SPB news for Saturday.

U.S. Planning Big New Prison in Afghanistan --Pentagon is planning to use $60 million in emergency construction funds this fiscal year The Pentagon is moving forward with plans to build a new, 40-acre detention complex on the main American military base in Afghanistan, officials said, in a stark acknowledgment that the United States is likely to continue to hold prisoners overseas for years to come. The proposed detention center would replace the cavernous, makeshift American prison on the Bagram military base north of Kabul, which is now typically packed with about 630 prisoners, compared with the 270 held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

'Shiraz bombers were promised $100,000' --Iran has accused the US, UK, and Israel of funding suspects and providing them with necessary expertise to make bombs Six suspects among the 15 people detained over the explosion in Shiraz are linked to a German-based monarchist weblog, a report says. The six agents, two of them chemistry students, were in contact with a blogger, belonging to the German-based Rahe Azadi (Way of Freedom) weblog, via email, JAHAN reported. Earlier, they had detonated bombs in Fars Province sabotaging the Sivand and another Dam in return for a sum of over $20,000 from the blogger. The blogger then requested the 'facilitators' to target two public places, promising each bomber a $100,000 reward. A crowded mosque in Shiraz was the site of the first blast, which left 14 people killed and some 200 others injured on April 12.

Pakistan protests suspected U.S. missile strike on border village Pakistan is lodging a formal protest with "allied forces" in neighbouring Afghanistan over a suspected U.S. missile strike this week. Army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas says Pakistan has concluded that Wednesday's attack on a house in Pakistan's border region was launched by drones from Afghanistan. The missile destroyed a house in Damadola, killing 14 people.

IRS cites 'error' as 350,000 households missing out on tax rebate As many as 350,000 households are not getting the $300 per child refund owed as part of economic stimulus rebate payments, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.