholars to their campuses.

Higher education recruiters are under fire from detractors who say they put profit ahead of students' best interests. Critics accuse them of sending thousands of unqualified applicants to the U.S. every year, sometimes allowing students to skip basic English tests and falsify applications to make a quick commission.

"The student is best served by having the widest range of information available about what might be the best fit," said Peggy Blumenthal, an executive vice president at the not-for-profit Institute of International Education, which monitors and promotes study abroad programs. Recruiting agents "have a very large incentive to deliver a student who may not be the best fit."

A leading group of admissions counselors even proposed an outright ban on the use of international recruiters who are paid based on the number of students they lure to the United States.

College administrators who rely on recruiters are quick to defend them, saying they are more familiar with overseas customs and school systems.

By using recruiters, Missouri State University leaders "can focus on developing and delivering curriculum instead of going out and recruiting students and developing individual sponsors," said David Meinert, associate dean of the university's business school. Recruiters are "able to deliver as an intermediary something that we would have trouble delivering."

Those efforts have contributed significantly to a sharp spike in the number of foreign students seeking an American education. A recent report by Blumenthal's institute showed a 32 percent increase in the number of international students in the U.S. compared with a decade ago. Nearly a quarter of the students here for the 2010-11 academic year came from China. Many others hailed from India and South Korea.

When Missouri State's Springfield campus decided in 2007 to create an executive M.B.A. program for visiting Chinese students, the school realized it needed a recruiter steeped in that country's language, culture and educational practices.

The university hired the International Management Education Center in Hong Kong under a deal that paid recruiters $10,000 to $12,000 for each graduate student. The school kept the balance of student payments ranging from $15,000 to $22,000.

But some professors question the program's academic rigor, noting participants do not take the English proficiency tests usually required of international students and frequently show up unprepared. When the same doubts that arose in Missouri spread to China, some student sponsors ? a term that refers to local governments, schools corporations and other Chinese institutions ? said they wanted to withdraw from the program.

Earlier this year, the National Association for College Admission Counseling proposed the ban on the use of some international recruiters out of concern that unscrupulous agents were exaggerating students' English skills and submitting falsified applications in search of a fast financial reward.

Those practices introduce "an incentive for recruiters to ignore the student interest" and invite "complications involving misrepresentation, conflict of interest and fraud," the organization's board said in a May statement.

By July, the group had backed away from the ban, acknowledging a "lack of alternatives" for dispensing information about American higher education in many parts of the world. It plans to study the issue for up to two years.

Serving international students has become big business on campuses struggling with budget cuts. At public schools, foreign students pay pricey out-of-state tuition, and many who attend private institutions receive little to no financial aid.

The report by Blumenthal's group and the U.S. State Department says international students inject $21 billion into the American economy, including money spent on tuition, living expenses and accompanying family members.

Some schools eschew hiring recruiters in favor of building close relationships with international schools in targeted countries.

At Missouri State, Meinert said, the school's partner does not work directly with students or their families. Instead, it seeks deals with sponsors who then steer groups of students toward the program ? and continue to offer support after enrollment.

"We're not looking to find an individual, to go hunting for one student at a time," Meinert said. "An agent's relationship with a student ends when they get a check."

Cheating on American college applications is rampant in China, according to Tom Melcher, chairman of Zinch China, a Beijing-based consulting company that works with U.S. universities.

The company surveyed 250 high school seniors and determined that 90 percent of Chinese undergraduate applicants submit phony recommendation letters, 70 percent rely on essays written by others and 50 percent falsify their transcripts.

Melcher attributes the acceptance of cheating in part to "aggressive agents" who typically charge parents $6,000 to $10,000 ? and similar-sized bonuses if the student gains admission to a top-ranked school. Those payments do not include fees that agents charge schools, which can be more than 10 percent of tuition.

"Until and unless American schools systematically address cheating on applications from China, the problem will continue to grow," the company report said.

The recruiting industry says it's working to tighten oversight of agents. Supporters liken recruiters to the private admissions counselors used by affluent families to help American students get into the most selective schools. Not long ago, those services were also considered the bane of higher education by opponents who felt that admissions decisions were best kept away from anyone seeking a personal profit.

At Westminster College, a private liberal arts school in the central Missouri town of Fulton, international enrollment has grown from 3 percent less than a decade ago to more than 16 percent.

Most of those students are drawn from an organization called United World Colleges and an ample private scholarship fund. Previous efforts to use recruiters made little difference.

"There are very good recruiters out there who are very solid and do all the right things," said George Wolf, the school's vice president of enrollment management. "And then there are recruiters out there just to a make a buck."

___

Alan Scher Zagier can be reached at http://twitter.com/azagier .

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-25-Recruiting%20Foreign%20Students/id-7272c5b3742c4465bcce76fcd2d3b17e

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Republican field crowded and likely to remain so

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? They are barely blips in presidential polls and their campaign cash is scarce. Some are running on empty, fueled mainly by the exposure that comes with the blizzard of televised debates in this election cycle and interviews they eagerly grant to skeptical reporters.

