Asian stocks mixed after tech tumble; Japan falls

BEIJING -- Asian stock markets were mixed Tuesday after Japan's central bank refrained from expanding its stimulus and declines in tech stocks weighed on prices.

Oil gained 50 cents but stayed below $101 per barrel amid reports supplies from Libya might soon expand.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 1.3 percent to 2,086.39 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.9 percent to 22,574.30. Taiwan and Seoul gained.

The regional heavyweight, Tokyo's Nikkei 225, shed 1 percent to 14,665.53 after Japan's central bank refrained from expanding its ultra-loose monetary policy. That was despite a sales tax hike from 5 percent to 8 percent that markets worry might stall growth in consumer spending.

Overnight, U.S. markets tumbled on concern technology and consumer-oriented stocks were overvalued.

"The growing roar of the bears was easy to see," said strategist Evan Lucas of IG markets in a report. "The pullback in the U.S. high-growth spaces of technology, consumer discretionary and social media is completely understandable."

Seoul's Kospi added 0.2 percent to 1,993.49 and Taiwan's Taiex gained 0.1 percent to 8,880.70. Markets in Southeast Asia were mostly lower.

Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.2 percent at 5,403.2 and New Zealand shed 1 percent to 5,361.42.

The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 20 points, or 1.1 percent, to close at 1,845 Monday. It was the third straight down day for the index, its longest losing span since late January. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 166 points, or 1 percent, to 16,245. The Nasdaq slipped 47 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,079.

Investors were looking ahead to the release of minutes Wednesday from the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy setting committee.

In currency markets, the euro was steady at $1.3744. The dollar fell to 102.95 yen from 103.09 yen late Monday.

Benchmark crude for May delivery gained 50 cents to $100.94. On Monday, the contract tumbled 70 cents to close at $100.44 on reports four Libyan oil terminals under militia control could soon open and possibly boost global supplies.

High-tech items giving deaf-blind online access

SANDS POINT, N.Y. -- Tanisha Verdejo loves to surf the Internet for online shopping deals. She chats on Facebook, learns about new recipes and enjoys sending emails to friends and family.

Verdejo, who can't see or hear, could do none of that a year ago.

The 40-year-old New Yorker lives in a group home in Port Washington and is among the thousands of people with combined hearing and vision loss to have benefited from a pilot program called iCanConnect. The initiative provides low-income deaf-blind individuals with the most up-to-date telecommunications devices for free and special training to use them.

"For me, it's opened up my whole world," Verdejo said through a sign language interpreter at the Helen Keller National Center in suburban Long Island. The center, along with the Boston-based Perkins School for the Blind, is working with state agencies and others around the country to distribute items like refreshable Braille displays, amplified telephones and computer programs that allow for large print displays for those who may be vision-impaired but not entirely blind.

Much of the equipment is compatible with Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad and connect via Bluetooth.

"Modern technology has rapidly progressed, and we are available to provide individuals with combined vision and hearing loss the best technology and telecommunications tools for their individual needs," said Thomas J. Edwards, president of Helen Keller Services for the Blind, which has 11 regional offices around the country.

For Verdejo and others, the changes have been dramatic.

"I'm able now to access anything I want," Verdejo said. "I mean, I have all these apps here and can see anything now. I see it through my Braille device. I'm just so thrilled and happy that I'm able to communicate with the world."

Established by the Federal Communications Commission, the pilot program allocates $10 million annually for low-income deaf-blind people to get the equipment. The program, which is in the second year of a three-year study, is open to individuals earning less than $44,680 annually, with income limits slightly higher in Hawaii and Alaska.

An estimated 2,000 people have been served by the program in its first 18 months, said Betsy McGinnity, a Perkins spokeswoman. She said the program has received positive feedback and was confident it could be extended beyond the three-year study period.

Dr. Christian Vogler, director of the Technology Access Program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., said because the deaf-blind population is relatively small — about 100,000 in the U.S., according to one estimate — the high-technology devices are very expensive to produce. Some refreshable Braille displays — hand-held electronic devices that employ a network of tiny pins that pop up and down through holes, scrolling letters that a blind person can read — can cost as much as $6,000.

Software that enlarges text on computer screens can sometimes cost $800 to $1,000.

"There's not a lot of profit for these companies; the equipment is very expensive and most can't afford it," Vogler said.

Other devices include amplifiers that assist those with limited hearing loss to know when a telephone is ringing or computer programs that accent certain colors that may assist the vision-impaired.

Applicants for the technology go through a rigorous screening process to determine what specific devices could benefit them best, said Ryan Odland, the New York coordinator of the distribution program for the Helen Keller National Center. Once accepted, they are trained in the proper ways to use the equipment; the training is tailored to each individual.

"We do not order equipment for anything other than to gain equal access to telecommunications," Odland said. "We tend to be very thorough with our assessment to be certain what equipment our consumer wants is ideal for them."

He said there is no financial cap on what any individual may receive. "It's based on their specific needs," Odland said.

Although many of those eligible for the devices are known to officials at the Keller and Perkins facilities, the organizations are reaching out to others who may not be clients of either.

"We want to get the word out to seniors who are experiencing age-related vision and hearing issues," said Sue Ruzenski, the acting executive director at the Helen Keller center. "And there are other groups of people that we may not always interact with that may be eligible for services."

Ruzenski said a $10 million annual allocation may not seem like much, but insisted: "We looked at it as a huge breakthrough for the deaf-blind community."

Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Apr. 8, 2014

The following are a selection of stories from Lebanese newspapers that may be of interest to Daily Star readers. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Joumhouria

Aoun and Geagea: The impossible victory?

Political signals suggest the presidential election may not take place within the 60-day constitutional deadline, which began on March 25 and ends on May 25. This means that a power vacuum is likely if a successor to President Michel Sleiman was not elected before the end of his term.

A political leader says that the election could be delayed till September, citing the lack of consensus on the presidential candidate.

He said that the nomination of Change and Reform leader MP Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea to run in the presidential election contributes to delay in the election process because a tug of war is likely to drag between the political forces, which could also have repercussions that could increase tensions.

Thus, Sleiman’s term would end without choosing a succor.

The political leader said that Aoun, who is receiving some encouraging Arab and U.S. support, is adamant that he will run in the election.

Geagea’s nomination also complicates the election process, the leader believes.

He says that Geagea’s rivalry with Aoun will leave elections free from other candidates. However, neither Geagea nor Aoun will win even if Parliament secured a two-thirds quorum.

Ad-Diyar

Jumblatt discussed presidential election with decision-makers in Paris, will meet Hariri to [discuss elections] and then Moscow to complete the picture

The presidential election has become a priority in order to avoid a power vacuum in the presidential seat.

Observers noted shuttling of ambassadors of major world powers, most notably U.S. Ambassador David Hale, who has intensified his meetings with Lebanese political leaders in a bid to determine the identity of the next president against the backdrop of the Syrian war.

The most significant meeting was between Hale and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt, with the two men discussing the nominees for president.

Jumblatt has also discussed the presidential election with decision-makers in Paris. He is also likely to discuss elections with Future Movement leader Saad Hariri.

Jumblatt, according to the same sources, is likely to visit Moscow to exchange views with Russian officials on the presidential election.

