PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
'I see our policies are beginning to work.'
he Prime Minister appealed for an international effort to stop the flow of money and arms to the IRA. A woman with an Irish accent was being sought by the FBI after a cache of bombs and automatic weapons was found in New York. Terrorists killed an off-duty soldier in Northern Ireland, and a man was shot dead in Lisburn. Shares dropped to their lowest level for a year after Asil Nadir, chairman of Polly Peck, an international trading group, was interviewed by the Serious Fraud Office. The CBI warned that the economy was moving into reces- sion, and pressed for a cut in interest rates. Mr John Major, the Chancellor, admitted that recession was close but argued that inflation was still the primary evil. The trade deficit fell sharply. Paddy Ashdown, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said higher income taxes might be necessary. Measures to encourage energy efficiency were among the Government White Pap- er's 350 proposals on the environment. The price of petrol rose above £2.40 a gallon. The fourth convicted defendant in the Guinness case, Sir Jack Lyons, 74, was spared a jail sentence because he is suffer- ing from cancer, but fined £3 million. The French Agriculture Minister apologised for
attacks by French farmers on British lorries importing meat and live animals and prom- ised to pay compensation. Three men died and another was made seriously ill after being overcome by fumes while unblocking a drain in east London. The Bar Council renewed its attempt to bring in the televis- ing of some courts. The Scottish National Party elected Alex Salmond as its leader. Sir Anthony Meyer, Conservative MP for Clwyd North West, said he would not stand again after revelations about his private life. Hippies stormed Stonehenge and defaced its stones with a chisel and paint. Permission was given for the build- ing of the first power station to run on chicken droppings.
FLIGHTS to and from Iraq and Kuwait were banned by the United Nations Secur- ity Council by a 14-1 vote (Cuba dissent- ing), except for 'approved' humanitarian purposes. Iraq pledged that it would never retreat from Kuwait and threatened to destroy much of the Middle East if foreign forces began to 'strangle' Iraq. Iraqi troops were reported to be pillaging Kuwait, even removing traffic lights, but their govern- ment apologised for having invaded the French embassy. West Germany and Bel- gium banned Nato pilots from low flying, despite a need for extra training program- mes created by the Gulf crisis. Iraq confis- cated property and funds of Western coun- tries in Iraq and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia expelled 20 Jordanian diplomats and cut off oil pipelines to the country, and asked Yemeni and Iraqi officials to leave. The Soviet Parliament gave President Gor- bachev personal powers larger than any Soviet leader since Stalin. President de Klerk of South Africa was received at the White House. Mrs Nelson Mandela's trial was set for February; her husband told a rally that demands from ANC supporters for arms were reasonable. Bulgaria appealed for aid. Student demonstrators in India set themselves on fire in protest against the government's decision to re- serve 50 per cent of jobs for lower castes. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was ordered to appear in court to answer allegations of corruption. Com- munist guerrillas in the Philippines aban- doned a ceasefire with President Aquino's government. Revolts in East German pris- ons forced the government to announce a review of all current sentences. Drought forced the rationing of holy water at the French shrine of Lourdes. SB
Previous page