Yet the second-tier candidates for the Republican presidential nomination soldier on. They argue that the race is far from over and that anything can happen with polls showing a wide-open race in Iowa five weeks before the Jan. 3 caucuses.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum is typical when he resists the conventional wisdom that only candidates with a lot of cash and a big campaign can win.

"I feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing and I feel like I'm making a difference in the race," said Santorum, who barely registers in state surveys despite having campaigned in Iowa for more than a year. "I absolutely believe our time will come and we'll have the opportunity to have the spotlight turned on us."

Santorum, who represented Pennsylvania in Congress for 16 years, frankly acknowledges the possibility of a different outcome.

"If it doesn't, you know, it doesn't," he said.

Even more than energy and determination, also-ran candidates rely on particular issues, free media and prospects for the future to drive them to keep their small-scale operations going.

With polls and money putting candidates like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain atop the field of Republican rivals, there's a crop of others likely to remain in the race until voters have their say. One force in that dynamic is the fluidity of this year's contest.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota congresswoman, was among the many candidates who surged when they got into the race but then plummeted in the polls. She's gotten feistier as her fortunes have sagged.

"I guarantee you, with everything within my being, I have the backbone," Bachmann said. "I'll put my backbone up against any other candidate in the race."

That includes Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is adamant that he's not giving up, even as his campaign flails and his once-flush bank account suffers following a series of debate missteps that has some of his fundraisers questioning his viability. He, like Bachmann, Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, are barely blips in many surveys.

Although they don't seem to be catching fire, it turns out that the nomination itself is not the only prize to be had by seeking a presidential nomination.

Rep. Ron Paul's hard-core libertarian views energize a small but loyal base. Santorum uses his platform to hammer his hard-core anti-abortion stance. Bachmann just released a book whose sales could see a boost in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses.

And history shows that future leadership posts ? and presidential runs ? can be in the offing.

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa waged a long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination in 1992, getting forced out after the early primaries. He endorsed candidate Bill Clinton, kept his seat in the Senate and became an influential voice in the Clinton White House.

Romney lost his first presidential bid in 2008 but used that experience to build a network of political and financial supporters serving him well in this election cycle.

There are other reasons too to press ahead when chances of victory seem slim, not the least of which is how quickly politics can change.

Just ask Gingrich. The former House speaker was a footnote in the race this summer after his campaign imploded. Now, as Iowa voters give him a second look, he's enjoying a rise in state and national polls. And he reports that money and manpower are now flowing his way.

It's not unusual for second-tier candidates to stick around long after they have fallen out of favor with voters and donors alike. The structure of the race in Iowa and other early voting states like New Hampshire and South Carolina is designed to make it possible for them to keep going because the states are relatively cheap places to campaign and they value hand-to-hand campaigning over pricy TV ads.

"In Iowa, you can sleep on people's couches and hang on for a long time with very little money," Republican strategist Rich Galen said. "You can live off the land in Iowa. You can't do that in Florida."

The nature of the politics of the first three states to vote also encourages longshot candidates because the contests are dominated in both parties by hard-core activists more interested in political purity than poll numbers.

Steve Scheffler, who heads the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, notes that very few people in Iowa have made firm decisions on whom to support, meaning the race could be anyone's to win.

"There's enough fluidness in the race and enough people out there who are not entrenched in stone," Scheffler said. "The verdict is still out there."

Thus, so too are the second-tier candidates.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-11-25-Republicans-Crowded%20Field/id-55b2cfed51a04c88a68c3746b9c3b2f7

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Science fiction author Anne McCaffrey dies at 85

Prolific science fiction and fantasy author Anne McCaffrey died Monday at her home in Ireland shortly after suffering a stroke. She was 85.

McCaffrey published nearly 100 books in her lifetime and was best known for her popular ?Dragonriders of Pern? novels. In her bio on her website, McCaffrey shared the following insights about her approach to writing and her first novel, which was published in 1967:

?Her first novel, ?Restoree,? was written as a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in s-f novels in the ?50s and early ?60s. It is, however, in the handling of broader themes and the worlds of her imagination, particularly the two series ?The Ship Who Sang? and the fourteen novels about the ?Dragonriders of Pern,? that Ms. McCaffrey?s talents as a story-teller are best displayed.?

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McCaffrey was born in Cambridge, Mass., and moved to Ireland in 1970. In the late 1960s she became the first woman to win a Hugo Award for a work of fiction and the first woman to win a Nebula Award. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006.

While her health permitted, McCaffrey made frequent appearances at science fiction and fantasy conventions such as Dragon*Con, and she did much to encourage new writers in their craft.

In response to an announcement of McCaffrey?s death on a Random House website, one longtime fan posted this message: ?Anne touched my entire family and was passed from mother to daughter and now granddaughters. I am crying over a woman who touched three generations and will continue to touch more. We love you Anne and know that your legacy will live on within my family and many others. You will be missed.?

? 2011 MSNBC Interactive.? Reprints

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45409015/ns/today-books/

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White House says US policy has weakened Iran (AP)

WASHINGTON ? National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said Tuesday that Iran has been weakened under the Obama administration, rebutting Republicans and other critics who have called the White House policy on Iran ineffective.

