PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
Now that we have safety gear will you fight?'
Aleaked copy of a confidential letter from the Treasury Chief Secretary Mr David Mellor, revealed that the Govern- ment is facing a worse public spending crisis than predicted, as it proposed cuts including up to f1 billion from training programmes over the next three years. The Governor of the Bank of England, Mr Robin Leigh-Pemberton said he was confi- dent that the country was 'coming out of recession' but he still warned against furth- er interest rate cuts. Opinion polls took another turn, this time in favour of Labour, whq leap-frogged into a four-point lead over the Conservatives setting back all hopes of a November election. Relations between the Church of England and the Government became strained when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, blamed social deprivation for the four nights of rioting in Tyneside. Michael Watson, super-middleweight boxer, fought for his life after collapsing following his defeat against Chris Eubank in the world title fight. This renewed demands for the sport to be outlawed. Frank Bruno, former British heavyweight champion, had his boxing licence returned by the British Boxing Board of Control, two years after an eye operation had forced him to retire. A public schoolboy who shot and badly wounded a teacher in front of a class was ordered to be detained for five and a half years under the provisions of the Children and Young Persons Act. Homosexuals and lesbians boycotted and demonstrated out- side the Guardian Newspaper offices after the newspaper printed an article which said that the gay community was resigned to Aids and returning to promiscuity. John Cairncross, former civil servant long sus- pected of being the Fifth Man in the Cambridge spy ring admitted spying for Russia after he was recruited by the KGB before the war. A survey showed that four million people in Britain would not choose the same partner if given a second chance. Nigel Mansell was disqualified from the Portguese Grand Prix after a bungled tyre change.
JACKIE Mann, held hostage in Lebanon for 865 days, was freed. The first documentary proof of Saddam Hussein's programme to build nuclear weapons was discovered by United Nations' inspectors who were held for several hours in Bagh- dad before being freed by troops. Under UN pressure however, there were signs that Baghdad would comply with a UN demand for unlimited helicopter access to weapons sites. Mr Lamont, Chancellor of the Exchequer, convinced EEC finance minsters that Britain was prepared to sign a treaty for European Monetary Union by the end of the year. But a draft treaty for political union, drawn up by the Dutch EEC presidency, tabled proposals un- acceptable to Britain. A fragile truce be- tween Croatia and the Yugoslav army began to hold, encouraging the Yugoslav navy to lift a blockade of Croatian ports and ground forces to freeze a massive offensive which had been launched days earlier. The parliament in the trans- Caucasian republic of Armenia declared independence from Moscow making it the twelfth Soviet republic to do so. Former president of France, Valery Giscard d'Es- taing suggested France adopt a nationality code to counter an immigration 'invasion' whereby nationality is determined by race and ancestry rather than by place of birth. M. Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the extreme right-wing National Front in France, said he was now leader of the Centre in French politics because M. Gis- card's views far exceeded his. The Soviet Communist Party made discreet inquiries at Christies in London to see if there were a market to sell two 30-foot statues of Lenin. Hugging, kissing and holding hands, deemed to 'corrupt morals' are to be banned at Peking University, source of the 1989 pro-democracy movement. KLB
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