PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
'Virginia Bottomley says that if the Bosnians can operate without water, light and anaesthetics so can we.'
The Government proposed turning over the running of secure units for disturbed children to private enterprise; Barnardo's was among voluntary organisations which would have nothing to do with the scheme. A member of the Norwegian cabinet said of Mr John Gummer, 'The English Environ- ment Minister is the biggest drittsekk [shit- bag] I have met in my life.' His remark came after unsatisfactory talks about acid rain. Miss Brenda Dean, the former trade union leader, was among eight people cre- ated working peers; the others are Sir Christopher Tugendhat, Sir Paul Dean, Mr Simon Haskel, Mrs Joyce Gould, Mr Bill Dixon Smith, Mrs Doreen Miller and Mr Anthony Lester. Abbey National sold its 347 estate agents' shops for only £8 million, losing £250 million on the venture since it bought them five years ago. Car crime increased more in the country than in cities, though the greatest risk is in Greater Manchester, and the smallest in Dyfed and Powys. Gloucestershire was said to be more dangerous than London, for cars. Doctors are to be prohibited from issuing nicotine patches on prescription. A man died after he was refused treatment for a heart com- plaint by doctors in Manchester because he smoked. Scenes of sexual activity in a tele- vision adaptation of Lady Chatterley's Lover
were 'too long and too rough' and one was shown too early in the evening, according to a judgment by the Broadcasting Stan- dards Council. Buckingham Palace was found by Westminster Council inspectors to be in breach of Sunday trading laws for selling mugs. Linford Christie won the world 100 metres title in 9.87 seconds. Stewart Granger, the film star who made a name in British productions and in Holly- wood, died, aged 80. James Donald the film actor died, aged 76. Burglars stole 1,200 bottles of wine belonging to masters at Eton College. Puffins in Scotland were hav- ing difficulty in mating because their bur- rows had been flooded by rain.
THE WARRING factions of Bosnia agreed in principle, at peace talks in Gene- va, to the demilitarisation of Sarajevo and its administration by the United Nations. Twenty-one injured people from the city, including seven children and some soldiers, were flown to Britain for treatment. Other nations then made offers to take hundreds more. The United States criticised the com- mander and chief of staff of UN forces in Bosnia for throwing doubt on the policy of air strikes. 'What does President Clinton think he is up to?' General Vere Hayes, the British chief of staff, had been quoted as
saying. 'Air power won't defeat the Serbs.' The deportation of John Demjanjuk from Israel was again delayed while the Supreme Court considered petitions against his release, although it had already decided that he should face no new charges after being acquitted of being 'Ivan the Terrible'. Armenian troops made advances in Azer- baijan. The leader of the rebel Abkhazian forces in Georgia repudiated a cease fire. About 100 died when a hotel in Thailand collapsed; five women were found alive in the rubble three days later after all hope had been abandoned. China introduced harsh measures intended to limit inflation. The yen reached a new high against the dollar. The Pope met President Clinton at Denver, Colorado, and told thousands of Catholics there to reject abortion and con- traception. The President of the Maldives sought nomination as the only candidate in the forthcoming elections, which would secure him his fourth term in power. Coffee prices rose by $30 a ton after producer nations agreed to reduce the amount they grow by 20 per cent. Hundreds of thou- sands of mice were reported to have drowned themselves in rivers in north-west China. Penguins in the Antarctic are being weighed by scientists to see if 'global warm-
ing' is making them fatter. CSH
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