New UN sanctions on Iran for nuclear program

A resolution approved Wednesday by the U.N. Security Council by a vote of 12-2 with one abstention imposes a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its suspect nuclear program. Here are the key points in the 18-page text:

NUCLEAR ISSUES:

— Reiterates demand that Iran suspend enrichment and comply with all requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency including its additional protocol which allows unannounced inspections of nuclear facilities.

— Calls on Iran to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty "at an early date."

— Bans Iran from any foreign investment in uranium mining, enrichment or reprocessing, production or use of nuclear materials and technology, heavy-water activities, and technology related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

MISSILES AND ARMS PROLIFERATION:

— Bans countries from selling eight categories of heavy weapons to Iran: battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large caliber artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile systems.

— Bans all countries from supplying technical training, financing or other services for these weapons.

— Bans Iran from any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launching such a missile.

— Bans all countries from supplying technology or technical assistance to Iran for such activities.

INDIVIDUAL AND COMPANY SANCTIONS:

— Adds one individual and 40 companies and other organizations to a list of those subject to an asset freeze including 22 entities involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities, 15 controlled or acting on behalf of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps, and three linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.

— Orders all countries to ban the 41 individuals now on the list from traveling to or through their territory.

ILLEGAL SHIPMENTS:

— Calls on countries to cooperate in inspections — which must receive the consent of the ship's flag state — if the vessel is suspected of carrying prohibited cargo.

— Bans the supply of fuel or services to Iranian owned or contracted vessels suspected of carrying prohibited cargo.

FINANCIAL AND BANKING MEASURES:

— Calls on countries to block financial transactions, including insurance and reinsurance, if there are "reasonable grounds" to believe these activities could contribute to Iranian nuclear activities.

— Orders all countries to require their nationals and companies operating in their territory "to exercise vigilance when doing business with entities incorporated in Iran or subject to Iran's jurisdiction."

— Calls on countries to ban the licensing of Iranian banks, the opening of financial institutions, or the establishment of new joint ventures if they have information that provides "reasonable grounds" to believe these activities could contribute to Iranian nuclear activities.

SANCTIONS ENFORCEMENT:

— Requests Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to establish a committee of experts to monitor implementation of all sanctions against Iran and calls for a first report 90 days after its appointment.

ENGAGEMENT:

— Stresses the willingness of China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and the United States "to further enhance diplomatic efforts to promote dialogue and consultations … without preconditions" with Iran.

— Emphasizes the importance of political and diplomatic efforts to find a negotiated solution guaranteeing that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

— Notes in this regard the efforts of Turkey and Brazil toward agreement with Iran on a fuel-swap for the Tehran Research Reactor "that could serve as a confidence-building measure."

— Emphasizes in the context of these efforts "the importance of Iran addressing the core issues related to its nuclear program."

Kids labeled 'generation next' before they grow up

CHICAGO — They aren't even out of grade school. But already, people are trying to name the youngest up-and-coming generation, and figure out who they might be and how they might be different from their predecessors.

At a loss for something more original, many call them Generation Z, because they follow Generations X and Y.

They've also been referred to as Generation Net or "iGen," since they've never known a world without the Internet.

That's the one point most everyone can agree on — that they are the tech-savviest generation of all time, so much so that even toddlers can maneuver their way through YouTube and some first-graders are able to put together a PowerPoint presentation for class.

But beyond that, who are they, really?

Most people agree it's just too early to know for sure. But that hasn't stopped marketers from trying to figure out this young crowd of consumers. Or employers from attempting to prepare for them in the workplace.

Parents, too — many of them Gen Xers — are weighing in, saying they are raising a different brand of kid than baby boomers did.

"I would like to think that ideally, and this might be a bit naive, Gen Xers are a bit more freethinking and not necessarily as compelled to keep up with the Joneses," says Kris Sonnenberg, a teacher in Chicago and 38-year-old mother of three children, ages 8, 12 and 17.

Many parents also think the recession will play a role in shaping who their kids are, and perhaps make them less "entitled," a label that — fair or not — has been slapped frequently on Generation Y, also known as the "millennials."

"We're not afraid to say money's tight, so I feel like our kids are going to have that sense long-term," says Andrew Egbert, a 41-year-old dad who works in manufacturing in Greensboro, N.C. He has a son in fifth grade and a daughter who's a first-grader.