More to follow ...

La. Congressman Asks For Forgiveness After Compromising Video

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AP

AP

Freshman U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister says he's asking his family and constituents for forgiveness after a West Monroe newspaper published a video that it says shows the congressman kissing a woman who wasn't his wife.

In a statement issued Monday, the Republican congressman said, "There's no doubt I've fallen short and I'm asking for forgiveness."

The Ouachita Citizen posted a video Monday of what it said was Dec. 23 surveillance video from inside McAllister's congressional office in Monroe, showing McAllister and a member of his staff.

"I promise to do everything I can to earn back the trust of everyone I've disappointed," McAllister said.

McAllister has represented Louisiana's 5th District since November.

He attracted national attention because of his endorsement from the bearded men of the Duck Dynasty reality TV show.

Senate OKs Jobless Bill; House Prospects Slimmer

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Ed Andrieski/AP

Ed Andrieski/AP

The Senate voted 59-38 Monday to resurrect federal jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, and a small band of Republican supporters swiftly appealed to a reluctant Speaker John Boehner to permit election-year action in the House as well.

Steps are needed "to restore unemployment benefits to struggling Americans," seven House Republicans wrote Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia. They released their letter as the Senate was bestowing its widely expected approval on the legislation.

Despite the appeal, the bill's prospects are cloudy at best, given widespread opposition among conservative lawmakers and outside groups and Boehner's unwillingness to allow it to the floor without changes that Republicans say would enhance job creation.

The Senate vote itself, seven months before congressional elections, capped a bruising three-month struggle. Fifty-one Democrats, two independents and six Republicans voted for approval.

The bill was the first major piece of legislation that Democrats sent to the floor of the Senate when Congress convened early in the year, the linchpin of a broader campaign-season agenda meant to showcase concern for men and women who are doing poorly in an era of economic disparity between rich and poor.

In the months since, the Democrats have alternately pummeled Republicans for holding up passage and made concessions in an effort to gain support from enough GOP lawmakers to overcome a filibuster. Chief among those concessions was an agreement to pay the $9.6 billion cost of the five-month bill by making offsetting spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.

The White House-backed measure would retroactively restore benefits that were cut off in late December, and maintain them through the end of May. Officials say as many as 2.3 million jobless workers have been denied assistance since the law expired late last year. If renewed, the aid would total about $256 weekly, and in most cases go to men and women who have been off the job for longer than six months.

Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., the bill's leading supporters, said they were willing to consider changes in hopes of securing passage in a highly reluctant House.

Heller also said he was seeking a meeting with Boehner to discuss the measure.

At the White House, President Barack Obama said in a statement: "I urge House Republicans to stop blocking a bipartisan compromise...Let's remove this needless drag on our economy and focus on expanding opportunity for all Americans."

In their letter to Boehner, seven House Republicans wrote that since the program expired, "many more people have lost benefits each week, bringing the number of long-term unemployed Americans without government assistance to greater than two million."

Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner, noted that the speaker had said months ago "we are willing to look at extending emergency unemployment insurance as long as it includes provisions to help create more private sector jobs — but last week, Senate Democratic leaders ruled out adding any jobs measures at all."

That was an apparent reference to a refusal by Senate Democrats to permit a vote on a Republican proposal that would have allowed construction of the proposed Keystone oil pipeline from Canada and made numerous changes in the nation's health care law. GOP lawmakers say all of the proposals would help create jobs.

In remarks on the Senate floor before the vote, Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., directly criticized Democratic leader Harry Reid for refusing to allow votes on GOP-drafted proposals to amend the measure. He called that a "black mark" in the Senate's history.

Some Democrats assailed Boehner rather than seek to meet with him. Said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.: "The House needs to extend unemployment benefits to millions of Americans right now, without attaching extraneous issues that are merely an attempt to score political points."

Whatever the bill's fate in the House, Senate Democrats have taken steps to follow their action with a test vote on a bill to strengthen "equal pay for equal work" laws. That measure includes a provision giving women the right to seek punitive damages in lawsuits in which they allege pay discrimination, a change that Republicans call a gift to trial lawyers who contribute extensively to Democratic campaigns.

Next up in the Democratic attempt to gain ground during the election year will be a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. It is currently $7.25 an hour.

Underscoring the political backdrop, a little-noticed provision in the jobless-benefits legislation is specifically designed to benefit the long-term unemployed in North Carolina, where Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan faces a stiff challenge for a new term. It would make residents eligible for long-term benefits if the state negotiates an agreement with the Department of Labor. North Carolina residents are currently ineligible because state benefits were reduced below a federal standard.

In an additional indication of the challenge confronting the broader legislation, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies sent a letter to lawmakers citing "significant concerns about the implementation of the legislation" after a Senate compromise emerged last month. The organization represents state agencies that would be responsible for administering the law.

Citing the letter, Boehner pronounced the Senate bill "unworkable," and a blog posting by his aides quoted the Ohio Republican as saying there was "no evidence that the bill being rammed through the Senate by (Majority) Leader (Harry) Reid" would help create more private sector jobs.

The drive to renew the lapsed program comes as joblessness nationally is slowly receding, yet long-term unemployment is at or above pre-recession levels in much of the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it accounts for an estimated one-third or more of all jobless individuals.

In a study last summer, the Urban Institute reported that "relative to currently employed workers, the long-term unemployed tend to be less educated and are more likely to be nonwhite, unmarried, disabled, impoverished and to have worked previously in the construction industry and construction occupations."

Only 2 midsize SUVs get top rating in crash tests

DETROIT -- Only two of nine midsize SUVs got the highest rating in crash tests done by an insurance industry group.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says General Motors' Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain received its highest, or "good," rating. The Toyota Highlander got the second-best "acceptable" rating in tests of 2014 models.

The institute says the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner and Ford Explorer got "marginal" ratings, while the Kia Sorento, Mazda CX-9 and Honda Pilot all were rated "poor."

The SUVs generally performed well on six crash tests done by the institute, but only the Equinox and Terrain got "good" ratings in a front overlap crash. That test mimics what happens when a car's front corner collides with another vehicle or an object like a utility pole.

Michigan to boost efforts for auto industry jobs

DETROIT -- Michigan plans to boost efforts to attract and retain automotive industry jobs in engineering and design, software and coding, systems integration and skilled trades, officials said.

Nigel Francis, the state's senior automotive adviser, this week plans to outline details of a 30-year strategic plan that aims to elevate Michigan's status as a global auto industry leader. As part of the effort, officials said, jobs in Michigan will be a top priority.

"Our focus must be on consolidating our resources to support the needs of Michigan's automotive and manufacturing industries," Francis, senior vice president with the Michigan Automotive Industry Office at the Michigan Economic Development Corp., said in a statement.

"The ongoing challenge is to anticipate and respond to emerging trends, and act with a clear purpose to create meaningful and collaborative solutions for Michigan-based automotive companies."

To start, the plan seeks to strengthen ties between the auto industry and the public sector. It draws on recommendations of group of auto industry consultants.

According to the state, Michigan is home to 65,000 engineers, 70,000 research-and-development professionals and tens of thousands of skilled trade workers. In addition to operations of major automakers, dozens of auto industry parts suppliers are based in the state.

