GM CEO to resign as part of U.S. plan
WASHINGTON, March 29 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. had no comment Sunday on published reports that Richard Wagoner is quitting as chairman and chief executive officer of the U.S. automaker.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News reported Wagoner will leave his post immediately under terms of U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to provide federal assistance to the troubled automaker.
Wagoner has headed GM for eight years and has been with the company for more than three decades. He was asked by the administration and agreed to leave, the Free Press said.
There was no word on who would succeed Wagoner but the newspaper said the most likely candidate appeared to be Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson.
GM has already received $13.4 billion from Washington and has requested another $16.6 billion.
Obama is scheduled to announce Monday his plan to help the U.S. auto industry cope with mounting losses and plummeting sales. The president said on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday the administration thinks the United States can have "a successful auto industry."
"But it's got to be one that's realistically designed to weather this storm and to emerge at the other end much more lean and mean and competitive than it currently is," he said. "And that's going to mean a set of sacrifices from all parties -- management, labor, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, dealers."
Obama said the solution to Detroit's troubles will require all of those involved "to take serious restructuring steps."
Peugeot ousts top executive
PARIS, March 29 (UPI) -- PSA Peugeot Citroen Sunday dismissed Christian Streiff as its chief executive, replacing him with a leading European steel industry executive, the company said.
Philippe Varin, chief executive of Corus, will succeed Streiff, whose resignation was to take effect immediately, Thierry Peugeot, chairman of the Peugeot board, announced.
"Given the extraordinary difficulties currently faced by the automotive industry, the supervisory board decided unanimously that a change in the senior leadership position was necessary," he said. "I am confident that under the leadership of Philippe Varin, the group will be able, with all the teams, to unlock its potential."
Peugeot -- Europe's second-largest automaker behind Volkswagen -- has experienced plummeting sales and mounting losses along with the rest of the auto industry. Its shares plunged almost 70 percent in the last 12 months and it reported a net loss of $456 million for 2008, The New York Times reported.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's administration last month provided almost $4 billion in aid to Peugeot, based in Paris, but Streiff encountered criticism when he announced within days of the new funding he would eliminate 3,000 job in France, the Times said.
Streiff joined Peugeot in 2006 after serving just 100 days as head of Airbus.
Peugeot executive Roland Vardanega will run the company until Varin takes over June 1, the announcement said.
The announcement came as media reports in the United States said General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner will resign immediately.
Eight die in nursing home massacre
CARTHAGE, N.C., March 29 (UPI) -- Seven patients and an employee were shot and killed Sunday at a Carthage, N.C., nursing home and the suspected shooter has been taken into custody, police said.
The gunman opened fire about 10 a.m. EDT at Pinelake Health and Rehab facility, about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh, The News & Observer reported. Police identified the suspect as Robert Stewart, 45, of Moore County, N.C.
Stewart was shot by a police officer, CNN said. His condition was "currently unknown," Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie said.
District Attorney General Maureen Krueger identified the dead as: Tessie Garner, 88; Lillian Dunn, 89; Jessie Musser, 88; John Goldston, 78; Margaret Johnson, 89; Louise Decker, 98; Bessie Hendrick, 78; and Jerry Avent, for whom no age was reported.
Avent was an employee of the home.
In addition to those killed, three other people were shot, police said. One of the wounded is Carthage police officer Justin Garner, 25, who was treated for a leg wound. A visitor, Michael Cotton, 53, was also wounded, police said.
Clergy and grief counselors were summoned to help friends and family of those who were killed deal with the tragedy, The News & Observer said.
Stewart, faces eight counts of murder and one count of felony assault on a police officer, Krueger said. Stewart was employed at Pinelake and did not appear to be related to any of its residents, she said.
At least 19 die in soccer panic
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, March 29 (UPI) -- At least 19 people died and scores were injured in a stadium wall collapse and ensuing panic at a soccer match Sunday in Ivory Coast, officials said.
The Guardian said there were other reports that the death toll was as high as 22 with more than 130 people injured.
The British newspaper reported the incident occurred at Felix Houphoet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan before the opening kick-off of a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi. Ivory Coast won 5-0.
The Guardian said there were unconfirmed reports indicating police fired tear gas into the crowd at the end of the game, causing a stampede, but there were conflicting reports on the chronology of events.
The stadium has an official capacity of about 35,000 but the Guardian said some news sources reported the stadium was overcrowded because of cut-rate tickets.
"Spectators who did not buy tickets were jostling before the match," Ivory Coast Sports Minister Dagobert Banzio told state television. "They smashed one of the main gates of the stadium. They were trampled."
Banzio estimated the number of injured at 132. Interior Minister Desire Tagro put the death toll at 22.
The Daily Telegraph reported that a writer for Super Sport, an Ivorian daily newspaper, said a wall collapsed under the weight of the fans as they pushed toward the field.
"We saw people falling ... then there was panic and a stampede," Ollo Kambire said.
