Saturday, July 15, 2006
Ford likely to exceedgoal to eliminate jobs
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. expects to shed 22,000 to 24,000 hourly jobs in North America by the end of next year as part of its turnaround effort, according to published reports. The automaker also will likely exceed its goal of cutting up to 30,000 hourly workers by 2012, The Detroit News reported Saturday, citing company sources it didn't identify. Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans told The Associated Press on Saturday that Ford expects 10,000 to 11,000 of its hourly workers will take early retirement or buyout offers this year. Including workers leaving through attrition will bring that to about 12,000, she said. So far, about 5,750 workers have accepted buyouts, she said.
United Airlines moving HQ
CHICAGO -- United Airlines is moving its global headquarters from its longtime base near O'Hare International Airport to a building downtown, the company announced Saturday. The nation's second-largest carrier, a unit of UAL Corp., has been shopping for a site since spring, when it said it was looking to consolidate its facilities. The search took it to Denver and San Francisco -- two United airport hubs -- but most observers expected the carrier that has long billed itself locally as "Chicago's hometown airline" to stay in the area. About 350 United employees will be part of the move from Elk Grove Village, 20 miles northwest of downtown. United said Saturday that it expects to move in early 2007.
Town taken from Taliban
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- More than 40 insurgents were killed Saturday as hundreds of coalition troops, many dropped by helicopter, wrested a desert town from the Taliban, and U.S. forces battled militants across southern Afghanistan, officials said. The U.S. military, meanwhile, agreed to assist an Afghan government probe into reports that a coalition air raid killed civilians Monday in southern Uruzgan province. The military said the operation killed 40 extremists, but residents said at least four civilians died. President Hamid Karzai also ordered new inquiries into fresh violence in Helmand province -- the air assault Saturday on the insurgent stronghold of Sangin and Wednesday's fighting in nearby Nawzad. At least 29 insurgents died in the two clashes. Widespread violence across southern Afghanistan has killed about 800 people, mostly militants, since May, according to an Associated Press tally of coalition and Afghan figures.
Militants told to surrender
MOSCOW -- Russia's security chief urged Chechen militants Saturday to surrender within two weeks, saying the death of separatist warlord Shamil Basayev was an opportunity "for all those who have not yet returned to peaceful life." The most prominent remaining rebel leader swore defiance, declaring "the war continues" in an Internet statement Saturday. Federal Security Service director Nikolai Patrushev indicated that authorities would show leniency to militants who handed in weapons and "switched to the side of the people" by Aug. 1. The proposal -- or ultimatum -- reflected confidence among Russian authorities after the death of Basayev in a truck explosion Monday in a region adjacent to Chechnya. Russian officials said he was killed in a special operation; rebels called it an accident.
Happy 400th birthday!
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Art enthusiasts dressed up as the 17th-century nobles, beggars, priests and prostitutes portrayed in the paintings of Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn, honoring the 400th anniversary Saturday of his birth. Celebrations centered on the cities of Leiden, where Rembrandt was born July 15, 1606, and Amsterdam, where he did his greatest work, suffered personal tragedies, and died in 1669. In Leiden, a torch-lighted procession in period costume gathered by a statue of Rembrandt shortly before midnight Friday. In Amsterdam, an opera based on Rembrandt's life opened Saturday night at the Royal Carre theater.
Election woes hurt Mexico
MEXICO CITY -- The stock market is dropping. Protesters are marching on the capital. Citizens are lighting candles in hopes of divine intervention. Two weeks after a still-undecided presidential election, the suspense is testing Mexico's young democracy. The highly respected Federal Electoral Institute is charged with making sure that the tug of war doesn't reverse democratic gains made since President Vicente Fox's stunning victory six years ago ended 71 years of one-party rule. Mexican stocks have given up nearly all of the huge gains made after the July 2 vote, and the peso, which initially rallied on news of conservative Felipe Calderon's apparent victory, has stalled amid confusion over who won. Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who refuses to concede, has given Mexico's electoral court what he says is evidence of fraud. He calls Calderon a fascist, and is demanding a nationwide, vote-by-vote recount.
Associated Press