PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
Scenes from rural life.
The print unions called a halt to their war on Rupert Murdoch and his new printing plant at Wapping. The prospect of sequestration and substantial fines led both Sogat and the NGA to pull out of a dispute that lasted for over a year. The trial of Mrs Cynthia Payne at Inner London Crown Court ended with her acquittal on all nine charges of exercising influence, direction or control over prostitutes. After days in which much colourful evidence was pre- sented to the jury, Mrs Payne's defence counsel said that his client was a woman of few vices. Judge Brian Pryor QC felt moved to remind the jury that the case was a criminal trial not a form of entertain- ment. The Marquis of Hertford was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs for ploughing up the remains of a small Ro- man town. The Marquis told the court that he would pay the fine by cheque. British Telecom engineers were advised by their leaders to accept a 12.75 per cent pay deal spread over two years, which would mean
an end to their strike. The proposed deal was widely regarded as a compromise. British Airways was successfully priva- tised, with a last-minute stampede for shares which took many observers by surprise. The Attorney General, Sir Michael Havers, is to take a short break from his duties on medical advice. The capital city prepared for the Valentine's Day wedding of the Prime Minister's son and heir.
THERE was a slight reduction of tension in the Middle East. The American naval presence was less in evidence off the Lebanese coast. There was still no firm news of Terry Waite. France announced that it was to send a further 1,000 troops to Chad, following a build-up of Libyan forces in the north of the country. The Soviet Union announced the release of 140 political prisoners. In Paris the Minister of Defence, Andre Giraud, said that he was considering the possibility of decorating
the two French officers responsible for sinking the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior. He said that the two men had `displayed a dignity and a degree of discre- tion and patriotism that deserves to be honoured'. In the United States, Mr Robert McFarlane, the former National Security Adviser, took an overdose of the tranquilliser Valium. Mr McFarlane, a central figure in the Iran-Contras scandal, was later said to be recovering. Liberace, the flamboyant pianist, died of a disease caused by Aids, which he had denied having. In Sydney, Mrs Lindy Chamber- lain returned to court in the latest of her many attempts to prove that she was wrongfully convicted of murdering her daughter, Azaria, in the 'dingo baby' case, and England defeated Australia to win the one-day World Series cricket cup. Mean- while off Fremantle, Dennis Conner re- gained the America's Cup for the United States.
MStJT
Previous page
