In brief: Taliban leaders killed by police

Afghan police killed three Taliban commanders allegedly involved in the abduction of 23 South Koreans two months ago, the Interior Ministry said.

The police operation took place Friday in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province, where insurgents seized the 23 South Koreans on July 19, the Interior Ministry said.

“The commanders who were killed during this operation were directly involved in the kidnapping case of the Korean hostages,” the ministry said in a statement Saturday. It did not provide any further details or the identities of the slain Taliban.

There have been several military operations in Ghazni since the release of the last of the captives on Aug. 30, possibly reflecting the Afghan government’s desire to assert authority over the rebellious region following the abductions.

Earlier this month, Afghan officials said they killed a Taliban commander called Mullah Mateen, accused of being behind the kidnapping of the South Korean church workers.

Two of the Korean hostages were slain soon after the kidnapping. Two women were released during Taliban negotiations with South Korea, and the remaining 19 were freed after Seoul repeated a long-standing commitment to withdraw its 200 soldiers in Afghanistan by year’s end and prevent Christian missionaries from traveling to Afghanistan.

DETROIT

GM, UAW closer to new contract

General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers made progress at the bargaining table Saturday but still faced significant hurdles and weren’t expected to agree on a new contract until at least today.

Negotiations ended around 9 p.m. EDT, GM spokeswoman Katie McBride said. They are scheduled to resume at midmorning today.

Some union subcommittees – which handle issues such as pensions, benefits and job security – have wrapped up talks, but an agreement wasn’t expected Saturday because negotiators were still dealing with some key issues, according to a person who was briefed on the negotiations.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private, also confirmed that GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner is actively involved in the talks.

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill.

Family wins lawsuit over Denny’s meal

A jury has ordered the Denny’s restaurant chain to pay $600,000 to 15 members of a black family who claimed their white waiter deliberately ignored them and used racial slurs.

The federal jury awarded each family member $5,000 in compensatory damages and $35,000 in punitive damages on Friday.

Sandra Green’s family sued over a November 2003 meal at a Denny’s restaurant in the St. Louis suburb of Fairview Heights. The waiter, who later was fired, allegedly served white patrons and ignored the family. Some of Green’s family members said they had to get their own drinks, utensils and napkins.

“It’s not really about the money. We don’t want another black family or our children to have to go through what we went through,” family member Charles Tart Sr. said.

Ed Ordonez, an attorney for Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny’s Corp., told jurors that the Green family had received bad service but they were not harmed.

LONDON

Hundreds line up for withdrawals

Hundreds of customers lined up to withdraw their savings from a British mortgage bank Saturday, ignoring government assurances that their money was safe despite the bank’s request for an emergency loan.

Police were called in some cities to steer panicked crowds away as Northern Rock bank branches closed for the day.

Fears have spread over the bank’s request earlier in the week for an emergency Bank of England loan amid the global credit crisis. Northern Rock, Britain’s fifth-largest mortgage lender, is the first British bank in 15 years to be bailed out by regulators.

Customers withdrew $2 billion from the bank Friday, the Financial Times reported, citing an unidentified person described as close to the situation. The bank declined to confirm the figure, which represents 4 percent of its deposit base.

Treasury chief Alistair Darling and the country’s Financial Service Authority tried to assure customers there was no doubt over Northern Rock’s solvency.

The authority “has reiterated yet again tonight that it is satisfied that Northern Rock is solvent, can carry on doing business and, crucially, paying out money if people want to withdraw their funds,” Darling said on Channel 4 TV on Saturday night.