Francis is expected to discuss the plan on Tuesday at the Society of Automotive Engineers 2014 World Congress & Exhibition at Cobo Center in Detroit. The 3-day event runs through Thursday and attracts those involved in areas including engineering, research design, development and marketing.

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Online:

http://bit.ly/1gBER8n

http://www.sae.org

Steve Jobs biographer writing about digital age

NEW YORK -- After writing a best-selling book about a superstar of the digital age, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson is working on a tribute to teamwork.

Isaacson has a book out on Oct. 7 about the forces behind the rise of computers and the Internet. Simon & Schuster announced Monday that the book will be called "The Innovators: How a Group of Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution."

In a statement released by his publisher, Isaacson says he would go on beyond the headlines and tell how many of the major digital innovations were produced through collaborations. He says the best minds were made even better by their ability to work with others.

Isaacson also has written books about Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin.

Study: States Did Better Job Running Elections In 2012

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hide captionVoters line up in the dark to cast their ballots at a polling station on Nov. 6, 2012 in Miami, Fla.

Wilfredo Lee/AP

Voters line up in the dark to cast their ballots at a polling station on Nov. 6, 2012 in Miami, Fla.

Wilfredo Lee/AP

For all the criticism about long lines and other Election Day snafus, most states actually improved the way they handled elections between 2008 and 2012, according to a new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The report found that, overall, wait times at polling stations decreased by about three minutes over 2008, and 40 states and the District of Columbia improved their "election performance index" scores, which Pew calculated from 17 indicators that make up the index.

Pew analyzed state election administration by looking at factors such as the availability of voting tools online, voter turnout, wait times at polling stations and problems with registration or absentee ballots.

Of the 10 states with the longest average wait times, eight of them were in the South — including Florida, which had the longest wait time in the nation in 2012 at 45 minutes.

Although voter turnout was lower in 2012 than in 2008, fewer people who did not vote said they were deterred from voting by illness, disability, or problems with registration or absentee ballots.

"States are pioneering innovations that make a real difference in the efficiency and accuracy of their elections operations while also saving money," said Pew's David Becker, in a statement.

He told NPR that a growing number of states allow online voter registration and use technology to make voting more efficient. There are currently 17 states that offer voters the opportunity to register online — 13 states offered online registration before the 2012 election and four states have added it since then.

Coal production in Colorado hits a 20-year low

DENVER -- Colorado coal production hit a 20-year low in 2013.

The industry has been hit hard by mine closures and a decline in demand for power-plant coal.

The Denver Post reports (http://bit.ly/1qhNCFZ) mines in Colorado produced 24 million tons of coal last year. That's a 17 percent decline from 2012 and down 41 percent from the 2004 peak.

Industry officials say the closure of the Elk Creek Mine in Paonia and the New Elk Mine in Trinidad accounted for about 60 percent of the drop.

GSK launches probe into Iraq bribery claims

LONDON -- GlaxoSmithKline said Monday it has launched an investigation into allegations it bribed doctors in Iraq, as the pharmaceuticals giant remains embroiled in a major corruption scandal in China.

The company said it is probing allegations of "improper conduct in our Iraq business" after reports that it hired 16 doctors and pharmacists in Iraq as paid sales representatives at a time they continued working for the government.

"In total, we employ fewer than 60 people in Iraq in our pharmaceuticals operation and these allegations relate to a small number of individuals in the country," it said in a statement, adding: "We have zero tolerance for unethical or illegal behavior."

The claims, first published in the Wall Street Journal, came from a person reportedly familiar with GSK's Middle East operations.

They allege that GSK paid for the doctors' expenses to attend international conferences, and that it pays other doctors high fees to give lectures in exchange for promoting its drugs. The claims date back to 2012.

The company said it first became aware of the new claims in Iraq earlier this year.

GSK has been badly hit by a high-profile bribery probe in China, where authorities allege that four of its employees paid for doctors and hospitals to prescribe its drugs. The investigation is ongoing.

The company has distanced itself from the scandal, maintaining that the employees acted without its knowledge and that the vast majority of its staff plays by the rules. It has also promised to overhaul its worldwide sales and marketing practices. Last year, it said it would scrap individual sales targets and payments to doctors for attending conferences or promoting its products.

GSK said it believed the reforms would eliminate any perceived conflicts of interest.

Experts: Too late to finish World Cup airports

SAO PAULO -- Infrastructure experts say that Brazil has run out of time to meet its promise to fully expand and renovate airports that will serve hundreds of thousands of fans pouring into the country for the World Cup that starts in just two months.

Improvements are ready at only two of the 13 major airports that will be used in the tournament. Around the nation, the sounds of jet engines blend with the noise of drills, jackhammers and bulldozers. Construction workers carrying power tools walk alongside passengers toting their luggage.

Most analysts say they don't expect total chaos when the Cup begins June 12. But they say fans should brace for unfinished construction work, long check-in lines, and last-minute gate changes and flight delays — all already too common in the country's airports. There will be crowded boarding areas, difficulties claiming baggage, few food-court options and woeful transportation.

Don't expect to find trains or subway lines to and from the city. Expensive taxis will be the only option most of the time, and long hours in traffic will be the norm on the way to hotels.

The government civil aviation department acknowledges delays, though it insists that "Brazilian airports will be ready" for World Cup tourists.

"The problems seen in some airports will not keep visitors from being welcomed with quality," the department said in a statement.

Still, government reports show that of the improvement projects that are still underway, more than half of them had less than 50 percent of the work finished. Only the airports in the northeastern cities of Natal and Recife are considered fully ready for the World Cup.

"They say the work will be finished, but a lot of it will just be last-minute solutions to hide what isn't ready," said Adriano Pires, a top infrastructure analyst. "The level of comfort will be far from ideal. Brazil had time to get the airports ready, but it took too long to start. From what people will see at the airports, Brazil's image won't be a very good one."

Omar Daniel Martins Netto, a civil aviation and airport consultant based in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, agreed.

"This is what happens in a country where lack of planning is normal, everything is late," he said.

Brazil's outdated airports were a problem long before the country was awarded the World Cup in 2007. Former Brazilian soccer federation president Ricardo Teixeira used to say that Brazil had three main problems to solve before the World Cup: "Airports, airports and airports."

Upgrading airports was a key promise the government made in its winning bid, and it estimates that nearly $2.7 billion in public and private money will be invested in the major airports used in the World Cup.

The government expects 600,000 foreign visitors and 3 million Brazilian tourists during the monthlong tournament. International fans have bought more than 1.5 million tickets for soccer's showcase event.

Airports are especially important for the tournament in Brazil because the country has no viable rail system and nearly all the travel between the distant venues must be by air.

"In no other World Cup has aviation played such a vital role, owing to the large number of host cities, the large distances between them and the lack of transport options," Tony Tyler, CEO of the International Air Transport Association, said recently in Sao Paulo. "The 12 host cities are responsible for 75 percent of all passenger transportation in Brazil, so you can understand that accommodating the additional traffic with the minimum inconvenience is a major undertaking."

Brazilian airlines say they will be ready to serve the increased World Cup demand. The Brazilian association of airline companies (ABEAR) says additional flights will be offered and airport operations will be improved.

Experts agree that the most crucial work, at least, will be finished.

