PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
The three wise social workers I n South Africa, six whites were killed and five others wounded when their truck was blown up by a land-mine close to the Zimbabwean border. The South African authorities continued to display a lack of finesse in their dealings with the press. The police took eight journalists to a police station after trouble had broken out at a funeral at Mamelodi township, Pretoria, the crowd roused to stone-throwing by the arrest of two black members of an Amer- ican camera team. At the station a major said to the journalists: 'We cannot have anything bad about South Africa getting out.' In the Philippines, opposition leaders agreed, despite earlier differences, that Mrs Corazon Aquino, widow of the mur- dered Benigno Aquino, should run against President Marcos in next February's elec- tions. In Newfoundland, 248 American soldiers and eight air crew returning from Egypt were killed when their plane crashed. In New York, the reputed head of the Mafia was shot dead. The firm of Westland Helicopters decided to seek to save itself by alliance with the Americans
rather than with the European consortium favoured by Mr Heseltine, Secretary of State for Defence, though not by his Cabinet colleagues. A Tory MP asked why a 25-year-old Australian found on the roof of 10 Downing Street had been released without being charged.
LORD Hailsham, the Lord Chancellor, reflecting on the rise in violent and disgust- ing crimes such as those committed against women and children, lamented that 'the bottom seems to have dropped out of morality'. Mr Paul Howell, a Conservative MEP, was thrown to the ground, spat upon, kicked and punched at Strasbourg by Labour MEPs, one of whom he had pushed; an incident filmed by West Ger- man, French and Italian television. In the House of Commons, Mr Tebbit and Mr Kinnock abused each other with unusual vehemence. After the first meeting of the Anglo-Irish ministerial conference outside Belfast, during which 38 policemen were injured by demonstrators, it was announced that the RUC would introduce
a new code of conduct, to show that it treats Roman Catholics even-handedly. It was announced that control of the Tele- graph newspapers had passed, as expected, to Mr Conrad Black. Lord Hartwell, the chairman, announced losses of over £16 million in the last six months, during which time a £5-million profit had been pre- dicted. Mr Andrew Knight, editor of the Economist, was appointed chief executive. Members of the electricians' union voted by nine to one to accept state money for ballots, in defiance of TUC policy. Rather than expel the electricians, the TUC took steps to change its policy. 'When you reach the edge of the precipice, you should stand back,' observed Mr Willis, the general secretary. The High Court ruled that the Government's recently introduced restric- tions on bed and breakfast payments to the young unemployed were illegal. The Social Services Secretary decided not to abolish `Serps', but to cut it. The water supply failed in Leeds. A researcher at Lough- borough University said that heavy snoring
could cause brain damage. AJSG
Previous page