OK, so, let's take a look at the picture that's emerging of Gen Z, for what it's worth. They're young — roughly age 12 or younger.

Generational expert Neil Howe says determining who these youngsters are still is very much a work in progress.

"But there are hints from history," he says.

Howe, who coined the term "millennials," says 2008 may turn out to be one year with a big influence on this generation, due to both the recession and the election of the nation's first black president.

He is calling them the "homelanders" because they are growing up in a time of "greater public urgency and emergency, both at home and around the world."

For that reason, he speculates they could be a new version of the so-called Silent Generation, the group that grew up in the Depression era, who saw the country through World War II and who birthed the baby boomers.

That elder generation was pegged as hardworking and anything but entitled.

Janet Reid, who also has spent time looking at this latest generation, thinks that's a pretty fair appraisal.

"It won't be taken for granted that prosperity is guaranteed," says Reid, a managing partner at Global Novations, a firm that helps corporations develop and attract workers and understand generational differences.

Because they're so hooked into screens of all kinds at a such a young age, she sees Gen Z as more conscious of world events. "They're not just out playing hopscotch," she says.

She also thinks this generation will take characteristics already affiliated with Gen Y to a new level — be that multitasking or a comfort level with different races, ethnicities and cultures.

Seven-year-old Ryan Cook's parents have noticed many of these traits in him.

Asked what a recession is, he's able to tell you that it has to do with the economy and the fact that his parents can't always buy him the things he wants, like video games. "But I think that's fair," he says.

He can tell you that President Barack Obama is the nation's first black president, but — as one whose elementary classroom in suburban Chicago is much more diverse than his parents' — that doesn't seem to phase him much.

"Well, the president is the president," he says nonchalantly. "They don't really change much, except for different speeches."

Like a lot of kids his age, he gets frustrated when he has to sit through TV commercials. He uses his dad's laptop by himself with ease. And though he doesn't have a cell phone, he wants one (partly because his 12-year-old brother has one).

That fits with the notion that, recession or no recession, this generation has a big expectation when it comes to technological gadgets, whether that be cell phones, laptops or the latest version of the iPod or other music players.

And in many instances, their parents are getting them those gadgets, says Nicole Williams, a 39-year-old mom of three who's also a fifth-grade teacher in Seattle.

"They have quick fingers, good muscle strength in those fingers," Williams says, laughing as she refers to the many technological devices her students use in and outside class.

These devices are so coveted — and a sign of status — that theft can be a problem.

That's not surprising to Colin Gounden, a research specialist who thinks access to technology will play a big role in determining which Gen Zers thrive, and which don't.

"There is a segmentation of haves and have-nots that is very global. If you are in Mississippi or Bangalore, if you don't have Internet, your experience is quite parallel," says Gounden, global head of research for Integreon Inc., whose subsidiary Grail Research has compiled a report on Gen Z.

Among other things, he also thinks this generation is more likely to be debt-ridden, partly because getting a college degree will be as important for them as a high school diploma was for their grandparents and great-grandparents.

Gounden is among those who question whether this recession will really impact this generation the way some think it will.

Another skeptic is Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University who's written books and studies that examine entitlement and narcissism in young people.

Twenge cites a recent poll of young people from the 2010 Cassandra Report, compiled by a market research firm known as the Intelligence Group, which found that 81 percent of 7- to 13-year-olds expect they will have their "15 minutes of fame."

"Every arrow points in the direction of continued high expectations and optimism," Twenge says. "Things might be bad sometimes, but they think THEY will make it."

Online:

Grail Research Gen Z report: www.grailresearch.com/gen(underscore)z

Martha Irvine is an AP national writer. She can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org

Use iPhone app to identify no-fee ATMs

Want to save money when you travel? Sure, you can look for cheap airfares, budget hotels and discount car rentals. But here's a simple change that can save you big bucks over the long haul: Stop paying ATM service fees.

After all, why should you pay a few dollars to withdraw money from a machine just because your bank doesn't have a branch nearby?

Fortunately a handful of apps can help you locate ATMs that won't charge you fees.

I tried two on my iPhone, and both were free. So it costs you nothing to save some dough on the road or even in your hometown.

