Paris, France (AHN) – French aviation workers continued their strike for a third consecutive day Wednesday, forcing carrier Air France to cancel 30 percent of its domestic flights and 40 percent of long-haul flights.

The strike has not only affected Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport and regional airports but also thousands of passengers.

Aviation workers organized the four-day strike in protest of a proposed law that would require them to individually give at least 48 hours notice before they go on strike.

The French Lower House approved the bill last month and is in the Senate for approval.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States this week expanded cooperation with India on labor and employment issues with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that was hailed by both as a tool to enhance strong bonds between the two democracies.

Calling the MoU “an essential part of our bilateral relationship,” Mark Toner, the State Department spokesman, told journalists on Friday, “When you look at our relationship and the strategic dialogue that we have with India, there’s many baskets of issues that fall under that rubric, and certainly labor laws are one of those.”

Earlier on Thursday, Mallikarjun Kharge, visiting Indian minister for labor and employment, and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis inked a bilateral MoU for cooperation in the areas of skill development, youth employment, occupational safety and health and mines safety and health.

Kharge emphasized that, “the road map laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding will facilitate very close cooperation and interaction between our two countries and bring about improvements in the life of workers and their working conditions.”

Welcoming the structured bilateral engagement, Solis said, “Our governments share a firm commitment to workers and their rights. Today marks the launch of a new program to share valuable information that will ensure that workers’ rights are respected.”

Kharge said that India was interested in increasing its know-how in the areas of accreditation systems, self-regulation and auditing through collaboration, exchange and sharing of ideas, among other initiatives with the U.S.

During a press conference with Washington-based Indian media, the minister said, “This is the first time India and the U.S. is signing such an important document and naturally it is going to help both of us–more to us and they will be also very anxious to help us.”

Citing a vision by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of teaching skills to 500 million persons by 2022, the visiting minister stated that collaboration with U.S. would “enrich us in the areas of training delivery methods, certification, preparation of instructional material, curriculum development and expanding outreach.”

The latest cooperation move would help in further developing “an appropriate employment strategy for inclusive growth in India and strong bonds between the people of our two great nations,” Kharge emphasized.

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Khartoum, Sudan (AHN) – Sudan’s army on Monday was pursuing rebels who kidnapped 29 Chinese workers in the restive South Kordofan region.

Fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, which is trying to overthrow Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, seized the workers in the compound of a Chinese construction company involved in a local road project on Saturday during a clash with government troops.

Fourteen Chinese workers were rescued by soldiers while another 15 were missing, according to Khartoum government spokesman Rabie Abdelaty. The state-owned Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that 18 Chinese workers who fled the compound when rebels raided it were found in a neighboring area and secured.

The Chinese construction company’s security personnel were working with Sudanese authorities in the rescue of the workers.

The rebels claimed the Chinese workers were unharmed and they were just protecting the foreigners from harm during the fighting with government troops. They denied any link with the South Sudan government, which is ruled by a party having the same name as the rebels’ group.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial jobless claims for the week ending Jan. 21 rose by 21,000 to 377,000, compared with the previous week’s revised figure of 356,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

The less volatile four-week moving average was 377,500, a drop of 2,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 380,000.

DOL figures show that the total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Jan. 7, the most recent week for which such data is available, was 7,638,233, down by 188,612 people from the previous week.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 14 were:

• Florida (+2,711)
• California (+1,682)
• Iowa (+596)
• West Virginia (+571)
• District of Columbia (+115)

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Initial unemployment claims dropped to 352,000 during the week ending Jan. 14, their lowest level in nearly four years.

First time claims for jobless benefits dropped by 50,000 from the previous week’s revised tally of 402,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The less volatile four-week moving average was 379,000, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 382,500.

However, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate also dropped. Only 2.7 percent of jobless workers were covered by unemployment insurance for the week ending Jan. 7, a decrease of 0.2 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending Dec. 31, the most recent week for which data is available, was 7,826,665, an increase of 493,566 from the previous week.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Dec. 31 were:

• Alaska (6.9)
• Connecticut (6.6)
• Oregon (5.0)
• Wisconsin (4.9)
• Pennsylvania (4.7)
• Idaho (4.5)
• Rhode Island (4.5)
• Montana (4.3)
• New Jersey (4.2)
• Arkansas (4.0)
• Illinois (4.0)
• Washington (4.0).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 7 were:

• New York (+29,389)
• California (+22,168)
• Texas (+13,946)
• North Carolina (+7,865)
• Georgia (+7,225)

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis says it will cut nearly 2,000 jobs in the United States in anticipation of loss of revenue as its patent protection expires on its blockbuster drug Diovan.

Diovan is a blood pressure medication. It is the company’s top products and brought in more than $6 billion in revenue in 2010, the most recent year for sales data.

However, Novartis (NVS) will lose its patent protection on Diovan in September. That will open the market for cheaper generic production of the drug by competing drug makers, which will cause the price of the drug to drop.

