Taxi War Chaos Narrowly Averted at Heathrow as Unite Wins Breakthrough

September 30th, 2009 LONDON - Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: "This agreement is a smoke screen designed to deflect criticism away from those who brought our banking system to its knees. The industry remains over populated with the greedy, arrogant and corrupt.

September 8th, 2009 LONDON - Diageo's announcement today (Wednesday 9th September) to reject proposals by the Scottish Government that would safeguard jobs has outraged Unite, the UK's biggest union. Unite is also furious that Diageo has made the announcement before the conclusion of the 90-day consultation period.

July 1st, 2009 LONDON - Unite, the UK's largest union, is astonished that many London buses are so inadequately maintained they can not turn off the heating during the summer meaning temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius on some buses, making it hotter than Dubai. Unite has been pressing the employers to ensure that air conditioning is fitted into the cabs of all the buses for many years.

June 29th, 2009 LONDON - Unite and the GMB, the lead unions in British Airways, have this evening (Tuesday) issued the following statement concerning ongoing talks with the airline in relation to its financial situation: "Talks between BA and Unite have adjourned for today (Tuesday) untill 10am tomorrow (Wednesday) when we will reconvene to contine negotiations on a mutually acceptable way forward which protects the long term interests of our members, loyal BA customers, investors and the company." Source: Unite the UnionFor further information please contact Pauline Doyle on +44(0)7976-832-861

April 7th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, one of the former sponsors of the Rise anti-racism festival, has today (Wednesday), slammed London Mayor Boris Johnson for his short-sighted and hasty decision to cancel the event on the basis of what he deemed to be a lack of 'major sponsorship'. Unite regional secretary, Steve Hart, said: "Unite was never approached by the London Mayor, or by any of his staff in the run-up to this decision.

April 6th, 2009 LONDON - Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: "The news that 4,500 RBS staff in the UK are to lose their jobs is truly devastating. Unite is appalled that thousands of people, who form the backbone of the RBS operations, are to be made redundant.

April 1st, 2009 LONDON - Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: "The announcement by Aviva to cut 1,100 staff will cause alarm across the insurance industry. Today we see a scenario where a company that is continuing to deliver positive results is slashing the staff that have enabled them to weather the current financial storm.

March 24th, 2009 LONDON - Unite has accused HSBC of "creative accountancy" with jobs as HSBC concedes that the true number of job cuts is in fact 2,900 as the union has rightly claimed, and not 1,200 as HSBC had originally claimed. Derek Simpson, Unite Joint General Secretary, said: "As if it was not bad enough for staff of HSBC to hear from the media that their jobs are at risk, we now have a situation where the company is failing to come clean with the true extent of these cuts.

March 17th, 2009 LONDON - Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: "Another review with more rhetoric than substance will do nothing to reassure consumers or staff in the financial services industry. Action is well over-due by those who oversee the UK's financial services sector in order to overhaul the flawed sector and bring back trust.

March 12th, 2009 LONDON - Unite, the UK's biggest civil air transport union, welcomes the announcement today (Friday) from the High Court that the challenge to the expansion of Stansted airport has been suspended. Steve Turner, Unite National Officer, said: "We are delighted at this decision today and hope we can now move on and develop an expansion programme at Stansted airport.

April 6th, 2009 MUMBAI - Hyundai's compact car Santro is set to be launched here as taxis after the state government ordered the phasing-out of nearly 7,500 ageing cabs. The company Monday shipped 30 Santro cars to the Mumbai taxi union, saying it would supply 1,250 vehicles by the year-end.

August 19th, 2009 UK airport hires writer to tell travelers' talesLONDON — An author best known for works of philosophy has become the first writer in residence at Heathrow Airport. Alain de Botton is spending a week inside Heathrow's Terminal 5.

August 12th, 2009 LONDON - Battery-operated driverless cars with bug-eyed windows will soon be carrying passengers at the Heathrow Airport. The bubble shaped vehicles look like a capsule and their doors fold back like butterfly wings.

August 3rd, 2009 Vt. taxi service allows patrons to decide faresESSEX, Vt. — When Eric Hagen started Recession Ride Taxi in Essex, Vt., he took more questions than fares.

June 15th, 2009 4 bodies found in suburban Orlando houseHEATHROW, Fla. — Four bodies have been found in a home in a gated community outside Orlando in what authorities believe was a murder-suicide.

May 31st, 2009 MUMBAI - In a horrendous incident which could have turned disastrous at the Mumbai airport, two flights -Jet Airways and Air India- were given signal to take off simultaneously on intersecting runways on Sunday. The drastic incident took place as the Air Traffic Control (ATC) gave take off clearance to both the flights at the same time, which was reported to be around 10 am.

February 26th, 2009 SINGAPORE - Giving in to a natural urge in public proved costly for a Singapore taxi driver. The cabby was fined the maximum 1,000 Singapore dollars ($655) Wednesday for urinating on a road, a news report said.

February 14th, 2009 KOLKATA - Two people were killed when a truck collided with a taxi Sunday in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, police said. The police said the accident happened due to poor visibility because of morning fog.

August 10th, 2009 BAA reports pickup in long-haul trafficLONDON —British airports operator BAA said Monday that European and long-haul traffic returned to growth in July, while London's Heathrow recorded its third-busiest month on record. BAA, which is majority owned by Spain's Grupo Ferrovial, said the number of passengers grew 1.2 percent in Europe and 4.8 percent across the long-haul network, excluding North Atlantic routes.

April 13th, 2009 AMBALA - A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exploded, following a gas leak, on National Highway-1 near Ambala Monday, the police said. Officials said a major tragedy was averted, as barring one person who suffered burn injuries, there was no other casualty.