PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
`With one bound he was free!' Britain unexpectedly joined the Euro- pean Exchange Rate Mechanism and in- terest rates were cut by 1 per cent, promp- ting criticisms that the move was timed to coincide with the beginning of the Con- servative Party Conference. Sterling brief- ly soared, mortgage rates came down and share prices rose sharply but fell back later in the week. The Chancellor said that the Government's spending programme was under pressure. Polls showed Labour still 14 points ahead of Conservatives. Mrs Thatcher told party agents the next general election would come after a long period of favourable opinion polls. Champagne sales were shown to have slumped. Two IRA terrorists were shot dead on the county border between Armagh and Tyrone. Widespread raids were carried out in Northern Ireland in a drive against illegal and highly successful IRA fund-raising. Marks and Spencer and IBM were re- ported to be considering giving jobs to long-term IRA prisoners. Eddie Richard- son, former gang leader, was jailed for 25 years for conspiracy to smuggle drugs, despite a character reference from Lord Longford. A site for a new forest of 30 million native broadleaved trees was chosen in the Midlands, stretching from
Leicester to Burton-on-Trent. Jonathan Miller resigned abruptly from his job as artistic director at the Old Vic because two of his productions were cancelled to save money. One in every seven sandwiches on sale was reported to contain listeria. Scien- tists found that the average bee, while flying, uses energy equivalent to one Mars bar every 30 seconds. Interpol were asked to trace a conman who was reported to have fled the country with £80,000 pro- ceeds from a teddy bear fraud. Richard `Stinker' Murdoch, BBC radio comedian, died at 83.
AT LEAST 21 Arabs were shot dead and more than 115 injured by Israeli security forces after fighting in Jerusalem with Jewish militants. At the UN Security Council, the United States and other coun- tries condemned Israel's action. Iraq freed four German hostages and asked for a list of British males in the country aged over 55, prompting hopes of more releases. At the UN General Assembly Iraq said West- ern powers were pushing the world into a new imperialistic era, and appealed for Third World support. Iraqi ships were boarded by British and US forces. Repub- licans and Democrats in the US united to block a federal budget cost-cutting pack- age. President Bush threatened to close government services unless congressional leaders drew up a package of tax increases and spending cuts. All national parks and major monuments in the US were shut. A baby related to Nelson Mandela, deputy leader of the ANC, was killed in a grenade attack on her home in Soweto. Mr Mande- la said government agencies were behind the killings in the townships. The Socialist party won the general election in Austria. Tadeusz Mazowiecki, prime minister of Poland, said he would stand against Lech Walesa for the presidency. French troops opened fire on armed rebels in Rwanda, and took control of the capital's airport. A Turkish professor was killed by a parcel bomb in revenge for her stand against women being forced to wear Islamic head- scarves. Japanese labourers threw fire- bombs at police in Osaka in a protest against corruption, exploitation and their low status. Stefano Casiraghi, husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco, was killed in a speedboat accident. A woman attacked by a crocodile in Australia was rescued by her son who jumped on its back and poked its eyes.
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