PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
he Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool ended with an eleven-minute standing ovation for the Prime Minister's speech. She affirmed that educational re- form was to be a priority in the next Parliament, that the Government would continue its tax-cutting policies and would `take-on' local councils in its efforts to revive the inner cities. During the week, the Home Secretary, Mr Douglas Hurd announced law and order reforms which included tougher controls on the carrying of knives and offensive weapons, and the establishment of a new Broadcasting Stan- dards Authority to deal with complaints about sex and violence on television. Mr Cecil Parkinson, the Secretary of State for Energy, in his first speech to the Confer- ence for four years, announced that the Central Electricity Generating Board was to be dismantled as part of the plans for the privatisation of the electricity industry. The jury at the inquest into the Zeebrugge ferry disaster returned a verdict that the 187 people who died when the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized were unlawfully killed. The Director of Public Prosecutions has now to consider whether to institute proceedings for manslaughter. The Nation- al Union of Seamen has instructed its solicitors to prepare a private prosecution against Townsend 'Thoresen, the owners of the ferry on behalf of the 38 crew members who died in the tragedy. As part of the investigations in the Guinness takeover of Distillers Sir Jack Lyons, Ernest Saunders and Gerald Ronson were all charged with theft. The Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Vancouver for the Commonwealth Con- ference. The British Chess Grandmaster, Tony Miles, has 'defected' to the United States Chess Federation. A million-pound operation to investigate Loch Ness for its Monster has ended inconclusively. The fleet of 20 vessels using solar technology did, however, detect the presence of some- thing 'larger than a fish' in the deep waters around Urquhart Castle.
THE Indian Army committed 6,000 troops to an offensive against the Tamil Tiger terrorists in Sir Lanka. Deaths are now being reported in the hundreds. The troops were sent in by the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, after Tamils attacked Sinhalese civilians in the Eastern Province, killing about 200 people. The Governor General of Fiji, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau stated that he is now in favour of some constitutional change, saying, 'The 1970 constitution must be amended to accommodate the wishes of the indigenous Fijians, the people who feel that their interests are not adequately safeguarded under the current constitution.' It is thought that his remarks have created an embarrassing position for the Queen, who has condemned the declaration of a repub- lic by Colonel Rabuka. In the Gulf, Amer- ican helicopters sank three Iranian patrol boats. George Bush, the US Vice Presi- dent, announced his candidature for the Presidency. Another Republican hopeful, the Revd Pat Robertson, faced a set-back when he was forced to admit that his son had been conceived out of wedlock. In Central Burma a plane crashed, killing all 49 people on board. A Soviet spacecraft landed safely, although way off target, after encountering an unexpected difficul- ty: one of the monkeys sent into space in the satellite had escaped from its restraints and had been playing 'delightedly' with the
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