World/ Nation Briefs June 15, 2013

Allies, Russia cool to Obama plan to arm rebels

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration hopes its decision to give lethal aid to Syrian rebels will prompt other nations to beef up assistance, now that the U.S. has cited evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people. But the international reaction Friday ranged from flat-out disbelief of the U.S. intelligence assessments to calls for negotiation before more weapons pour into the vicious civil war.

The administration now says it has "high confidence" that President Bashar Assad's forces have killed up to 150 people with sarin gas. Although that's a tiny percentage of the approximately 93,000 killed in the civil war so far, the use of a chemical weapon crosses President Barack Obama's "red line" for escalating U.S. involvement in the conflict and prompted the decision to send arms and ammunition, not just humanitarian aid and defensive non-lethal help like armored vests and night goggles.

The administration's plan heading into the G8 meeting of industrialized nations beginning Monday is to use the chemical weapons announcement and Obama's decision on arms to persuade Russia to increase pressure on Assad to send a credible negotiating team to Geneva for talks with the opposition.

In addition, Obama is expected to use the G8 meeting and discussions on the sidelines to further coordinate with the British, French and potentially others an increase of assistance - lethal, non-lethal and humanitarian - to the rebels, the political opposition and refugees.

Crews battling fire take lessons from last year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Authorities lifted evacuations in a wide swath of terrain outside Colorado Springs on Friday as they said a surprise rain shower helped them expand containment of a wildfire that has destroyed 400 homes.

Just one day after clearing out the Flying Horse neighborhood in northern Colorado Springs, officials allowed people back into at least 1,000 houses. They also re-opened an eastern swath of the nearby Black Forest area in El Paso County.

Incident Commander Rich Harvey said the Black Forest Fire - the most destructive in Colorado history - is now 30 percent contained. It was only 5 percent contained Thursday.

The fire, in which two people died while apparently trying to escape their home, began Tuesday during record-setting heat and tinder-dry conditions. Officials warned it still could flare up again if the weather shifts.

Crews say they were better prepared to take on the flames because of lessons learned fighting last year's Waldo Canyon Fire, a similarly devastating blaze that devoured hundreds of homes and killed two people only a few miles away.

A wary eye remains on the chemical industry

By some measures, chemical plants like the sites of separate fatal explosions this week in Louisiana are among the safest manufacturing workplaces in America. That doesn't stop residents and emergency responders from keeping wary eyes on the hundreds of facilities stretched along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

Because of the volatile nature of many of the products they make, explosions, chemical releases and other accidents are real threats. Emergency officials say they're well-drilled to respond but residents do worry about what can happen next door.

The threat was underscored Friday when a second fatal explosion occurred at a plant located just miles away from the site of the previous day's deadly blast.

"For the most part, day to day, month to month, year to year, you don't really think about it," said Ascension Parish Councilman Travis Turner, who lives about 4 miles from the plant in Geismar where the earlier explosion occurred. "Everybody knows somebody - a brother or cousin or uncle - who works at a plant. When something happened, everybody is worried about the worst case scenario, like yesterday."

State and local officials have welcomed oil refineries, chemical plants and related industries, with their heavy capital investments and good-paying jobs. Louisiana is experiencing a boom in new plants and expansions, driven by low natural gas prices, as well as the area's strategic advantages.

Early results give Rowhani wide lead

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's reformist-backed presidential candidate surged to a wide lead in early vote counting Saturday, a top official said, suggesting a flurry of late support could have swayed a race that once appeared solidly in the hands of Tehran's ruling clerics.

But the strong margin for former nuclear negotiator Hasan Rowhani was not yet enough to give him an outright victory and avoid a two-person runoff next Friday.

Rowhani had about 45.8 percent of the more than 1.8 million votes tallied, said Solat Mortazavi, head of the interior ministry's election department, well ahead of Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf with about 17.6 percent. Hardline nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was third with about 14.1 percent.

It was unclear when the final count would be known. Iran has more than 50 million eligible voters, and turnout in Friday's election was believed to be high.

Many reform-minded Iranians who have faced years of crackdowns looked to Rowhani's rising fortunes as a chance to claw back a bit of ground.

Whole Foods revises employee language policy

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Facing threats of national boycotts from Latino groups and a slew of online petitions, Whole Foods announced Friday that the organic grocery chain has revised its employee language policy following the suspension of two Spanish-speaking Albuquerque employees.

Whole Foods Market Inc. Co-CEO Walter Robb said in a blog post Friday that the recent "unfortunate incident" in Albuquerque prompted the Austin, Texas-based company to revise a policy that "does not reflect and is not in alignment with the spirit of this company."

"First, we sincerely apologize that a section of our handbook regarding Team Member interactions in the workplace was not clearly written, and for any misunderstandings or offense it has created," Robb wrote. "Its intention was to foster inclusion, not exclusion."

- The Associated Press