"I don't think there will be chaos," said Gesner Oliveira, a professor at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Sao Paulo. "It won't be perfect. Probably there will be some uncomfortable situations because there won't be time to test everything, but it will all be manageable."

Brazil's state-run agency that oversees most of the nation's airports, Infraero, said that of the 15 improvement projects that are still underway, eight were less than 50 percent completed by February. It said many of those improvements are not essential for World Cup fans, however, and the projects were already expected to be finished after the tournament.

In the southern city of Curitiba, the agency said upgrades such as expanded boarding areas, better access roads and enhanced food courts won't be ready until March 2016. In nearby Porto Alegre, the full expansion of the passenger terminal, which includes the addition of new boarding bridges, is expected to be ready by January 2016.

Brazil's civil aviation authority said work is also behind schedule in the three privatized airports in Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Campinas, which together handle 30 percent of Brazil's passenger traffic.

"We are constantly monitoring and demanding that they pick up the pace," said Marcelo Guaranys, the authority's director-president.

What may help the airports cope: Many Brazilians will avoid travel during the competition. The aviation authority said only 10 percent of air tickets available to the 12 host cities had been sold by January.

"I don't expect chaos because everybody is afraid of flying during the World Cup. Nobody is planning to travel; nobody wants to go through the confusion of the airports," Netto said. "No one is organizing events or scheduling meetings during the tournament. There won't be any tourism done by Brazilians, just the travel related to the World Cup."

Some workers from closed Pa. plant get new jobs

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Officials say last month's closure of a central Pennsylvania frozen food plant left about 140 people out of work, but some of them are being rehired by other companies.

Houston-based Windsor Foods announced closure of the Bloomsburg plant last fall, and a company spokeswoman told The (Bloomsburg) Press Enterprise (http://bit.ly/1mU1IQl ) that the last day of production was March 14.

Sue Snyder, an administrator with PA CareerLink, said some other companies tried to hire workers before the closure. Gonnella Frozen Products in Hazleton said it hired 15 former Windsor staffers to produce, package and ship frozen bread dough, and more are being sought.

Snyder said other firms came to a job fair at Windsor early last month and hired some workers on the spot.

Greek journalist union condemns columnist's arrest

ATHENS, Greece -- A Greek journalists' union and the government have condemned the arrest of a journalist over an opinion column about a member of parliament.

Right-wing Independent Greeks lawmaker Rachel Makri made a libel complaint against journalist Despina Kontaraki over her comments in the Sunday edition of Eleftheros Typos newspaper.

The column criticized Makri's stance regarding a scandal in which a close aide to the prime minister was videotaped alleging the prosecution of the extreme right-wing Golden Dawn party was politically motivated. The aide has since resigned.

Police arrested Kontaraki at the newspaper's office Sunday then released her later in the day. Makri also made complaints against two other journalists and two newspaper publishers. They have not been detained so far.

The journalists' union POESY on Monday described Kontaraki's arrest as "unacceptable," adding that arrests for press complaints had been abolished in 2001.

Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou also criticized Makri for initiating legal proceedings against the press.

"It is unacceptable for a political figure to respond to journalists' criticism with lawsuits and arrests," he said in a statement.

State investigating 2012 fire at Westlake plant

WESTLAKE, La. -- Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality is investigating a 2012 fire at the Axiall Corp. chemical plant in Westlake.

In an email to the American Press (http://bit.ly/1lHHGZh ) department spokesman Greg Langley said the department has begun an investigation and has not decided whether to impose penalties.

Axiall officials have said the blaze started when a pipe failed in one of the plant's PHH units, releasing gases.

The fire was out within 30 minutes. One worker was sent to a hospital for observation.

In the company's final report to the state, Axiall says investigators recommend replacing the line with a corrosion-resistant alloy and regularly checking its thickness.

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Online:

DEQ document search: http://1.usa.gov/1mWNZ8M

KFC parent Yum tests new chicken restaurant

NEW YORK -- As KFC struggles in the U.S., parent company Yum Brands is testing a new chicken restaurant called Super Chix.

A website for the restaurant in Arlington, Texas, shows a menu that seems positioned as a more premium offering than KFC, in line with the trend toward foods people feel are higher in quality. The menu is fairly simple and lists a chicken sandwich, chicken tenders, fries and custard. Toppings include kosher pickles, jalapenos and sweet pickles, while sauces include smoky honey pepper and Sriracha sweet and sour.

The website also notes that, "Our chicken is marinated daily in our kitchen, then hand-breaded and cooked in 100% refined peanut oil. No MSG, HFCS or phosphates." It refers to its sandwich as "The Last True Chicken Sandwich."

Virginia Ferguson, a spokeswoman for Yum, downplayed the suggestion that the restaurant was being tested for the U.S. market.

"This is an exploratory concept that may in the future be considered for international purposes," Ferguson said in an email. She added that the company will be exploring other concepts for "international purposes" in the near future, such as a "Banh Shop" that sells Asian subs.

The test comes after KFC ceded its position as the No. 1 chicken chain to Chick-fil-A in 2012 in terms of sales volume, according to food industry researcher Technomic. Although KFC has many more locations than Chick-fil-A, its sales have declined despite new menu items, such as boneless chicken pieces that were touted in "I Ate the Bones" commercials. Last year, U.S. sales at established KFC locations fell 5 percent.

Yum, based in Louisville, Ky., has also been testing a higher-end concept called "KFC eleven" that has a similar feel to Chipotle and does away with mentions of founder Colonel Harland Sanders.

KFC had about 4,500 U.S. locations last year.

Supreme Court to hear class-action dispute

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court will consider the requirements for transferring class-action lawsuits from state courts to federal courts.

The justices on Monday agreed to hear an appeal from a Michigan energy company that asserts it should be allowed to move a class-action case from Kansas state court to federal court. Federal law allows such transfers in cases involving more than $5 million.

A group of royalty owners sued the Dart Cherokee Basin Operating Co. alleging they were underpaid royalties on oil and gas wells. The plaintiffs did not seek a specific damage amount, but the company claimed it would far exceed $5 million.

A federal judge rejected the transfer request because the company did not offer any evidentiary support. The company says the law does not require detailed evidence.

Md. lawmakers pass minimum wage increase

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The Maryland General Assembly on Monday gave final approval to incremental increases in the state's minimum wage over several years to $10.10 by 2018 and to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession.

The House of Delegates voted 87-47 to raise the minimum wage, sending it to Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley, who made the bill a priority of his last regular legislative session. Passage of the minimum wage bill won praise from President Barack Obama.

"Maryland's important action is a reminder that many states, cities and counties — as well as a majority of the American people — are way ahead of Washington on this crucial issue," the president said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly also passed a bill to decriminalize the possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana, and O'Malley said he planned to sign it. O'Malley's decision marks a change in thinking by the former Baltimore mayor known for his tough-on-crime stance who is now considering a White House bid in 2016. O'Malley said when he was a young prosecutor, he once thought decriminalizing marijuana might undermine the public will that is needed to fight drug violence.

"I now think that decriminalizing possession of marijuana is an acknowledgement of the low priority that our courts, our prosecutors, our police, and the vast majority of citizens already attach to this transgression of public order and public health," O'Malley said. "Such an acknowledgement in law might even lead to a greater focus on far more serious threats to public safety and the lives of our citizens."

