Sen. Markey to outline "business plan" for state

BOSTON -- U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is planning to outline what he's calling his "Massachusetts Business Plan" during a speech in Boston on Wednesday.

The plan focuses on encouraging entrepreneurs who are educated in Massachusetts to stay and innovate here.

Markey says that will require connecting those entrepreneurs with access to needed capital and to an educated, skilled workforce who can produce their products.

Markey said the state also needs to make more investments in the research, partnerships and projects that will create jobs in the future.

Markey plans to detail his ideas during a lunchtime address to business leaders at the New England Council.

The Democrat, who is seeking election to a full six-year term this year, will also talk about what should happen in Congress in the next year.

Huge fire at chips factory in east Lebanon

BEIRUT: A huge fire erupted Wednesday at a chips factory in east Lebanon where Civil Defense responders are battling to extinguish the blaze, security sources told The Daily Star.

The fire broke out at the Masters Chips factory in the Zahle town of Ferzol, the sources said.

The employees working at the factory were evacuated, but it is still unknown whether some remain trapped.

Cabinet convenes in Baabda

BEIRUT: Cabinet convened Wednesday with 27 items on its agenda, including the appointment of a new head of the Civil Service Council.

The session, chaired by President Michel Sleiman, commenced at Baabda Presidential Palace at 10:30 a.m.

President Sleiman and Prime Minister Tammam Salam held a closed meeting ahead of the session.

Large turnout for Al-Manar technician funeral

BEIRUT: The funeral of an Al-Manar technician killed in Syria earlier this week was held Wednesday in his hometown of Hermel, in east Lebanon, with hundreds and possibly thousands of mourners turning out to pay their respects.

The funeral procession started from the Hermel's Martyr's Square as hundreds carried the coffin of the deceased, which was draped with a Hezbollah flag.

Technician Halim Allaw was among the three Al-Manar staff who were covering the Syrian army’s takeover of the Christian town of Maaloula in Syria’s Qalamoun region when their vehicle came under heavy fire Monday.

The two other victims, Mazah hajj Hasan and Mohammad Mantash were laid to rest Tuesday in their respective villages. Their funerals were also heavily attended.

Wawa convenience stores mark 50th anniversary

PHILADELPHIA -- Wawa convenience stores are celebrating the company's 50th anniversary, but customers will be getting the gifts.

The chain is offering free cups of coffee on Wednesday to mark a half-century since the first shop opened in suburban Philadelphia.

Grahame Wood established the original outlet in Folsom on April 16, 1964. The company now has more than 640 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.

Early Wednesday morning, company executives will re-enact the first transaction at the Folsom store. Employees will wear vintage uniforms and historical signs and photos will be displayed.

A similar event is planned afterward at a store in downtown Philadelphia.

Wawa is a native American name for the Canada goose. The bird's image appears in the company logo.

Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Apr. 16, 2014

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

As-Safir

The wage scale has flown [the coop]...look towards the presidency!

Once more, Parliament has failed its constituents, using the salary scale as an excuse to ignore the rights of teachers and civil servants. What happened at yesterday’s session was suspicious: Suddenly, 65 deputies realized that the draft law needed further study.

What happened at yesterday’s session was not so much a delay as it was an a tacit death-blow to the wage scale. The new committee will not come up with anything that has not already been discussed over the past 25 months, and the wage scale will most likely get lost in the shuffle leading up to next week’s session to elect a president.

An-Nahar

The union coordination committee calls in the cavalry...lawmakers conspire to delay the presidency

Geagea declares presidential program today

Yesterday’s session was a victory for power and money and a disappointment for thousands of teachers, civil servants and retirees. If the new committee is given 15 days to study the draft law, a new parliamentary session cannot be called before mid-May.

If parties are unable to agree on a new President, they will ask for the intervention of the Maronite Patriarch in order to avoid a vacuum in the presidency, and the wage scale will be put off indefinitely. This is why the Union Coordination Committee was swift in announcing its strike.

Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea is set to declare his 32-item presidential program Wednesday, focusing on the necessity of restricting arms to state authority.

Al Akhbar

Security Forces investigating cars that were booby-trapped in Yabroud and Rankous

Security forces are pursuing several explosives-rigged vehicles after a dangerous felon arrested earlier this month confessed to receiving money to booby-trap them to carry out bombings in several areas across Lebanon.

Syrian national Mohammed Abdel-Hamid Qassem, also known as Abou Abdo, and Murad Almadar told investigators that several vehicles were rigged with explosives in the Syrian villages of Yabroud and Rankous in the Qalamoun area on the Lebanon border.

Security forces are currently investigating if the vehicles were used in previous bombings or not.

Qassem also revealed the identities of several people that he worked with inside Lebanon and abroad.

Al-Mustaqbal

People wanted by the authorities give up in the north and hide in the Bekaa

The security plan is on track in the north and the Bekaa, in a prelude to reaching the capital Beirut where the raids would focus on areas that witnessed armed clashes inside Beirut. Authorities are expected to go after wanted suspects such as Shaker Burjawi.

Security sources said that many suspects in the north handed in themselves to the military tribunal or Army intelligence because they started to feel suffocated by the security measures in the city.

In the Bekaa, suspects are starting to feel the real danger of getting caught and have been abandoning their houses in fear of being detained.

The top iPhone and iPad apps on App Store

App Store Official Charts for the week ending April 14, 2014:

Top Paid iPhone Apps:

1 A Dark Room, Amirali Rajan

2 Monument Valley, ustwo

3 R.B.I. Baseball 14, MLB.com

4 Sleep Cycle alarm clock, Northcube AB

5 Minecraft - Pocket Edition, Mojang

6 Heads Up!, Warner Bros.

7 Facetune, Lightricks Ltd.

8 Afterlight, Simon Filip

9 Plague Inc., Ndemic Creations

10 SkinneePix, PrettySmartWomen LLC

Top Free iPhone Apps:

1 2048 - The Game, Ketchapp

2 Flappy Smash - The End of a Ti..., Makeover Mania Story Games

3 Don't step the white tile, Ayumu Kinoshita

4 What's the Difference? (tilde) spot ..., Candywriter, LLC

5 Trials Frontier, Ubisoft

6 Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, TinyCo, Inc.

7 LockScreen Buddy for iOS7 - Pi..., theM Dev

8 Facebook Messenger, Facebook, Inc.

9 Snapchat, Snapchat, Inc.

10 Instagram, Instagram, Inc.

Top Paid iPad Apps:

1 Minecraft - Pocket Edition, Mojang

2 Monument Valley, ustwo

3 R.B.I. Baseball 14, MLB.com

4 FTL: Faster Than Light, Subset Games

5 Wallykazam! Letter and Word Ma..., Nickelodeon

6 Doc McStuffins Paint and Play, Disney

7 The Walls - Mini Survival Game, Linal Richmore

8 Cut the Rope 2, ZeptoLab UK Limited

9 Survivalcraft, Igor Kalicinski

10 Notability, Ginger Labs

Top Free iPad Apps:

1 Microsoft Word for iPad, Microsoft Corporation

2 Microsoft Excel for iPad, Microsoft Corporation

3 Trials Frontier, Ubisoft

4 Microsoft PowerPoint for iPad, Microsoft Corporation

5 2048 - The Game, Ketchapp

6 Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff, TinyCo, Inc.

7 Flappy Smash - The End of a Ti..., Makeover Mania Story Games

8 Piano Tiles, HU WEN ZENG

9 Boom Beach, Supercell

10 The Official Masters Tournament, Augusta National, Inc.

(copyright) 2014 Apple Inc.