Donilon's remarks at the Brookings Institution came just hours before a scheduled foreign policy debate by GOP presidential candidates, several of whom have called for a tougher line against Iran. The White House said that the timing was coincidental.

Donilon told experts at the Brookings Institution that when President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, Iran seemed to many in the region to be "ascendant," its regime faced no significant challenge at home and the international community was divided over how to deal with Tehran's nuclear program.

He said that after Iran rejected U.S. overtures for dialogue, the administration ramped up sanctions, sought to isolate Tehran diplomatically, thwarted Iran's efforts to "meddle" in its neighbors affairs and strengthened military cooperation with Persian Gulf states. "We have steadily increased the pressure on the Iranian regime and raised the cost of their intransigence," he said.

Donilon said the administration's international sanctions, internal divisions and the revolts of the Arab Spring have reduced Iran's influence in the Middle East and beyond.

Michael Singh, the director for Iran for the Bush administration's National Security Council, said the only real measure of progress is whether the U.S. is any closer to forcing Iran to abandon its prohibited nuclear programs.

"The fact is, we're not," Singh said. He said that so far no U.S. administration "has really come up with a formula to stop Iran in its tracks."

When Donilon was asked if the White House strategy is succeeding, he said that with persistence and international support, "over time the goal would be to raise the price and force the choice" between Tehran's nuclear ambitions and an important role in the international community.

Donilon's comments came two weeks after the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog found that Iran had engaged in nuclear weapons research and one day after the U.S. expanded sanctions to include Iran's petrochemical industry and central bank.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111122/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iran_white_house

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"Dark Knight Rises" prologue hits theaters December 21 (omg!)

By Kurt Orzeck

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Filmmaker Christopher Nolan is finally ready to remove the shroud from his much-anticipated final "Batman" movie.

While the director's "The Dark Knight Rises" isn't due in theaters until July 20, fans will be reunited with Bruce Wayne -- and rival Bane -- via a prologue hitting IMAX screens December 21, Empire magazine reported Monday.

Nolan told the British film magazine that the prologue is "basically the first six, seven minutes of the film" and will serve as "an introduction to Bane, and a taste of the rest of the film." (Representatives for the movie's studio, Warner Bros., weren't available for further comment or confirmation.)

Nolan also told Empire that "The Dark Knight Rises" would be set eight years after its predecessor.

Christian Bale's hero is "an older Bruce Wayne; he's not in a great state," Nolan said. "Perhaps surprisingly for some people, our story picks up quite a bit later, eight years after 'The Dark Knight.'"

The filmmaker also discussed the movie's villain.

"With Bane, we're looking to give Batman a challenge he hasn't had before," Nolan added. "With our choice of villain and with our choice of story we're testing Batman both physically as well as mentally."

The "Dark Knight Rises" prologue will be screened in advance of Paramount's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and be rated PG-13.

This isn't the first time Warner Bros. has whetted Batman fans' appetites in this fashion.

In December 2007, the prologue to "The Dark Knight" was shown along with some IMAX screenings of the sci-fi film "I Am Legend."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_dark_knight_rises_prologue_hits_theaters_december21_000100834/43676507/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/dark-knight-rises-prologue-hits-theaters-december-21-000100834.html

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Stock futures extend losses after weak China flash PMI (Reuters)

SINGAPORE (Reuters) ? S&P stock futures extended losses to more than 1 percent after a key gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity slumped to its weakest level in nearly three years.

By 0237 GMT (9:37 p.m. ET Tuesday), futures were down 1.2 percent, extending earlier losses made after a downward revision of U.S. growth data raised fresh concerns about the faltering global economy.

Chinese factories saw their weakest activity in 32 months in November, a preliminary purchasing managers' survey showed, reviving worries that China may be skidding toward an economic hard landing and compounding global recession fears.

The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), the earliest indicator of China's industrial activity, slumped in November to 48, a low not seen since March 2009.

The data showed the world's growth engine is not immune to economic troubles abroad, and could further unnerve financial markets already roiled by Europe's deteriorating debt crisis.

November's flash reading is a sharp three-point fall from October's final figure of 51 and indicated Chinese factory output shrank on the month in November. A PMI reading of 50 demarcates expansion from contraction.

The last time the PMI slipped below 50 was in September, when the index hit 49.9.

(Reporting by Masayuki Kitano; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111123/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

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Greyhound bus driver leaves passengers stranded

ST. LOUIS?? Greyhound is conducting an investigation after a bus driver left 45 passengers stranded for about eight hours in the middle of the night at a gas station in the state of Missouri.

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"It was certainly unprecedented and absolutely inexcusable," said company spokeswoman Maureen Richard, adding that the unidentified female driver, who is based in Memphis, Tennessee, was cooperating with officials.

The woman was driving a route on Friday from Memphis to St. Louis, which is normally a six-hour trip. But she left the bus 150 miles from her destination, turning the journey into a roughly 16-hour ordeal for passengers.

Traveling by bus? Choose a safe ride

The trouble began near Sikeston, Missouri when the driver put an unruly passenger off the bus. The driver then took the bus east to Charleston, Missouri where she abandoned it on Friday evening.