The minimum wage, which was last raised in 2006, will increase from $7.25 an hour to $8 in January. It will rise to $8.25 in July 2015; $8.75 in July 2016; $9.25 in July 2017 and $10.10 in July 2018. All 87 supporters were Democrats. Delegate Benjamin Kramer, D-Montgomery, said the lack of action on raising the minimum wage in Congress has left it up to states to move forward to give low-wage workers a badly needed raise.

Republicans, however, said increases in the minimum wage could result in job losses. Opponents, including six Democrats, also said the increases will make Maryland less attractive to businesses that would consider relocating to the state.

"We are making it so it's cost prohibitive for jobs to come here," said Delegate Michael Smigiel, R-Cecil.

The bill includes a provision to ensure about 18,000 community service providers who work with the developmentally disabled will make about 30 percent above the minimum wage.

Lawmakers also were working on a bill to get the state's stalled medical marijuana framework operational. Medical marijuana legalization has stalled in the state, because a law enacted last year requires academic medical centers to make the drug available to qualifying patients. However, none of the academic medical centers has stepped forward. This year, lawmakers want to allow certified doctors to recommend marijuana for patients with debilitating, chronic and severe illnesses.

Separately, efforts to reform Maryland's bail hearing system have stalled. Maryland's highest court has ordered the state to provide defense attorneys for poor defendants at initial bail hearings, and to avoid this expense, the House and Senate have passed disparate bills to rework the bail process. But Sen. Brian Frosh, chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said Monday afternoon that lawmakers had run out of time to negotiate.

As a backup measure, next year's budget has tentatively allocated $10 million for paying private attorneys to staff these bail hearings. Public defenders have estimated it would cost $28 million a year for a proper solution, and they worry underfunding will cause a crisis.

Laclede buys Energen's gas utility for $1.28B

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Laclede Group is spending about $1.28 billion in cash to acquire the natural gas utility business of Energen.

For Energen, the sale pushes it closer to becoming a pure exploration and production company. The Birmingham company said Monday that it will use the proceeds to reduce debt, allowing it to accelerate drilling and development of its Permian Basin assets starting next year.

The deal also comes with about $320 million of debt for Laclede. Energen's after-tax proceeds are estimated at $1.1 billion.

The Laclede Group Inc. is a natural gas utility with about 1.13 million customers in Missouri. With the acquisition of Alabama Gas Corp., it picks up more than 422,000 customers.

Tax proposal to help live theater brings out stars

NEW YORK -- Live commercial theater from Broadway to Los Angeles would get a huge financial boost under a change in the federal tax code that's being championed by such actors as Neil Patrick Harris, Bryan Cranston and Tyne Daly.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer's proposal would allow 100 percent of any live theater investment to be deducted up to $15 million per production, whether the eventual show is a hit or a flop, a benefit that is currently being granted to film and TV projects.

"Investing in Broadway and live theater is often a big risk. It's difficult to get banks and financial institutions to back up these productions," Schumer said. His amendment, he added, "will put Broadway and live theater on the same footing as TV and film."

Schumer said the change would create "thousands and thousands" more jobs for actors and backstage workers, and produce more shows nationwide, giving a shot in the arm to the hotel, restaurant and taxi industries. He noted that other countries also grant live theater similar breaks.

The change was added to a tax bill that recently passed the Senate Finance Committee and Schumer expects it to be voted on by the full Senate within a month and a half. The House could vote on it as early as this summer, he said.

The New York senator was joined at a Monday news conference by Harris, Cranston, Daly and producer Harvey Weinstein, as well as cast members from "The Phantom of the Opera," "Newsies" and "Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella."

Cranston, the "Breaking Bad" star currently playing President Lyndon B. Johnson in the play "All the Way," said the tax change would enable theater producers to take more chances on "story-telling that may be on the fringe but just may be incredibly important."

"Full houses is what we're looking for," Cranston said. "Adventurous, new storytelling and making sure that every theater in New York has a play. It's good for commerce. It's good for actors. It's good for taxi drivers and hotel workers and restaurant workers. So it's good all around."

The backers of the change pointed out that the benefits go far beyond New York. In the 2008-2009 theater season — the most recent year for which data is available — some 40 touring Broadway shows performed in 192 venues to more than 13 million theater-goers, contributing almost $3.4 billion to the U.S. economy.

Weinstein, who has produced stage hits like "Billy Elliot: The Musical" and "August: Osage County," noted that he'd recently taken the Peter Pan musical "Finding Neverland" to Great Britain to take advantage of that nation's more attractive tax breaks. "If we had more support for Broadway, people like myself would be more adventurous," he said.

BC-Noon Oil

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English soccer is now without a black coach

LONDON -- Norwich didn't fire Chris Hughton because he's black. The English soccer club fired him because it is petrified of dropping out of the Premier League and losing millions in revenue.

With that dismissal, every soccer manager next weekend will be white. Not just in the Premier League, but across England's top five divisions.

While English soccer prides itself on the progress it has made in attacking racism, there is an inescapable anomaly: More than a quarter of Premier League players are black but not one managers is.

Herman Ouseley, the longstanding chairman of English soccer's anti-racism body, Kick It Out, contends the game remains "institutionally racist."

"There isn't the drive and collective feeling of responsibility to become diverse," Ouseley told The Associated Press on Monday from the British parliament, where he sits in the House of Lords.

"That's because of the way they do business, the way they make decisions ... it's harder to be black and successful in a process where there is no proper process and accountability."

Norwich's commitment to fighting racism is evident. It backed police action against online abuse Hughton faced earlier this season.

But while the club is unlikely to win the Premier League, its legitimate ambitions of staying in the sport's top tier have been jeopardized by four losses in its last six matches. The team is five points above the relegation zone with five matches remaining.

Delia Smith, the co-owner who made her fortune from cook books and television shows, fears missing out on at least $60 million in television revenue next season if Norwich falls to the second tier.

The 55-year-old Hughton's dismissal on Sunday followed a depressingly familiar pattern: no line of candidates appeared to be interviewed. Instead youth team coach Neil Adams was hastily promoted to his first senior managerial job.

Critics contend that by not opening jobs to a wider talent pool and simply going with soccer's known — and overwhelmingly white — managers, aspiring black coaches find it that much harder to land top jobs.

English soccer has been exploring whether to emulate the NFL and its Rooney Rule, which forces clubs to at least interview ethnic minorities for top jobs.

"It would be a huge step forward in England in terms of giving coaches and managers from ethnic minority backgrounds an opportunity to at least put their case forward," said former Blackburn and West Bromwich Albion striker Jason Roberts, who retired from playing last month and has campaigned on race issues.

The Rooney Rule was named after campaigning Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney. A survey this season of 200 professional players in England found 62 percent backed the mandatory shortlisting of black and ethnic minority candidates for all nonplaying jobs.

But not all are convinced the NFL rule would work in English soccer. Even Ouseley acknowledges: "You can't transplant the same thing over here."

Since 1999, Major League Baseball has also had a requirement that for each manager and general manager and other senior position openings, at least one minority candidate must be considered.

