PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
John Major fights EU beef ban — no more Mr Nice Guy!
Mr John Major, the Prime Minister, said, 'We cannot continue business as usual within Europe.' He was speaking after Mr Douglas Hogg, the Minister of State for Agriculture, failed to persuade European veterinary advisers to lift a ban on the export of gelatine, tallow and sperm from British cattle. 'Progress will not be possible at the Inter-Governmental Conference or elsewhere until we have agreement on lift- ing the ban,' Mr Major told the Commons in an emergency statement. He added that he would take the matter to the European Court, but would not go as far as withhold- ing payments to the European Community, which he said would be against British law. Mr Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Fein, the political face of the Irish Republi- can Army, said his party would agree to six principles of non-violence proposed by the Mitchell report on terrorism in Northern Ireland. 'I'll sign up to the Mitchell princi- ples provided everybody is doing it and they are in the context of proper all-party talks,' he said. But a few hours later he said that condemnation of violence 'would not make a blind bit of difference'. The British Gov- ernment says it will not let Sinn Fein partic- ipate in all-party talks on 10 June unless the IRA calls a permanent ceasefire. Sir George Gardiner, the Conservative Mem- ber for Reigate, threatened to force a by- election if his constituency persisted in moves to deselect him as prospective candi- date in the general election. If he lost, the Government would lose its overall majority. It was said that friends of Bosnian Serbs helped arrange some donations to the Con- servative Party; the party's chairman, Dr Brian Mawhinney, ordered an urgent inves- tigation. The Labour Party embraced a scheme to make students take out loans repayable through National Insurance con- tributions. More than 600 prisoners a month are being added to Britain's prison population. Britain chose four Russian diplomatists to expel in return for the four that Russia decided to expel. The Rt Revd Patrick Kelly, Bishop of Salford, is to suc- ceed the late Derek Worlock as Archbishop of Liverpool.
DR RADOVAN KARADZIC, the Presi- dent of Bosnian Serb territory, said he was handing over some of his powers to his hardline deputy, Mrs Biljana Plavsic. Dr Karadzic has been indicted by an interna- tional war-crimes tribunal; the chief civil administrator in Bosnia, Mr Carl Bildt, has been trying to persuade President Slobo- dan Milosevic of Serbia to put pressure on Dr Karadzic to step down in earnest. Chi- nese troops sealed off the Ganden monastery in Tibet, one of the largest in the country, and beat up monks at monas- teries where pictures of the Dalai Lama were displayed. The United States renewed China's Most Favoured Nation trading sta- tus. In India, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the leader of the BJP and new Prime Minister (who also has responsibility for Public Grievances, Electronics, Atomic Energy, Space, Fertilisers and Ocean Develop- ment), has until 31 May to gain support in Parliament. Admiral Jeremy 'Mike' Boor- da, the chief of United States naval opera- tions, shot himself when it was suggested he had worn some medals to which he might not have been entitled. Mr Robert Dole said that he was resigning as a United States Senator to concentrate on his efforts to become President. President Bill Clinton signed in to law a Bill requiring paederasts to be entered on a register. French forces took under their protection thousands of foreign nationals threatened by mutineer- ing troops in the Central African Republic. Hundreds drowned when a ferry sank in Lake Victoria. Nigeria admitted that 22,000 prisoners — half the total — were awaiting trial. Fifty prisoners tunnelled out of a police station in Sao Paolo while their guards were watching television. Voice of America's jazz broadcaster, Willis Conover, died, aged 76.
CSH
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