Lebanon Christians OK truce // But Syrian troops menace fort

BEIRUT The leader of Lebanon's Christians, Maj. Gen. MichelAoun, accepted a United Nations cease-fire call Wednesday, but Syriantroops were reported massing around his enclave and war-wearycitizens predicted that any truce would fail just as earlier onesdid.

Aoun, who heads one of Lebanon's two governments and has vowedto drive Syrian troops out, accepted the UN Security Council truceresolution "without any preconditions," a spokesman for the generalsaid.

Aoun also thanked "the international community for theresponsible position" it had adopted on the new Lebanese crisis.

The Syrian army and its Lebanese Moslem allies laid siege to theChristian enclave …

UN panel sets target to connect poor to broadband

GENEVA (AP) — A United Nations panel has given governments a target of connecting half the world's poor citizens to broadband Internet by 2015.

The U.N.'s Broadband Commission for Digital Development also says at least 40 percent of households in developing countries should be hooked up to broadband within four years.

The panel …

Starwood Hotels 3Q profit declines 64 percent

The travel slump sparked by the recession pushed profit down 64 percent at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which has been cutting room rates, especially at its high-end hotels, to try to recoup business.

The owner of Sheraton and W brands, like other hotel operators, has been trimming its own costs and slashing room rates to respond to the sharp downturn in business and leisure travel as companies and consumers try to rein in costs.

CEO Frits van Paasschen conceded that Starwood's most expensive hotels have been squeezed, but he remained upbeat that business would pick up when the economy recovers. He noted half the company's hotels are …

MORNINGLINE

Results Will you ride the CTA more often because of its newround-trip transfer policy?Yes: 89%No: 11% …

Down, but not out

COLLISION COMMENT

Moving beyond the eloquent sound bites, the issue of consumer protection will be used by both supporters and opponents.

Texas Sen. John Carona's announcement just prior to NACE that he would pre-file a bill in the state's legislature that would seek to ban insurer-owned collision repair facilities, proves that the issue is not going away any time soon. Many people believed that the failure of California's Senate Bill (S.B.) 1648 last August would put a damper on new legislation. However, the failure in California, and more importantly the lessons learned during the battle over the bill, has only firmed the resolve of opponents to insurance company …

Details of May presidential fundraising

Fundraising figures for May as released by the presidential candidates.

DEMOCRAT

BARACK OBAMA

Total receipts to date: $295.52 million, including $10.72 million for general election.

Total contributions to date: $287.5 million.

Total spending: $252.4 million.

May contributions: $21.9 million, including $687,000 for general election.

May spending: $26.8 million.

May transfers or loans: none.

Cash on hand: $43 million, including $10 million for general election.

Debt: $304,000.

Top donor states this quarter: California, $1.8 million; Florida, $1.3 …

Pressure will be on Ramirez to step up

Every club has its doomsday scenario -- the one player it mostfears losing to the disabled list. For the Cubs, that one player isAll-Star first baseman Derrek Lee.

Lee will go on the disabled list today for the first time in hiscareer, the victim of a fractured right wrist that is expected to barhim from the lineup for eight to 10 weeks. When he is set to returnby mid- to late June, who knows where the Cubs -- who have weatheredthe losses of pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood -- will havepositioned themselves in a competitive National League Central?

The moment Los Angeles Dodgers speedster Rafael Furcal slammedinto Lee in a collision at first base Wednesday …