The first app I tried is from Allpoint. It's a network of about 37,000 ATM locations around the world. A few thousand are in the United Kingdom and the rest are in the U.S.

The ATMs are usually in drug stores, retail outlets and the like. The network charges you zero to withdraw money — though your own bank might charge you something for using an out-of-network ATM.

The app is easy to use. You can search from your current location or by address. It shows nearby Allpoint locations on a map or in list form with distance noted. I used it awhile back to find an ATM close to work. It turned out that machine was even closer than the bank I'd used occasionally at $3 a pop.

Allpoint's app works seamlessly with the iPhone's map function to give directions to whichever location you choose. The network also offers apps for BlackBerry and Android smart phones.

I also tried CO-OP Network's app. It bills itself as the largest credit union-only ATM network in the country. For those with credit union accounts, the app serves much the same function as Allpoint.

It has fewer locations than the first app. And it was a bit slower on my iPhone. There were fewer locations as well. The credit union app offers a link to the location's website and shows it on a map or in list form. But it didn't offer step-by-step directions like the Allpoint app.

But either one can save some serious money over time. Consider that a $3 surcharge to withdraw $20 is like paying a 15 percent fee to withdraw your money.

BANGALORE - Som Mittal, President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has said outsourcing business in India has witnessed more than nine times growth, from 1.6 billion dollars to 14.7 billion dollars in the last decade.

Addressing media persons here on Wednesday, Mittal said: "In this last decade, from 1.6 billion, we rose to 14.7 dollars."

He further said that India's back-office outsourcing business would post a growth of 15 to 16 percent in 2010 to March 2011 on growing demands from overseas clients.

There is a growth in the employment sector as well, as far as the BPO industry is concerned.

He pointed out that even two-tier cities have become the hub of IT industry and software development.Today, BPO industry is in 50 cities and towns. I think that's very significant, so, a large part of the business did come from top six-seven cities, but the fact that they are already in 50 cities, is very significant," he added.

"Several new upcoming areas such as procurement services, healthcare outsourcing and knowledge services, which include services such as research and analytics, legal services outsourcing, financial research and data management, are expected to aid the growth of the BPO industry in the future," Mittal said.

NASSCOM is the premier trade body for the IT-BPO industries in India. (ANI)

AT&T hole exposes iPad users' e-mail addresses

SAN FRANCISCO — AT&T Inc. on Wednesday acknowledged a security weak spot that exposed the e-mail addresses of apparently more than 100,000 users of Apple Inc.'s iPad, a breach that could make those people vulnerable to precision-targeted hacking attacks.

The vulnerability only affected iPad users who signed up for AT&T's "3G" wireless Internet service.

It involved an insecure way that AT&T's website would prompt iPad users when they tried to log into their AT&T accounts through the devices. The site would supply users' e-mail addresses, to make log-ins easier, based on unique codes contained in the SIM cards inside their iPads. SIM cards are used to tell cell-phone networks which subscriber is trying to use the service.

The hacker group that claims to have discovered the weakness — the group calls itself Goatse Security — said it was able to trick AT&T's site into coughing up more than 114,000 e-mail addresses, including those apparently of famous media personalities and important government officials.

A representative for the group told The Associated Press late Wednesday that the group contacted AT&T and waited until the vulnerability was fixed before going public with the information. AT&T said the problem was fixed Tuesday but that it was alerted to it by a business customer.

Gawker Media Inc.'s Valleywag website earlier reported on the breach.

AT&T said it will notify all iPad users whose e-mail addresses may have been accessed.

"We take customer privacy very seriously and while we have fixed this problem, we apologize to our customers who were impacted," the company said in a statement.

AT&T noted that the only information hackers would have been able to steal using this attack were users' e-mail addresses. But that can be enough to launch a highly effective attack, since the attacker also knows that the person receiving the e-mail is an iPad user and an AT&T customer and would expect to receive e-mail from Apple and AT&T about their accounts. Criminals could use that knowledge to trick them into opening e-mails that plant malicious software on their computers.

An Apple representative deferred requests for comment to AT&T.

Apple has sold more than 2 million iPads since they went on sale two months ago. The iPad comes in two different flavors — one that only connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and another that also can connect through AT&T's "3G" cellular network. The Wi-Fi-only models aren't affected by the breach. Apple hasn't specified how many of each model it has sold.