5 SEPTEMBER 1958, Page 3

Portrait of the Week— A GAIN, the affairs of islands dominated

the week's news. Shells continued to pour into Quemoy : off Iceland, gunboats had brushes with British trawlers and their protecting frigates: in Cyprus, terror flared up once more.: But in Britain these events were driven off the front pages by some ugly race rioting, particularly in London's Notting Hill and Latimer Road areas, • where crowds of onlookers gathered to see; and some- times to participate in, the baiting of coloured . folks living in the district.

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IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC, the Icelandic fishery pro- tection vessels at first kept a discreet 'distance, contenting themselves with taking down for later use the names of British trawlers fishing within the 'twelve-mile limit'; but as the week went on the tension mounted and some minor conflicts between the antagonists were reported. Demon- strators protested outside the British Ambassa- dor's residence, hurling, stones at his windows; the Ambassador retaliated with a gramophone recital of Scottish bagpipe music and the demonstrators retired in disorder.

IN SOUTH AFRICA, the Nationalists,Party chose Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd to be the new Premier in suc- cession to the late Johannes Strydom, and in preference to the rival claimants, Mr. Swart and Dr. Donges. The choice presaged apartheid in- tensified. In Arkansas, the Little Rock school board, having to choose between obeying Gover- nor Faubus or the Supreme Court, decided—much to the Governor's annoyance—to respect Federal rather than State authority; so the whole case can now he reviewed before it is finally decided whether the school will open or remain closed cm September 15. Newspapers both in South Africa and in the US extensively reported and commented on, not without some sly though well- diguised satisfaction, the race riots in Britain; which continued largely, it may be guessed, be-. cause with such crowds coming in for a look at the fun it became increasingly difficult for the authorities to take the preventive measures re- quired. Mr. R. A. Butler came to London to have talks on the subject with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Mr. Joseph Simpson.

TILE CYPRUS SITUATION deteriorated rapidly and gravely; a British airman walking with his wife was killed by terrorists in Nicosia and a soldier died of wounds after a clash in which four EOKA terrorists were killed. Before returning to Britain "for consultations, the Governor, Sir Hugh Foot, imposed a .curfew on all youths between fifteen and twenty-five years of age in Nicosia,

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THE RUSSIANS sent two dogs 280 miles up in a rocket and claim to have brought them back safe and well to a predetermined landing place. Fri_rice prepared to hear General de Gaulle, returned from his African tour, expound his new conr,itu- lion. A report from Berlin announced that :he number of people fleeing from east to West c fer- many since the beginning of the year has a tin shown an increase, and no fewer than 600 doctors arc among the refugees.

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THE TRADES UNION CONGRESS met at Bourneinouth; the expected ructions did no,t, however, material- ise. British experts exploded another H-bomb, this time with a 'high yield,' over Christmas Island. The banks intensified their war for HP customers so did the HP companies and the car manufac- turers. Surrey carried off the cricket champion- ship yet once again, her challengers (none of them accustomed to being in so exalted a position) fading one by one at the end of the season. A Viking which had developed engine trouble after take-off crashed into a row of houses a few miles from London Airport, killing seven people.