Hughton was given his first coaching opening at Tottenham after playing for the club between 1979 and 1990, rising through the ranks and reaching the position of assistant manager before leaving in 2007. He went on to manage Newcastle and Birmingham before taking charge of Norwich in 2012.

There has been investment by English soccer authorities in courses for aspiring coaches — both male and female — from black and Asian backgrounds which can lead to the UEFA licenses required for top management jobs.

David Gold has been a soccer owner for more than 20 years, first at Birmingham and now at West Ham. He is white. He said a nonwhite manager has never approached him about a job.

"When I hear this constant thing — it's been going on for a number of years — this concern about 'Where are the black managers?' ... I have never interviewed a black candidate because a black candidate has not applied," Gold told a soccer diversity seminar for lawyers last year attended by the AP. "The applicants are just not there."

But ex-England striker Les Ferdinand, who is black, thinks his skin color is slowing his progress up soccer's ladder. While coaching at former club Tottenham, he has been studying corporate governance, along with 13 other former black professional players, including Roberts.

"I've always felt as a black person I've never been able to hold a position of authority," Ferdinand said.

"I felt I needed to do this course in the hope I can go one step further and break into the boardroom. We talk a lot about how we are going to get more black managers. Unless we can break into those boardrooms and show we can have positions of authority it won't happen."

---

Online: http://bit.ly/1qgtK5Y

Hughton sacking highlights game's diversity issues

LONDON -- Norwich's decision to sack Chris Hughton had nothing to do with race and everything to do with the millions in revenue that could be lost if the club is relegated from the Premier League. Still, the result is the same: Every manager leading his team out next weekend will be white.

Not just in the Premier League, but across England's top five divisions.

English football prides itself on the progress made in largely eradicating racism from grounds, and the fact that footballers from every corner of the world are playing in the country. But it is an alarming anomaly that while more than a quarter of Premier League players are black, the departure of Hughton means that none of their managers are.

For Herman Ouseley, the long-standing chairman of English football's anti-racism body, Kick It Out, it reinforces just how much the game remains "institutionally racist."

"There isn't the drive and collective feeling of responsibility to become diverse," Ouseley told The Associated Press on Monday from the British parliament where he sits in the House of Lords.

"That's because of the way they do business, the way they make decisions ... it's harder to be black and successful in a process where there is no proper process and accountability."

Norwich's commitment to tackling racism is indisputable. It backed police action against online abuse Hughton faced earlier this season.

Now the club's legitimate ambitions of staying in the top flight have been jeopardized by four losses in its last six matches. With the team five points above the relegation zone with five matches remaining, Delia Smith, the co-owner who made her name and fortune from cook books and television shows, will fear missing out on at least $60 million in television revenue next season if Norwich falls to the second tier.

The 55-year-old Hughton's dismissal on Sunday followed a depressingly familiar pattern: no job advert was posted; no line of candidates appeared to be interviewed. Instead youth team coach Neil Adams was hastily promoted to his first senior managerial job.

Critics argue that not throwing open jobs to a wider pool of talent, and simply going with football's known — and overwhelmingly white — managers makes it much harder for aspiring black coaches to get top jobs.

English football has been exploring whether to emulate the NFL and its Rooney Rule, which forces clubs to at least interview ethnic minorities for top jobs.

"It would be a huge step forward in England in terms of giving coaches and managers from ethnic minority backgrounds an opportunity to at least put their case forward," said former Blackburn and West Bromwich Albion striker Jason Roberts, who retired from playing last month and has campaigned on race issues.

The Rooney Rule was named after campaigning Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney. A survey this season of 200 professional players in England found 62 percent backed the mandatory shortlisting of black and ethnic minority candidates for all non-playing jobs.

But not all are convinced the NFL rule would work in English football. Even Ouseley acknowledged that "you can't transplant the same thing over here."

Hughton was given his first coaching opening at Tottenham after playing in defense for the club between 1979 and 1990, rising through the ranks and reaching the position of assistant manager before leaving in 2007. He went on to manage Newcastle and Birmingham before taking charge of Norwich in 2012.

English football authorities have invested in courses for aspiring coaches — both male and female — from black and Asian backgrounds, which can help give them the UEFA licenses required for top management jobs.

David Gold has been a football owner for more than 20 years, first at Birmingham and now at West Ham. He is white. He said a non-white manager has never approached him about a job.

"When I hear this constant thing — it's been going on for a number of years — this concern about 'Where are the black managers?' ... I have never interviewed a black candidate because a black candidate has not applied," Gold told a football diversity seminar for lawyers last year. "The applicants are just not there."

But former England striker Les Ferdinand, who is black, thinks his skin color is slowing his progress up football's ladder. While coaching at former club Tottenham, he has been studying corporate governance, along with 13 other former black professional players, including Roberts.

"I've always felt as a black person I've never been able to hold a position of authority," Ferdinand said. "I felt I needed to do this course in the hope I can go one step further and break into the boardroom. We talk a lot about how we are going to get more black managers. Unless we can break into those boardrooms and show we can have positions of authority it won't happen."

---

Online: http://bit.ly/1qgtK5Y

Senate nears passage of jobless-benefits bill

WASHINGTON -- Capping a three-month struggle, the Senate closed in Monday on passage of election-year legislation to restore jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed that expired late last year.

However, approval would send the legislation to a hostile reception in the House, where majority Republicans generally oppose it.

The bill was the first major piece of legislation that Democrats sent to the floor of the Senate when Congress convened early in the year, the linchpin of a broader campaign-season agenda meant to showcase concern for men and women who are doing poorly in an era of economic disparity between rich and poor.

In the months since, the Democrats have alternately pummeled Republicans for holding up passage and made concessions in an effort to gain support from enough GOP lawmakers to overcome a filibuster. Chief among those concessions was an agreement to pay the $9.6 billion cost of the five-month bill by making offsetting spending cuts elsewhere in the budget.

The measure would retroactively restore benefits that were cut off in late December, and maintain them through the end of May. Officials say as many as 2.7 million jobless workers have been denied assistance since the law expired late last year. If renewed, the aid would total about $256 weekly, and in most cases go to men and women who have been off the job for longer than six months.

Even before the Senate vote, Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., the bill's leading supporters, said they were willing to consider changes in hopes of securing passage in a highly reluctant House.

Heller also said he was seeking a meeting with Republican House Speaker John Boehner to discuss the measure.

Some Democrats assailed Boehner rather than seek to meet with him. Said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.: "The House needs to extend unemployment benefits to millions of Americans right now, without attaching extraneous issues that are merely an attempt to score political points."

Boehner has said repeatedly a condition for any vote to renew the benefits is inclusion of job-creating provisions in the same legislation.

"The Senate is sitting on dozens of bills that we've sent over there," he said at a recent news conference. "So I think it's time for the Senate to work with the House to help get the economy moving again. That's the real issue."

Whatever the bill's fate in the House, Senate Democrats have taken steps to follow their action with a test vote on a bill to strengthen "equal pay for equal work" laws. That measure includes a provision giving women the right to seek punitive damages in lawsuits in which they allege pay discrimination, a change that Republicans call a gift to trial lawyers who contribute extensively to Democratic campaigns.

Next up in the Democratic attempt to gain ground during the election year will be a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. It is currently $7.25 an hour.

