ANTIQUES SHOPS

The high-profile trial is in its final stages, with Judge John Cleland telling jurors on Monday he expected closing arguments to take place on Thursday.

The jury of seven women and five men then will be sequestered at a local hotel, he said.

Sandusky, 68, the former defensive coordinator for Pennsylvania State University's high-powered football program, is accused of abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period, some at university facilities.

The charges focused renewed national attention on child sexual abuse and prompted the firing in November of university President Graham Spanier and legendary head football coach Joe Paterno.

Eight of the alleged victims, now men aged 18 to 28, offered sometimes-graphic testimony last week for the prosecution. The testimony included accounts of molestation ranging from groping and bear hugs in football showers to oral and anal sex.

With defense attorney Joe Amendola seeking a more upbeat assessment of Sandusky, two former Penn State assistant coaches, Booker Brooks and Richard Anderson, testified that it was not unusual for men to shower with boys in Penn State locker rooms.

Anderson said he had seen Sandusky in the showers with children, but never saw anything inappropriate. Brooks told jurors he had also showered with children and he considered Sandusky "a great guy."

"A LOT OF GOOFING AROUND"

Another witness, political campaign strategist David Pasquinelli, testified he had worked with Sandusky on a fundraising campaign from October 2007 to spring 2009 for the Second Mile charity, a group Sandusky had founded for at-risk youth.

Asked by Amendola to characterize the interaction between Sandusky and children, he said: "I saw a lot of goofing around. Jerry had a very unique way, and many of us were inspired by this, to relate to youth" on several levels.

Amendola has said he will call Sandusky to testify, but Tom Kline, a lawyer for one of the alleged victims, told Reuters there probably was not enough time for the former coach to take the stand.

The judge said the defense planned to conclude at midday on Wednesday, and Sandusky alone would probably take a half day to a full day for testimony, Kline said.

Earlier Monday, the final prosecution witness testified that her son, who told jurors last week he bled from being anally raped, was often missing his underwear when he returned from visits with Sandusky.

When she noticed her son did not have his underwear when he came home, the boy would tell her he had an accident and threw them out.

Sandusky had faced 52 counts of child molestation, but the prosecution dropped one charge of unlawful contact with minors on Monday.

Two university officials also face charges of perjury and failure to report suspected abuse in an alleged incident involving Sandusky and a boy at a Penn State locker room.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

* Govt politician says Lynas plant is the most advanced

* Political backlash likely - analyst

By Anuradha Raghu and Niluksi Koswanage

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Lynas Corp is set to clear the final hurdle for its delayed $800 million rare earths plant after Malaysian lawmakers asked the government to issue the miner a temporary operating license despite community safety concerns.

The recommendations of the six-member lawmaker committee are expected to be rubber stamped by parliament later on Tuesday, clearing the way for Lynas to start operating the plant that is key to breaking China's grip on rare earths used in products ranging from Apple Inc's smartphones to Honda Motors' hybrid cars.

"It's another in a long line of affirmations for the safety of the Lynas plant," said a Lynas spokesman in Australia.

Lynas shares added nearly 9 percent, while analysts said the plant, set to be the biggest in the world outside China, could start operating within four months of the issuance of a temporary operating licence.

The Lynas plant on Malaysia's east coast has been standing ready to fire up since early May, but the company has been embroiled since construction began two years ago in lengthy environmental and safety disputes with local residents.

Widespread protests over concerns at possible radioactive residue have drawn thousands of people at a time, and the project has become a hot topic ahead of an election likely to be held this year.

The decision by the committee, which was dominated by MPs from the ruling Barisan National coalition, came after Malaysia dismissed an appeal by residents to scrap the plant on radiation concerns.

RARE EARTH SUPPLY

Prized for their magnetism, luminescence and strength, world consumption of rare earths is estimated to rise to around 185,000 tonnes a year by 2015, from 136,000 tonnes in 2010.

China imposed export quotas in 2009 to fight pollution caused by illegal mining and processing, turning up the pressure to find alternative sources.

The Lynas plant would supply about 11,000 tonnes in its first year, eventually rising to 22,000 tonnes. The company says demand is so strong that it has locked in customers for all the rare-earths it can process in the first 10 years of operations.

Malaysia's opposition lawmakers boycotted the committee set up three months earlier, accusing the government of planning a whitewash over the plant in Prime Minister Najib Razak's home state of Pahang. Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday called the latest report "propaganda from Lynas".

Najib is seeking a strong mandate based on a track record of drawing in investments and boosting growth at a time when the euro zone debt crisis hobbles the global economy.

"The parliamentary committee's findings will blow up the Lynas issue for many voters who were against the plant," said James Chin, political science professor at Malaysia's Monash campus. "There will be some form of a backlash."

Lynas, which last year said refined rare earth exports from Malaysia could hit 8 billion ringgit ($2.5 billion) from 2013 -- equivalent to 1 percent of the country's gross domestic product, is expected to figure prominently in Najib's plans.

MOST ADVANCED

The committee on Tuesday said awarding the licence would help the factory start processing rare earths in stages and recommended a committee of NGOs and experts keep track of the plant.

"Among all the rare earths factories in operation, they (Lynas) are the most advanced, we were told by international experts," select committee chairmanet Mohamed Khaled Nordin told reporters outside the parliament hall.

Deutsche Bank said it expected Lynas to submit its plan to meet earlier government conditions on neutralising radioactive elements in plant waste and an emergency response plan on dust control this week, looking for a sign-off by end-July.

Once the licence was issued, it would take another four months for Lynas to generate cash from the plant - one month for shipping the concentrate from its Australian mine to Malaysia and three months to commission the plant.

The 100-page report said while Lynas had met safety, health and environmental standards, an additional 31 recommendations would be tabled in what appeared to be concessions to public concerns over the plant's safety aspects.

Key among them was a recommendation Lynas has to ship out factory waste from Malaysia if it is unable to find an approved storage and recycling site -- a condition the panel says Lynas is already committed to although opposition lawmakers said the report was scant on the terms of such a deal.