A Greyhound replacement driver didn't get to the bus until about eight hours after the driver walked off, the company said. Greyhound was offering full refunds, Richmond said.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45390880/ns/travel-news/

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AP Exclusive: Alleged Iran nuke site being watched (AP)

VIENNA ? Satellite surveillance has shown an increase in activity at an Iranian site suspected of links to alleged secret work on nuclear weapons, officials tell The Associated Press.

One of the officials cited intelligence from his home country, saying it appeared Tehran is trying to cover its tracks by sanitizing the site and removing any evidence of nuclear research and development.

Counterparts from two other countries confirmed sightings of increased activity but said they did not have reasons to believe it was linked to such efforts. In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby said he has "seen nothing to indicate that those concerns are warranted."

Their focus is on a structure believed to be housing a large metal chamber at a military site that a Nov. 8 International Atomic Energy Agency report described as being used for nuclear-related explosives testing.

Officials from the three IAEA member countries say that recent satellite imagery of the site, at Parchin, southwest of Tehran, shows increased activity, including an unusual number of vehicles arriving and leaving. One of the officials described the movements, recorded Nov.4-5, as unusual and said his country views it as evidence that Iran is trying to "clean" the area of traces of weapons-related work

"Freight trucks, special haulage vehicles and cranes were seen entering and leaving... (and) some equipment and dangerous materials were removed from the site," said a summary he provided to the AP.

His counterparts agreed there had been more activity than usual at the site around that date but could not conclude that pointed to an attempted cover-up by the Iranians.

The IAEA was alerted to the suspicions late last week and a senior diplomat familiar with the issue said the agency was closely monitoring all suspect sites mentioned in the agency's report. He, like the officials, asked for anonymity because his information was confidential.

The IAEA said it would have no comment. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the IAEA, dismissed the reports as "childish stories." He told the AP he had not heard of any such activity, describing the claims as "ridiculous."

Iran is already under U.N. Security council sanctions because of concerns it seeks to develop nuclear weapons, and the IAEA report has increased international pressure. But the Islamic Republic insists it has no such intentions and says Israel, and its undeclared nuclear arsenal, is the main threat to the Middle East.

Reflecting its defiance, Iran was boycotting an IAEA meeting Monday attended by Israel and all Arab nations meant to explore the possibilities of establishing a nuclear-arms-free Mideast based on the experiences of other world regions with such zones.

The large Parchin complex is used for research, development, and production of ammunition, missiles, and high explosives. IAEA experts had already visited the site twice in 2005 and were allowed to pick several buildings at random for inspections that revealed nothing suspicious. But a former inspector who was part of that inspection told the AP that the site was too vast to be able to draw conclusions on the basis of such restricted and haphazard visits.

Iran asserts it is interested only in producing energy. But it has refused for over three years to allow the IAEA to probe growing suspicions that it is conducting research and development of such weapons and continues to enrich uranium, which can be used both to power reactors of arm nuclear warheads.

Summarizing such fears in a Nov. 8 report that first mentioned the steel chamber believed to be used for nuclear testing, the agency concluded that some of the alleged activities it listed could have no other purpose than to make the bomb.

Ahead of that report, on Oct. 30. Iran invited top IAEA investigator Herman Nackaerts to Tehran for talks "aiming at a resolution of matters." That would have given Nackaerts a chance to ask for a renewed trip to Parchin that included a visit to the suspected building.

On Friday, however, Soltanieh abruptly announced that the trip was postponed, if not canceled. He blamed the IAEA, saying it had "messed up" the trip by publishing its report.

The decision could give Iran time to clean up sites mentioned in the report as being part of the secret work, should it chose to do so. The senior diplomat said the IAEA was aware of that possibility ? even if the official reason for postponement given the agency by the Iranians was that domestic sentiment was too negative in the wake of the report for such a visit.

Such cleanups would not be new. Iran razed the Lavizan Shian complex in northern Iran, before allowing IAEA inspectors to visit the suspected repository of military procured equipment that could be used in a nuclear weapons program five years ago. Tehran said the site had been demolished to make way for a park, but inspectors subsequently found traces of uranium enriched to or near the level used in making the core of nuclear warheads.

The Iranians also embarked on an extensive redo at the Kalay-e Electric Co., just west of Tehran, before agency inspectors were given access nine years ago. Although the site was repainted and otherwise sanitized, samples taken from Kalay-e also showed traces of enriched uranium, though at levels substantially below warhead grade.

Based on the IAEA report, the agency's board on Friday expressed "deep and increasing concern about the unresolved issues regarding the Iranian nuclear program, including those which need to be clarified to exclude the existence of possible military dimensions." The concerns were voiced in a resolution supported by 32 of the 35 board nations.

___

Associated Press Pentagon correspondent Lolita Baldor contributed from Washington.

_____

George Jahn can be reached at: http://twitter.com/georgejahn

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111121/ap_on_re_eu/iran_nuclear

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Romney urges Obama to stop looming military cuts (AP)

NASHUA, N.H. ? Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is calling on President Obama to block looming military cuts.