Underscoring the political backdrop, a little-noticed provision in the jobless-benefits legislation is specifically designed to benefit the long-term unemployed in North Carolina, where Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan faces a stiff challenge for a new term. It would make residents eligible for long-term benefits if the state negotiates an agreement with the Department of Labor. North Carolina residents are currently ineligible because state benefits were reduced below a federal standard.

In an additional indication of the challenge confronting the broader legislation, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies sent a letter to lawmakers citing "significant concerns about the implementation of the legislation" after a Senate compromise emerged last month. The organization represents state agencies that would be responsible for administering the law.

Citing the letter, Boehner pronounced the Senate bill "unworkable," and a blog posting by his aides quoted the Ohio Republican as saying there was "no evidence that the bill being rammed through the Senate by (Majority) Leader (Harry) Reid" would help create more private sector jobs.

The drive to renew the lapsed program comes as joblessness nationally is slowly receding, yet long-term unemployment is at or above pre-recession levels in much of the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it accounts for an estimated one-third or more of all jobless individuals.

In a study last summer, the Urban Institute reported that "relative to currently employed workers, the long-term unemployed tend to be less educated and are more likely to be nonwhite, unmarried, disabled, impoverished and to have worked previously in the construction industry and construction occupations."

Nasrallah: President to be made in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said he believed the next president could be “made in Lebanon,” adding that there were signs that the presidential election would take place on time.

“More than ever, local elements will be influential in the presidential election this time. Thus, we have the opportunity of having a president who is made in Lebanon,” Nasrallah said in remarks to be published by the local daily As-Safir Tuesday.

“The general atmosphere in Lebanon is favorable for presidential elections,” Nasrallah said. “ Hezbollah will support the candidate who serves the higher national interest.”

The period to elect a new president in Lebanon began on March 25, two months prior to the expiry of President Michel Sleiman’s term.

The March 8 and March 14 coalitions have both said that they would announce candidates. Chances of both camps reaching an agreement for one candidate appear to be slim.

The first candidate emerged last week, with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announcing that he would run.

Commenting on Hezbollah’s boycott of a National Dialogue session called for by Sleiman last week, Nasrallah said that the president was no longer able to chair such sessions in light of his recent stances. Nasrallah stressed, however, that his party was open to dialogue.

The party did not attend the talks to protest “offensive and harmful” remarks against the resistance made by Sleiman in recent speeches, he said.

In separate developments Monday, a parliamentary committee from Speaker Nabih Berri’s bloc informed Berri about the outcome of visits it paid to Lebanese leaders and heads of blocs to discuss the possibility of convening a successful Parliament session to elect a president.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, committee member MP Yassine Jaber said Berri would call a Parliament session to elect a president in the second half of April.

“It is clear that most MPs or blocs will attend the session. Now what will happen next will be determined by the speaker,” Jaber said.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai praised the speaker’s intention to call for a parliamentary session to elect a president.

“The president is not dropped in with a parachute, but he emerges from a democratic game in the country,” Rai said.

“The chance to have the president that Lebanon needs is made possible through the electoral process and deliberation,” Rai added.

He made his remarks to reporters at Rafik Hariri International Airport prior to his departure for Geneva, where he is to deliver a lecture on the role of Christians in the region.

Rai denied that his Sunday sermon that specified the traits that a new president must possess aimed to sideline certain candidates.

“I did not exclude anybody, and I don’t have this in mind. I don’t impose on anybody, as I am a human being who believes in democracy,” Rai said. “We said that we want a president who is strong with his ethics, exemplary life ... history and strong with his belief in the Lebanese state and restoring its dignity.”

Later, Rai met in Geneva the U.N.-Arab League peace envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi and an array of diplomats.

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk confirmed media reports that he had dinner with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil Sunday, adding that presidential elections were not discussed during the meeting.

In an interview with LBCI television, Machnouk said that the current government did not reflect a political agreement between rival parties, but a temporary arrangement for a transitional period slated to end on May 25.

For his part, Geagea said his candidacy was not motivated by greed to assume the top Christian post in the country, but rather by his desire to see a March 14 official at the helm, as it would be an opportunity for the group to accomplish its goals.

“The March 14 coalition is no longer just a political group. I say frankly that Lebanon will no longer exist if this alliance fails,” Geagea said in remarks Sunday to the winners of the Order of Engineers elections in the north.

Separately, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi extended his congratulations to Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi over his appointment.

Speaking to reporters after his visit to Rifi, the ambassador said that he had given Rifi a congratulatory letter from his Iranian counterpart Mostafa Pourmohammadi.

“We discussed recent developments in regional and international arenas and opportunities for cooperation between Lebanon and the Islamic Republic, particularly between the justice ministries in our countries,” Roknabadi said.

Roknabadi added that he and Rifi agreed on the need to execute cooperation protocols between the Justice ministries of Iran and Lebanon.

The Iranian diplomat said his country was interested in establishing good ties with Saudi Arabia adding that this would impact positively on the entire region. Rifi is close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Future Movement, which is in turn backed by Saudi Arabia.

In other developments, Sleiman is expected to chair a Cabinet session at Baabda Palace Tuesday afternoon in which further public sector appointments are expected to be made.

Burgas bomber trained in south Lebanon, says Bulgarian paper

SOFIA: The man who blew up a bus in a Bulgarian Black Sea resort in 2012, killing five Israeli tourists, trained in camps in south Lebanon, the Bulgarian daily Presa said.

The Bulgarian authorities have said Hezbollah was behind the attack at the Burgas Airport, and the European Union last July put the group’s armed wing on its terrorism blacklist over the incident. Hezbollah denies any involvement.

The EU country has named two men of Lebanese origin as suspected accomplices of the bomber, who died during the attack.

“The assailant was born in Algeria, lived in Morocco and was trained in camps in south Lebanon. He also studied at a Beirut university with the other two suspects,” the newspaper said, quoting sources familiar with the investigation who declined to be named.

The Balkan country has identified the suspects as 32-year-old Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, an Australian citizen, and 25-year-old Hassan al-Hajj Hassan, a Canadian citizen, both of Lebanese origin.

The Bulgarian prosecutor’s office is preparing an indictment for the attack, but declined to comment on the allegations.

Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said last Friday that there was new information on the bomber, which is likely to broaden the investigation into the attack.

Former Jumblatt aide arrested for embezzlement

BEIRUT: Prominent businessman Bahij Abu Hamzeh, once a close aide of Walid Jumblatt, was arrested Monday on charges of embezzlement filed by a football team sponsored by the Progressive Socialist Party leader, judicial sources told The Daily Star.

Ghassan Oweidat, the first investigative judge of Beirut, questioned Abu Hamzeh and issued an arrest warrant against him over a lawsuit filed by Issam Sayegh, the chairman of the Safa football team. The lawsuit accused Abu Hamzeh of embezzlement and breach of trust.

Abu Hamzeh was arrested shortly after exiting Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut Monday. He was summoned by the judge earlier but did not show up.

The lawsuit is the culmination of a dramatic deterioration in relations between Jumblatt and Abu Hamzeh, a prominent businessman who ran the Druze leader’s real estate endeavors and managed his private properties for more than two decades. Abu Hamzeh’s family has consistently worked for the powerful Jumblatt family over the past century.