Although Novartis has many other popular drugs that bring in billions, including cancer drugs Femara, Gleevec, Glivec and Zometa and vision drug Lucentis, none of them alone brings in the kind of revenue that Diovan does.

Novartis said the jobs cuts would take place in the second quarter of the year. It will cut 330 jobs at its U.S. headquarters in East Hanover, NJ. as well as reduce its “field force” by 1,630 positions, primarily sales reps. The company employs about 121,000 workers worldwide, including 30,000 in the U.S.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to close 259 offices nationwide as part of a program to cut costs and improve service.

In a statement that coincided with the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced changes to his agency worth about $150 million in savings every year.

The measures, which had been expected, will reduce the agency’s workforce by more than 7,000 employees. Apart from the domestic closures, seven international offices will be shuttered.

The restructuring follows a department-wide review of operations that recommended consolidating 700 cell phone contracts into about 10.

Since 2010, Congress has cut the USDA’s discretionary spending by $3 billion, or 12 percent.

“The USDA, like families and businesses across the country, cannot continue to operate like we did 50 years ago,” Vilsack said. “We must innovate, modernize, and be better stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars.”

Agriculture is the second most productive sector of the U.S. economy, providing one in 12 jobs nationwide and leaving a $42 billion farm trade surplus after producing $137.4 billion worth of exports.

The closures involve offices and laboratories that are either not staffed or are staffed by no more than two employees. Other facilities are located within 20 miles of other offices.

Among those affected are 131 Farm Service Agency offices. In addition, 15 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service offices in 11 states, and five offices of the agency abroad will be shuttered. The APHIS will be left with about 560 domestic offices and 55 abroad.

Vilsack assured that the quality of service will not be sacrificed with the changes, citing available technology. “American agriculture is currently experiencing its most productive period in history thanks to the resiliency, resourcefulness and efficiency of our farmers,” he said. “As we move forward, USDA will continue to find ways to modernize its services.”

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – First time claims for unemployment compensation benefits during the week ending Dec. 31 dropped by 15,000 from the previous week to 372,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The less volatile 4-week moving average also fell, registering a decrease of 3,250 to 373,250 initial claims.

However, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate also fell. It dropped by 0.1 percentage point to 2.8 percent for the week ending Dec. 24, the most recent week for which such data is available.

Analysts say the decrease in filing for jobless benefits is a move in the right direction.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all unemployment programs for the week ending Dec. 17 dropped by 8,311 from the previous week to 7,223,203.

The unemployment rate for December was 8.5 percent.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Dec. 24 were:

• California (+16,490)
• Pennsylvania (+6,764)
• Michigan (+5,632)
• Kentucky (+5,263)
• Indiana (+5,084)

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Washington, D.C, United States (AHN) – It appears that quite a few Americans got pink slips for Christmas.

In the week before the holiday, the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose.

Roughly 381,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ended Dec. 24, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was more than forecast and marked an increase of 15,000 from the prior week when claims dropped to their lowest level since April 2008.

Continuing claims, which include Americans filing for their second week of claims or more, increased 34,000 to 3,601,000 in the week ended Dec. 17, the most recent data shows.

Initial claims tend to be volatile around the holidays, so many economist say not to read too much into the increase. Thursday’s numbers are still well below the level of applications for claims during the same period a year ago.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The 2011 curtain on the ongoing political drama in Washington came down on Friday as President Barack Obama signed a bill extending payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits for two months, and urged Congress “to keep working without drama” to extend them through 2012 when it returns in January.

Citing the extension as “some good news, just in the nick of time for the holidays,” President Obama said, “This continues to be a make-or-break moment for the middle class in this country, and we’re going to have to roll up our sleeves together — Democrats and Republicans — to make sure that the economy is growing, and to make sure that more jobs are created.”

President Obama addressed journalists in the Brady press briefing room as helicopter engines could be heard revving on the South Lawn for the president as he left immediately for his holiday break in Hawaii.

Earlier the final chapter of the drama in Washington started when Republicans in the House of Representatives labeled the two-month extension a gimmick, after the Senate including Republicans had voted the bill with a thumping majority of 85 votes.

The Republican-controlled House voted 229-193 with no Democratic support to reject the two-month bipartisan Senate measure and called for a yearlong extension of the tax cut.

The House Republicans were forced to back down on their demands for a longer extension under pressure from the public and within their party when the Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky implored House Speaker John Boehner to accept the deal that McConnell had stuck last week with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.

The tensions of the drama fizzled out early Friday as first the Senate and then the House of Representatives rapidly approved a compromise to extend the tax cut for two months.

“Thank you, guys. Aloha,” Obama said as he left the briefing room to depart for Hawaii where his wife, Michelle Obama, and their daughters Malia and Sasha have been since last weekend, while he remained in Washington struggling with Congress over extending the payroll-tax cut.

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