The former Massachusetts governor tells supporters in New Hampshire that the deficit-cutting supercommittee in Congress probably won't come up with a deal before its Wednesday deadline. That would trigger billions of dollars in automatic cuts to the military and domestic programs.

Romney says the president hasn't done enough to push congress to compromise, and Romney wants Obama to introduce legislation to stop the threatened military cuts.

Romney himself has been reluctant to take a position on the supercommittee.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111120/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney

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Wolfram Alpha search engine now tracks flight paths, trajectory information

If you've ever looked up in the sky and wondered where a plane might be headed, Wolfram Alpha might just know the answer. The search engine, which recently began incorporating data from the FAA can now, with a five-minute delay from real-time data, use a flight's speed, heading and altitude to offer a projection of a plane's position. A search for 'flights overhead' via the Wolfram Alpha web site or app will use your location to pinpoint flights that should be visible to you. That string currently only works if the flight has at least one endpoint in the United States, so tracking international flights might be limited. Even so, this should allow you to look up flight delays, check when the next flight will be, see a cool interactive sky map and track a specific flight, of course. You'll have no valid excuse for being late to pick a friend up from the airport ever again.

Wolfram Alpha search engine now tracks flight paths, trajectory information originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  Wolfram Alpha Blog  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2pYl0sTmLAw/

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Salesforce.com shares drop on tepid outlook (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Web-based software maker Salesforce.com Inc forecast current-quarter earnings broadly in line with Wall Street estimates and posted a quarterly net loss as its marketing and sales costs increased sharply.

The tepid outlook from one of the leaders in Internet-based "cloud" computing suggests it will not avoid the effects of broad cutbacks in corporate spending which have ravaged other technology firms.

Salesforce shares fell 6 percent after hours.

Chief Executive Marc Benioff said he was optimistic about companies' spending on technology and marketing, despite economic difficulties in Europe and Japan.

"I don't feel like we are going into a recession," he said on a conference call with analysts.

The San Francisco-based company reported a net loss of $3.8 million, or 3 cents per share, for the fiscal third quarter, compared with a profit of $21.1 million, or 15 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

The loss was due to a 49 percent jump in operating costs to $465.8 million, which outpaced sales growth. The cost of stock-based compensation more than doubled to $57 million from $26 million a year ago.

Excluding certain items, such as the stock-based compensation, its profit was 34 cents per share, beating the 31 cent average estimate by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters

I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 36 percent to $584 million, surpassing the $571.5 million expected by analysts.

For the current quarter, the company forecast profit, excluding items, of 39 cents to 40 cents per share, compared to Wall Street's estimate of 40 cents.

For fiscal 2013, it made its first sales forecast, of $2.88 billion to $2.92 billion, which includes projected revenue from Model Metrics, an acquisition expected to close this quarter. Excluding that deal, analysts are expecting sales of $2.79 billion.

Salesforce.com shares dropped 7 percent in after-hours trading to $117.78, after closing at $126.09 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Bernard Orr and Richard Chang)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111117/wr_nm/us_salesforce

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Jay-Z, Jimmy Fallon: GQ Men Could Take Down People's Sexiest

GQ held its annual Men of the Year bash in Hollywood Thursday night.
By Jim Cantiello

Jimmy Fallon and Jay-Z at <i>GQ</i>'s "Men of the Year" Party
Photo: WireImage

HOLLYWOOD — The GQ Men of the Year are ready to rumble with People magazine's "Sexiest Men."

At GQ's 16th annual "Men of the Year" Party at the Chateau Marmont, honorees Jay-Z, Jimmy Fallon and Michael Fassbender joked that if push came to shove, their posse of powerful GQ players would dominate Bradley Cooper's sexy gang, which includes "Glee" star Darren Criss, the male stars of "Parks and Recreation," Tim McGraw, Joe Manganiello, Joel McHale and dozens more.

GQ top dog Jay-Z even has a strategy in place. "I'll take on the whole entire cast of 'Parks and Recreation.' I'll leave Justin [Timberlake] to take care of 'Glee' and Jimmy Fallon could karate-chop the rest of those guys," Jay joked.

Fallon was less sure about the match-up. "['Parks and Recreation' character Ron Swanson] is a tough guy. That's a tough call, but you know, I gotta see what the arena is. I gotta look at the variables there." Meanwhile, "True Blood" star Manganiello thinks he could hold his own against the GQ gang. "I'm fighting for People presently, so you know who I'm going to say," he said before adding, "I think we should do it for charity!"

"Revenge" star Emily VanCamp was torn. "[Co-star] Joshua Bowman's one of the sexiest so I'd have to say Josh," she said. But does she really think Bowman could take on Jay-Z? "That's a tough one. Don't tell him I said so, but no," she said.

"Teen Wolf" star Colton Haynes had no qualms picking Team GQ despite co-star Tyler Posey repping on People's list. "We worked out with the same trainer today and I gave him a lot of crap about that, so just to spite him, I'm with GQ," Haynes quipped.

