Managers of more than 600 factories in...

Managers of more than 600 factories in La Paz, Bolivia, said they shut down their operations to guarantee safety of executives after workers seized more than 30 firms and took 190 executives hostage. The Confederation of Factory Workers said it took over the factories to demand payment of November and December wages and a Christmas bonus equivalent to a month’s wage. A spokesman for the managers’ Board of Industries warned that more factories might close throughout the country if the hostages are not freed.