WASHINGTON — General Motors faced its last obstacle to a quick and orderly bankruptcy Saturday, as its lenders voted on exchanging their claims for a stake in the restructured automaker.
Under orders from the Treasury Department, the company offered bondholders a 10 percent stake in the new GM, and has added to the offer warrants for another 15 percent stake. In voting to accept the proposal, bondholders would also agree not to oppose GM should it pursue a sale under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code, which allows the automaker to sell its assets and create a new company.
In other GM news, Frank Stronach, the Canadian owner of auto parts maker Magna International Inc., has acquired General Motors Corp.’s Opel unit. Germany’s finance minister said Saturday that a plan was approved for Magna to move ahead with Opel’s rescue.
Arkansas: Two murderers walk out of prison in officers’ garb
Two convicted murderers put on corrections-officer uniforms and walked out of an Arkansas prison during a shift change, officials said Saturday as they searched for the men. Jeffrey Grinder, 32, and Calvin Adams, 39, escaped Friday evening from the Cummins Unit prison in Grady more than three hours before officials realized they were missing, a corrections department spokeswoman said. Both men were serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Pennsylvania: Abduction hoax suspect out on bail
A woman accused of staging an abduction hoax that began near Philadelphia and ended at Florida’s Walt Disney World was released on $1 million bail, authorities said Saturday. Officials at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in suburban Philadelphia say Bonnie Sweeten, 38, was released about 5 p.m. Saturday after posting $100,000 in cash.
Hawaii: Superferry goes bankrupt
The company running Hawaii’s first interisland car and passenger service is filing for bankruptcy, two months after a state Supreme Court ruling effectively shut it down. A statement from Hawaii Superferry says the expenses of maintaining its two vessels have weighed down the company because it doesn’t have any revenues.
Arizona: Two die in home invasion
Authorities say a home invasion in a rural southern Arizona community has left a man and a young girl dead and a woman wounded. Pima County sheriff’s Sgt. Cathryn Masters says four to five people forced their way into the home in Arivaca on Saturday morning and shot the victims. Masters says the girl was about 9 years old.
N.Y.: 9/11 families angered by U.S. support for Saudis
Relatives of Sept. 11 victims say they’re angry that the Justice Department is supporting the Saudi royal family’s bid to be removed from a 9/11 lawsuit. The families of some victims have accused the royal family of financially backing terrorist groups that carried out the 2001 attacks. The Justice Department filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday. It supports the Saudis’ argument that the royal family as a sovereign state cannot be sued in a U.S. court.
Australia: Gitmo detainees reconsidered anew
Australia said Saturday it is considering a third request from the United States to resettle detainees from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba. Australia twice rejected such approaches from former President George W. Bush last year. The current request is the first from the Barack Obama administration.
Sri Lanka: Group urges UN to release civilian death toll
A leading human rights group has asked the United Nations to publicize its estimate of civilian deaths in the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war amid escalating reports over how many died. Amnesty International said late Friday that it has received “consistent testimony” that both government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels killed thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone and called for an independent international investigation.
Saudi Arabia: Convict beheaded, then crucified
Saudi authorities beheaded and crucified a man convicted of brutally slaying an 11-year-old boy and his father, the Interior Ministry announced. Crucifying the headless body in a public place is a way to set an example, according to the kingdom’s strict interpretation of Islam. Normally those convicted of rape, murder and drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia are just beheaded.
Iran: Three suspects in mosque bombing are hung
Less than 36 hours after a deadly bombing in southeastern Iran, three men were hanged Saturday in front of the same mosque they allegedly targeted, official media reported. Local television broadcast images of the hanging, showing three people hanging from the gallows and spectators watching the execution from behind a metal gate, according to BBC Monitoring, a news service that tracks Iranian broadcast media.
From Herald news services
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