Tehran – Iran said Sunday it is seeking bids for the construction of two more nuclear power plants, despite international pressures to curb its controversial program.
Ahmad Fayyazbakhsh, the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization in charge of power plants, said the plants would be light-water reactors, each with the capacity to generate up to 1,600 megawatts of electricity. Each plant would cost up to $1.7 billion and take up to 11 years to construct, he said at a news conference.
The country has been locked in a bitter funding dispute with Russia, which is building Iran’s first nuclear power plant near the southern city of Bushehr. Russia delayed the launch of the plant, which had been set for September, and refused to ship uranium fuel for the reactor last month as earlier planned, citing Iran’s payment arrears. Iranian officials denied any payment delays under the $1 billion contract and accused Russia of caving in to Western pressure.
The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons – a charge Iran denies. The U.N. Security Council last month voted to impose new sanctions on Iran as part of a second set of penalties in three months against Tehran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
QUINCY, Ill.
Cousin arrested after house fire kills 5 kids
A man was arrested on charges of setting his cousin’s house on fire in western Illinois early Sunday and killing her five children, authorities and a relative said.
Four other people were injured in the blaze, including one who was airlifted to a Springfield hospital in critical condition, said Quincy police Sgt. Doug Schlueter. A relative said the children’s parents, who tried in vain to save them, were among the injured and that their father was the most seriously hurt.
The bodies of four boys and a girl – ages 5 months to 10 years – were found on the second story, officials said.
Authorities said they arrested Zachary Q. Meeks, 27, after he was questioned about the fire that began around 3 a.m.
Police released few details about their investigation at a Sunday news conference.
Meeks was arrested on five counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated arson and a count of arson, police said.
ROUND ROCK, Texas
Kids who left school for march settle suit
Students who claimed their civil rights were violated when they were issued citations for leaving school to attend immigration-protest marches have settled their lawsuit with the city, officials said.
The city and the Round Rock school district agreed to drop charges against the 70 students, pay $91,750 in legal fees and eliminate the incident from the students’ records. The students must attend a three-hour seminar on civics education.
The protests were part of a series of marches nationwide against immigration laws last spring. Police issued 209 citations against the Round Rock High School students who marched to a neighboring school March 31, 2006, accusing them of violating the city’s youth curfew or disrupting class.
JERUSALEM
Group says it killed BBC correspondent
A previously unknown group in Gaza sent a statement to news organizations Sunday claiming it had killed Alan Johnston, the BBC correspondent who was kidnapped in Gaza City on March 12. The BBC said it was aware of the reports and deeply concerned but emphasized there was no independent verification of the claim, which it was treating as a rumor.
The Tawhid and Jihad Brigades said in its e-mailed statement that it held the British government, the Palestinian government and the Palestinian presidency responsible for the death and said its demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners inside Israel had not been met.
VATICAN CITY
Special Mass marks pope’s 80th birthday
Pope Benedict gave thanks for his 80 years of life with a special Sunday Mass.
The Vatican invited rank-and file faithful to the late-morning Mass on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica to help the pontiff celebrate his 80th birthday today and the anniversary of his April 19, 2005, election to the pontificate.
Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name of Benedict as pontiff, was born April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn, in Bavaria.
GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador
Voters back plan to remake government
Leftist President Rafael Correa scored a major victory Sunday as Ecuadoreans voted overwhelmingly to support his ambitious plan to remake the nation’s system of government and weaken its discredited Congress, an exit poll showed.
Voters across this small Andean nation voted on the need for a special assembly to rewrite the constitution – a measure many hope will bring economic improvement to their lives.
An exit poll by Cedatos-Gallup showed 78.1 percent of voters approved the election of a constitutional assembly, 11.5 percent rejected it and 10.4 percent spoiled their ballots or cast blank ones. Official results will not be available for five days.
Cedatos-Gallup said 2,000 pollsters interviewed 40,000 voters nationwide, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
PERTH, Australia
Sea lion attacks girl surfing behind boat
A sea lion leaped out of the sea and attacked a 13-year-old girl as she surfed behind a speedboat off Australia’s west coast, a newspaper reported Sunday.
A marine scientist said the attack was unusual and that the sea lion may have been trying to play with the girl. Sea lions, which can grow to more than 880 pounds, usually stay away from humans.
Ella Murphy’s jaw was broken and she lost three teeth when the sea lion attacked her Friday as she was being towed on a surfboard behind a speedboat at Lancelin, 80 miles north of the western Australia state capital of Perth, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.
“This thing just exploded in a full-on, frontal attack,” family friend Chris Thomas told the newspaper. “It jumped out of the water at her and hit her head-on.”
