PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
New Labour sketchbook Mr Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, decided to move in to No. 11 Downing Street after the flat in No. 10 proved too small for his family; there was concern for the future of Humphrey, the Downing Street cat, after reports that Mrs Blair thought cats unhygienic. Mr Blair formed a new government after the Labour party had gained 418 seats in the general election, with an overall majority of 179. The Liberal Democrats won 46 seats, and the Conserva- tives were left with only 165, winning none at all in Scotland or Wales. In Northern Ire- land, Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness were elected for Sinn Fein. In the constituency of Putney, where Mr David Mellor was defeated, Sir James Goldsmith won 1,518 votes for his Referendum party, thus losing his deposit, but was undercut by the Renaissance Democrat candidate who received the lowest vote in the country with only seven. Mr John Major resigned as lead- er of the Conservative party. Mr Michael Heseltine's prospects of succeeding him were finally scotched by an attack of angina that sent him to hospital; Mr Michael Por- tal° was out in the wilderness after losing his seat. The new Cabinet was much as expected. Mr Gordon Brown was made Chancellor of the Exchequer and announ- ced that from next month the Bank of Eng- land would take over responsibility for con- trol of interest rates. Using his powers for the last time, he announced a quarter-point rise. In addition, Mr Peter Mandelson was made a minister with the strange responsi- bility of enforcing policy, but Mr Blair aban- doned the idea of turning Sir David Simon, the chairman of British Petroleum, into a minister in the Lords responsible for Eur- ope. Mr Tony Banks was another surprise as Minister for Sport. Mr Michael Jackson, the director of BBC television, succeeded Mr Michael Grade as chief executive of Chan- nel 4. Hughie Green, the television host of Double Your Money and Opportunity Knocks, died, aged 77. Sir John Junor, the editor of the Sunday Express from 1954 to 1986, died, aged 78. Within four days of the election the weather changed from sunny with tempera- tures in the upper 70s to cloudy with snow.
MR LAURENT KABILA, the leader of the rebel army that controls most of Zaire, met President Mobutu for talks mediated by President Mandela of South Africa aboard the Outeniqua off Pointe Noire, Congo. Mr ICabila later denied he had agreed to a ceasefire, and gave Mr Mobutu three days to disappear. Thousands of Hutu refugees from Rwanda continued to face death by disease and starvation in the forest of east- ern Zaire; 100 died in a rush for a train. A goldfield at Busang in Borneo with deposits said to be worth £12 billion was found to be worthless after the Canadian prospectors, Bre-X, discovered that samples had been doctored with gold brought in from else- where; Bre-X shares collapsed on the Toronto stock market. Bridas, an Argen- tine-led consortium, announced it would sign an agreement with the Taleban faction, which controls most of Afghanistan, to build an oil pipeline costing £.1.5 billion through the country to link Central Asia and India; but an American company, Unocal, contin- ued to bid for the contract. Mrs Hillary Clinton was ordered by a court to hand over papers concerning the aftermath of the failed Whitewater financial dealings; she is appealing to the Supreme Court against the judgment. The opposition Civic United party continued to boycott the parliament in Zanzibar, claiming that last October's elec- tions were rigged. Mr Philippe Douste- Blazy, the French minister for culture, was stabbed in the back on a visit to Lourdes. The Pope beatified a gipsy, Ceferino Jimenez Malla, who was killed by Republi- cans for defending a priest during the Span- ish Civil War. Li Jiye, who translated Jane Eyre into Chinese in 1935, died, aged 94. A strong earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of Mexico; 'It generated no wave activity, it didn't hurt anything and no one felt it,' a seismologist said. CSH
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