"21 Jump Street" star Rob Riggle has a theory as to why the well-dressed men of GQ would beat up the half-naked pretty boys of People. "[Team GQ has] more of a manly man's, unshaven look, I think. They're gonna be a little tougher. They got a little more grit." Actress Lizzie Caplan snarked that her skinny "Party Down" partner in crime Adam Scott would lead the Sexiest Men to victory. "I mean, clearly he's enormous and so cut. I'm surprised he's not on the cover of Men's Fitness, like, all the time," she said with a wry smile.

If there's one thing everyone could agree on, it's that GQ's secret weapon is one of the December issue's four cover subjects, Mila Kunis. "I think Mila would kick Bradley [Cooper's] ass," asserted "The Killing" star Billy Campbell.

"I think Mila Kunis could take some people out if she wanted to," Fallon seconded.

We wondered what Justin Timberlake would do in a GQ/People magazine knife fight, however. The singer-turned-actor appears on both lists this year. Maybe he could be the ref.

Related Artists

• Jay-Z

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1674626/jay-z-gq-man-of-the-year-jimmy-fallon.jhtml

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Romanian arrested for hacking into NASA's servers (AP)

BUCHAREST, Romania ? A court in Romania has ordered the arrest of a Romanian man accused of hacking into NASA's servers.

Court spokesman Lucian Marian in the northwest city of Cluj says Robert Butyka would be arrested for 29 days as he awaits trial.

The 26-year-old Romanian national, currently in detention, is charged with breaching security measures to access several of NASA's servers in December 2010.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that he interfered with server data, causing NASA losses of about $500,000 (euro371,000). There was no comment from the U.S. Embassy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/enterprise/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111116/ap_on_hi_te/eu_romania_nasa_hacking

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Who Owns An iPad? Video Gaming Men With Pets - eBookNewser

By Dianna Dilworth on November 18, 2011 9:12 AM

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Blue Kai, comScore and Nielsen have figured out the typical iPad user and made the colorful graphic, which we?ve posted above to illustrate who they are.?The people who are most likely to own an iPad are male, pet owners that play video games. Does this mean that iPad owners are also likely to own Nintendogs? We?re not sure.

But we can tell you that apartment dwellers, scientists, business travelers, international travelers, vitamin takers and proponents of organic food rank second highest on the list and are 70-89% likely to buy an iPad.?Married couples and college graduates are also likely to buy iPads.

Via AllThingsDigital.

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Source: http://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknewser/who-owns-an-ipad-video-gaming-men-with-pets_b17923

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Tender Breasts From Combo HRT Linked to Higher Cancer Risk (HealthDay)

FRIDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Women who develop breast tenderness after starting combination estrogen and progestin menopause therapy have a 33 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who don't experience breast tenderness, a new study says.

It also found that new-onset breast tenderness was not associated with increased breast cancer risk among women taking estrogen alone.

The findings, based on an analysis of data from more than 16,600 women on the combination therapy and nearly 10,750 taking estrogen alone, appear in the Nov. 17 online edition of the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

"This study showed that developing new breast tenderness after the start of hormone therapy was associated with increased breast cancer risk only in women on the combination estrogen plus progestin therapy, not estrogen therapy alone," study first author Dr. Carolyn Crandall, a professor of general internal medicine and a scientist with the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, said in a UCLA news release.

However, the association between breast tenderness and increased cancer risk does not mean that there is a cause-and-effect relationship.

A study published last month by Crandall found that new-onset breast tenderness was much more pronounced in women receiving the combination therapy than in those receiving estrogen alone. The association between new-onset breast tenderness and breast-density changes was also more pronounced in women receiving the combination therapy.

"The consistent theme we've run across throughout these studies is that estrogen and progestin compared to estrogen alone have a more marked effect on breast tissue," Crandall said. "One theory is that there may be more growth of breast tissue, making the breasts more dense, when women take the combination therapy."

Higher breast density is linked with a higher risk of breast cancer.

Crandall stressed that women taking hormone therapy have only a slight risk of developing breast cancer overall.

"We don't want to incite panic, because breast cancer is rare in women taking hormone therapy, but the point is that women are terrified of getting breast cancer as a result of menopausal hormone therapy," Crandall said.

"Where I think this (new) study would be important is for women already on either combination hormone therapy or estrogen alone," Crandall added. "If they do develop breast tenderness, it would be good for them to know the results of this study and to consider discussing them with their physician."

Women on hormone therapy who develop new-onset breast tenderness should be sure to get their regular clinical breast exams and mammograms, Crandall advised.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has more about hormone replacement therapy.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111118/hl_hsn/tenderbreastsfromcombohrtlinkedtohighercancerrisk

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Oldest Antarctic Whale Found; Shows Fast Evolution

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Asian stocks waver as Europe crisis fears weigh

HONG KONG (AP) ? Asian stocks wavered on Thursday, looking for direction after a credit ratings agency warning that U.S. banks could be hit hard if Europe's debt crisis spreads beyond financially troubled countries like Greece.

Oil prices hovered above $102 per barrel, while the dollar rose against the yen and the euro.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.9 percent to 18,793.28 while South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.6 percent to 1,867.56. Japan's Nikkei 225 index was up 0.1 percent at 8,475 while mainland China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was flat at 2,467.67.

Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and India fell. Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged up 0.3 percent to 4,258.20.

Europe's sovereign debt crisis is "the big overhang on the market at the moment," said Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray Asia Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.

"Until (investors) see Greece default and then everyone stares at the fallout and realizes that the world isn't ending, or the eurozone comes up with a solid plan that is financed properly ? until one of those two options come out we're not really going to see that overhang move away."

Asian markets were held back as fears in Europe heightened following a rise in the interest rate ? or yield ? on 10-year Italian government bonds to near 7 percent. That's the level that eventually forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal to seek bailouts. It was a particular concern because Italy is considered to big to bail out.

That was followed by a warning from Fitch Ratings, one of the big three credit rating agencies, that U.S. banks could be "greatly affected" if Europe's debt crisis spreads beyond the affected countries.

The developments on Wednesday drove up fears about the global financial economy.

"Contagion from the eurozone debt crisis is spreading quickly, threatening to turn a regional crisis into a global crisis," strategists at Credit Agricole CIB said in a research note.

Asian investors were also fretting about the financial health of property developers sparked by concerns about sliding prices in China's once-buoyant real estate market, Sullivan said.

Shares of South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor Inc. rose 2.9 percent after a California jury determined it didn't conspire with a rival chip-maker to fix prices to keep Rambus Inc. out of the market.

Scandal-hit Japanese camera and medical equipment maker Olympus Corp. rose 3.2 percent even after its top shareholder, Nippon Life Insurance, said it was cutting its stake to 5 percent from 8 percent. The stock has lost four-fifths of its value since a scandal erupted over the concealment of huge losses.

In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,905.59, a loss of 1.6 percent, with most of the losses coming after the Fitch report was released.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.7 percent to 1,236.92. The Nasdaq composite lost 1.7 percent to 2,639.61.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 48 cents at $102.12 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $3.22 to settle at $102.59 in New York on Wednesday.

In currencies, the euro weakened to $1.3491 from $1.3512 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar strengthened to 77.02 yen from 76.94 yen.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-11-17-World-Markets/id-1b7bba07b3a04943b30fb545ed2eab33

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Video: First Read Minute

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45306186#45306186

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Rick Perry Tells South Carolina Republicans He'd Cut Foreign Aid (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Republican presidential candidates met in South Carolina to talk foreign policy. It certainly wasn't the most enlightened of debates, but it did show near unanimous consensus on how to deal with the threat posed by Iran's quest to build a nuclear bomb. Candidates also were divided on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's plan to reallocate all foreign aid.

With the exception of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, all the other candidates said they would support a military solution to deprive Iran of possessing a nuclear bomb. Paul consistently has shown voters that there are times when he supports the traditional Republican platform, and times when he is very much an independent thinker. That was certainly true when he said that the U.S. should remember Iraq when it considers military operations. Paul insisted Congress be consulted before going to war and, according to Associated Press, he said if the Iranian threat was so great, President Barack Obama should go before Congress before any military strike.

I really liked Perry's suggestion that he would stop all foreign aid on the first day of his presidency. Perry told The Ticket that he would re-evaluate how the U.S. dispenses aid and countries like Pakistan would find themselves empty-handed. The U.S. passes out more than $139 billion every year to foreign countries.

That's an insane amount of money to hand out. American priorities should get that money. Perry's position wasn't unanimously received though. Former ambassador Jon Huntsman said the U.S. must continue to work with Pakistan because it is already a nuclear power. That might be true, but whether the U.S. passes out more money to Pakistan or not isn't going to change their nuclear status, and I seriously doubt we can consider Pakistan an "ally" even under the loosest of definitions. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and former senator Rick Santorum agreed, calling Perry's plan "naive."

These debates are informative -- usually -- but it's really time to start narrowing the field of candidates. Rick Santorum is stuck in the single digits. Maybe he's running for vice president, but his campaign isn't gathering momentum and he needs to bow out. Bachmann had her 15-minutes of fame in Iowa. Her ideas aren't sitting well with the voters and she seems frozen in the opinion polls. The GOP needs a breakout candidate soon. I wasn't expecting a good performance from businessman Herman Cain in a foreign policy debate, but he didn't crash.

Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111115/us_ac/10428449_rick_perry_tells_south_carolina_republicans_hed_cut_foreign_aid

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6 dead as storms, possible tornadoes hit Southeast

Staci DeGeer looks out the door of her home in Auburn, Ala., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. Several trees were tossed into her kitchen and bedroom during a windstorm. A path of storms swept across the state leaving behind fallen trees and some heavy wind damage. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Staci DeGeer looks out the door of her home in Auburn, Ala., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. Several trees were tossed into her kitchen and bedroom during a windstorm. A path of storms swept across the state leaving behind fallen trees and some heavy wind damage. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Auburn University student Tabitha Welch helps a friend search her home for valuables after a windstorm blew several trees into her home in Auburn, Ala., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. A path of storms swept across the state leaving behind fallen trees and some heavy wind damage. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Chris Whaley, left, and Dennis Lockhart inspect damage to their friends home in Auburn, Ala., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. A path of storms swept across the state leaving behind fallen trees and some heavy wind damage. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Staci DeGeer stand in the remains of her home in Auburn, Ala., Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011. Several trees were tossed into her kitchen, living room and bedroom during a windstorm. A path of storms swept across the state leaving behind fallen trees and some heavy wind damage. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Raymond Pierce, 72, surveys damage to his property after strong winds from a suspected tornado passed through the Lafayette Woods subdivision Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011 in Houma, La. No one was injured. (AP Photo/The Houma Courier, Julia Rendleman)

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) ? At least six people have been killed and dozens more injured as a storm system that spawned several possible tornadoes moved across the Southeast.