A chemical engineer and a Middle East agent for the U.S. pharmaceutical company Upjohn, Abu Hamzeh lived in Paris before moving to Lebanon in 1987 at the request of Jumblatt in order to manage the PSP chief’s companies.

He is also the former head of the Association of Oil Importing Companies and served as the head of Safa’s board of trustees.

But relations between Jumblatt and Abu Hamzeh cooled significantly last year, leading the Druze leader to relieve his former associate of his duties and file two lawsuits against him.

In one lawsuit, Jumblatt accuses Abu Hamzeh and Hussein Bdeir, a Lebanese businessman, of selling him a piece of land that never existed.

Jumblatt said he was the victim of an “organized fraud,” and accused Abu Hamzeh and Bdeir of taking advantage of the fact that he was busy with politics and social obligations in order to dupe him. Bdeir has categorically dismissed the accusations. Abu Hamzeh has never made a public statement on the matter, and has said he prefers to let the judiciary handle the case.

Sources familiar with the issue told The Daily Star that Abu Hamzeh proposed to resolve the case with Jumblatt by paying him a settlement fee, but that the PSP leader turned down the offer.

The judicial sources said Abu Hamzeh could remain in custody for up to two months before his lawyers could secure an order for his release on bail. Bahij Abu Mujahid, Abu Hamzeh’s lawyer, could not immediately be reached by The Daily Star.

Abu Hamzeh’s wife, Mona, is the host of entertainment program Talk of the Town, which airs once a week on Lebanese TV channel MTV.

Mona Abu Hamzeh did not appear during the ceremony to celebrate MTV’s fifth anniversary Monday evening, of which she was scheduled to be its host. Appearing in her place instead was TV presenter Wissam Breidi. She tweeted a photo of her with her husband and two kids shortly after news of his arrest broke.

Cautious optimism in Arsal, Labweh over new security plan

ARSAL, Lebanon: In the Baalbek Valley towns of Arsal and Labweh, a cautious calm has prevailed since the Lebanese Army announced a security plan for the area.

At Army checkpoints throughout the northern Bekaa Valley, soldiers vigilantly searched drivers’ IDs and the trunks of cars. Gone was the informal Hezbollah checkpoint on the Arsal-Labweh road, a point of contention between the two towns.

The Army is expected to send troop reinforcements and carry out raids in order to arrest wanted people in the Bekaa Valley this week following the success of a similar initiative in Tripoli.

Tensions have been high between neighboring Labweh and Arsal for months.

Arsal fiercely supports the Syrian uprising, and in recent months, members of the opposition have sought refuge in the badlands surrounding the town.

Residents of nearby Labweh, who are sympathetic to Hezbollah and the Assad regime, claim that Arsal has become a haven for Islamist terrorists retreating from battles in Qalamoun where the rebels have sustained heavy losses. They accuse the fleeing fighters of launching a series of rocket attacks that have shaken their sleepy town in recent weeks, resulting in several casualties.

Many also suspect that Arsal has served as a thoroughfare for cars rigged with explosives.

The planned Army deployment is reassuring to many in the region.

The conciliatory sentiment was particularly marked in Arsal, where a suicide bomber killed three soldiers late last month.

“Arsal is sad for losing her sons, the heroes of the Lebanese Army,” read a freshly printed banner hanging over the town’s main street.

Dr. Bilal, a doctor in the town, said he was impressed that even in the wake of the deadly bombing, the Army had efficiently overseen the transport of wounded Syrian patients across the Lebanese border.

He fully supports the Lebanese Army’s mandate to rid Arsal of illicit material, particularly weapons.

“I think it’s very important for weapons to be taken out of Arsal.”

As of Monday, there was no visible Army presence in the town, though troops may enter as part of efforts to redouble security.

Iyad, an Arsal resident, said that finding soldiers in his town wouldn’t bother him.

“We feel comfortable with the Lebanese Army,” he said, flashing a wide smile.

Mohammad, a Free Syrian Army fighter currently residing in the hills surrounding Arsal, agreed that the Army would “definitely” protect the area from Hezbollah, which enjoys wide support in neighboring towns, including Labweh.

Conversely the mayor of Labweh, Ramez Amhaz, said he believed the Army would defend his town from attacks by those opposed to Asssad.

“We are very reassured by the new security plan,” he told The Daily Star. “After the security plan in Tripoli, it became clear that the Army is strong. Everyone in Labweh supports it.”

Still, he said that he believed the Army could only thwart future rocket attacks against his town if they deployed across the rural fringes of the Bekaa Valley. “There is a fear of rockets, and if the government forces do not take control of the outskirts, that fear will be reinforced.”

“You no longer see any men bearing weapons in Labweh,” he added.

But in Arsal, a handful of war-weary residents expressed concern that the security plan would make Arsal feel like a prison.

Glaring at a small TV screen showing a Syrian league football match, Abu Fareed said he feared the Army would unfairly target Syrians.

“They’ll ask me for my papers and mock me, but I don’t have any papers to show them,” he said.

“I have nothing to confirm that I’m a refugee,” he said, admitting that he fought alongside the opposition in Yabroud.

“I’m preparing to be beaten by the security forces,” he said, eyes darting back to the TV.

Former Senate Rivals Team Up To Combat Campus Sexual Assault

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hide captionSen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., attends a press conference calling for the creation of an independent military justice system to deal with sexual harassment and assault in the military on Feb. 6.

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., attends a press conference calling for the creation of an independent military justice system to deal with sexual harassment and assault in the military on Feb. 6.

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

After a lengthy clash over competing military sexual assault reform bills, Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are teaming up to push for increased funding to investigate and combat sexual assault on college campuses.

On Friday, the two senators sent a letter to the leadership of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee calling for funding to increase staffing dedicated to enforcing the Clery Act — which requires colleges to report crime on and near campus — and Title IX.

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hide captionSen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., holds up a document during an April 2 subcommittee hearing.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., holds up a document during an April 2 subcommittee hearing.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

The two Democratic senators requested that the committee provide $2 million to employ additional staff members to work as part of the compliance team at the Department of Education. In addition, they requested $102 million for the department's Office of Civil Rights and about $5 million for the office to hire staff dedicated to investigating and enforcing Title IX provisions regarding sexual violence.

"America's colleges and universities are the best in the world. But it is simply unacceptable that they become havens for rape and sexual assault. It is time to take this crisis head on and end the scourge of sexual assault on our college campuses, hold offenders accountable, and keep our students safe," Gillibrand said in a statement.

Prior to this effort, Gillibrand and McCaskill were at odds over whether the prosecution of sexual assault cases should be removed from the military chain of command — a proposal Gillibrand supported and McCaskill opposed. The Senate, which rejected Gillibrand's proposal, unanimously approved McCaskill's bill. It's now awaiting a vote in the House.

According to McCaskill's office, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has just half the staff it did in 1980 — even though it receives three times the amount of Title IX complaints it did then. Last week, McCaskill sent letters to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan asking for information on how their agencies handle sexual assaults on campus.

"I fear that, like the U.S. military, we're going to find systemic problems on our college campuses-including very low reporting due to lack of protections and resources," McCaskill said in a statement.