Portrait of the week
US ships stationed off the Lebanese coastline shelled the Chouf mountains behind Beirut which were occupied by Druze and Palestinian opponents of the country's Christian government. American marine officers acting as forward observers then advanced into the mountains behind the city. These developments marked a change of US policy, which had originally been that military action would only be taken in response to a direct threat against US marines. The Syrian army warned that it would retaliate if US ships bombarded Syrian-controlled territory. The com- mander of the small British military detach- ment was relieved of his command either for health reasons or for objecting to the terms of his mission. All three Royal Navy aircraft carriers, with 1,000 Marines on board, sailed for the Mediterranean. In Israel Mr Begin, after a mysterious and lengthy delay, finally submitted his formal letter of resignation. His successor as leader of the governing Herut party was Yitzhak Shamir. Most European countries began a 14-day ban on air flights to and from the Soviet Union as a protest against the shooting down of the Korean airlines jum- bo jet. France, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Greece and Turkey did not join in the ban. A call for one minute's silence at a CND meeting in Wales in memory of those who died on the plane was greeted by boos. A third Zimbabwe airforce officer, of the six who were rearrested after being acquit- ted on sabotage charges, was released. The Zimbabwean minister for Home Affairs declared that the remaining three would be detained indefinitely. According to some reports Argentina was on the point of pro- ducing an Atom bomb.
Following general public protests the Minister of Agriculture has ordered an inquiry into the popular autumn practice of straw burning. At the Liberal party assembly Mr David Steel successfully defended his right to final authority over the party's election manifesto. It was an issue over which he had earlier declared he would resign if he failed to get his way.
A Crown Court Judge, Bruce Camp- bell QC, faced the possibility of criminal charges after a Customs rummage party had raided his shared yacht and discovered 10 cases of whisky and 10,000 cigarettes concealed on board. A consultant gynaecologist appeared before Luton magistrates charged with the attempted murder of a baby who survived an abortion operation. The evidence against him was that he had taken the child to a sluice room and asked nurses not to enter. He was ac- quitted, and reinstated to his position at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. Sir Clive Sinclair, the electronics genius, launched a television set with a two inch screen which
he offered for sale for £79.95. This was hailed as 'a technical and marketing breakthrough'. Mrs Thatcher was warned by her doctors that she was delaying her recovery from her recent eye operation by working too hard. In a television interview she maintained an uncharacteristic silence while being asked questions.
The Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 17 Was sent for a refit to a German shipyard after British competitors had failed to mot the company's deadline. Dunlop, the tyre company, opened negotiations to sell their European subsidiaries to a Japanes firm. Sotheby Parke Bernet, the world's largest auction house, was bought by Mr Alfred Taubman, one of the ten richest men In America. It was revealed that Anthony Blunt, formerly Surveyor of the Queen s Pictures and KGB spy had left a painting by Nicholas Poussin worth £500,000 to the na- tion as part of an arrangement with the In- land Revenue. A 'middle-ranking' officer in MI5, Michael Bettaney, was charged with offences under the Official Secrets Act. A Monsignor in Rome, claiming to have support from parishes in Hollywood, pro- posed that the late Princess Grace 0' Monaco should be canonised. The brother of Princess Diana, Viscount Althorp, was fined £80 for speeding on the MI. He ex- plained that he had been escaping from has passengers who had attacked him at a, motorway service station. The Cafe Royal in London was prosecuted by Westminster City Council after an inspection of its lot' chens. Counsel for the defence said that cockroaches were endemic in London restaurants and had never been proved to be a health hazard. Beverley Nichols the author, and a contributor to the Spectator, s
'I got him from that time capsule grocer shop'
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