Suspected tornadoes were reported Wednesday in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina. Dozens of homes and buildings were damaged and thousands of people were without power as trees and power lines were downed.

In South Carolina, three people were killed and five injured when a likely tornado swept through a rural community near Rock Hill, about 20 miles south of Charlotte, N.C. In north Georgia, a man was killed when a tree fell on his sport utility vehicle. Authorities also said an adult and child were killed in central North Carolina.

In eastern Alabama, a suspected twister splintered trees and demolished mobile homes at a pair of housing parks near the Auburn University campus. Less than seven months ago, a massive tornado roared past the campus of archrival University of Alabama in the western part of the state.

It was the worst bout of weather for the state since about 250 people were killed during the tornado outbreak in April. Both campuses were spared major damage this time.

In Rock Hill, Simone Moore told The Herald newspaper she was sitting on her back porch when she saw the tornado touch down and then quickly move back up. She said after the storm passed, she noticed a nearby trailer had vanished.

"Everything's gone," Moore said. "Even the cows in the pasture."

As weather service experts fanned out to assess damage, Auburn graduate student Staci DeGeer didn't have any doubts about what sent a pair of trees crashing through her mobile home at Ridgewood Village.

"It's tornado damage. I'm from Kansas; I know tornado damage," said DeGeer, who wasn't home at the time. "It's kind of hit or miss. There will be two or three (trailers) that are bad and then a few that are OK."

Trees fell on homes in southeastern Mississippi, where Jones County emergency director Don McKinnon said some people were briefly trapped. Mobile homes were tossed off their foundations. In all, 15 people were hurt in the area.

As the weather moved east, tornado warnings and watches were issued in Georgia and South Carolina.

At least 10 people were injured when a possible tornado ripped through an area south of Lexington in North Carolina, destroying one building, damaging several others and leaving thousands without electricity.

Forecasters said a cold front stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northeast was to blame. Temperatures dropped in some areas from the low 70s to the 50s as the front passed, and winds gusted to near 30 mph.

Damage was reported in several parts of Alabama. In Sumter County, in the west-central part of the state, an elderly woman was in her home as a tree crashed into it. She had to be taken to the hospital.

In Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama, the day was a harsh reminder of the threat of violent weather for communities still recovering from the killer tornadoes.

"It makes you sit up on the edge of the chair a little more," said Tom Perryman, who works for the school system in Tuscaloosa County, which was hard hit in April.

Nearby, DeGeer's dog Jack rode out the storm in her mobile home without injury, but the trailer itself didn't fare as well.

"It looks like I redecorated with a wilderness theme. There are trees through my house," she said.

In southern Louisiana, a suspected tornado hit a neighborhood in Houma, splintering a home. Crews helped clean up storm debris near a school and the Red Cross sent workers to help with damage assessments.

___

Johnson reported from Birmingham and Associated Press writer Jay Reeves contributed to this report from there.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-17-Severe%20Weather/id-5c75273bf39f4c319b0e0c3981716338

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Israel says Iran closer to atom bomb than thought (Reuters)

JERUSALEM (Reuters) ? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday the full extent of Iran's nuclear programme was not reflected in a recent U.N. report, which said that Tehran appeared to have worked on designing an atomic bomb.

"Iran is closer to getting an (atomic) bomb than is thought," Netanyahu said in remarks to cabinet ministers, quoted by an official from his office.

"Only things that could be proven were written (in the U.N. report), but in reality there are many other things that we see," Netanyahu said, according to the official.

The Israeli leader did not specify what additional information he had about Iran's nuclear programme during his cabinet's discussion on the report by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released last week.

At the start of meeting, Netanyahu made a broadcast repeating his call for the world "to stop Iran's race to arm itself with a nuclear weapon before it is too late".

Iran has dismissed accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons and says it needs atomic technology for electricity and other peaceful projects. it called the IAEA report "unbalanced" and "politically motivated".

The IAEA paper has intensified media speculation that the United States or Israel might take military action against Iran to destroy its nuclear programme.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it had "credible" information that Iran had built a large explosives vessel to conduct hydrodynamic experiments, which are "strong indicators of possible weapon development".

Both Washington and Israel have said they are keeping all options on the table to stop Tehran developing a nuclear bomb.

Israel, a close strategic ally of Western powers, is widely believed to have the Middle East region's only nuclear arsenal, dating back decades. It has never confirmed or denied this, under a policy of ambiguity designed to deter attacks.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111114/india_nm/india605031

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