PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
Anew system of local rates, to be known as a council tax, was announced, replacing the poll tax and based on proper- ty values, with a discount for those living alone. Opposition MPs attacked the Gov- ernment for the biggest monthly rise in unemployment over 20 years and a sharp drop in factory output. A Catholic taxi driver was murdered in Belfast by the Ulster Freedom Fighters shortly after Loyalist terrorist groups had announced a future ceasefire to coincide with the start of cross-party talks on the future of Northern Ireland. The IRA said it would stop immediate revenge killings of Protestants if the loyalist ceasefire held, but would con- tinue to murder police and soldiers. The Home Secretary announced that the con- fiscated proceeds of drug trafficking will be used to fight the drug trade. The House of Lords backed the abolition of mandatory life sentences for murder. Dr George Carey was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury. The Scottish Secretary announced that an inquiry will be held into the treatment of allegations of ritual abuse in Orkney. The Prince of Wales attacked the fake expertise of trendy educationists and lamented the lack of nursery places for all. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Schools
said that the teaching of reading to five- and six-year-olds was inadequate in one third of state primary schools. The Sun Insurance Company, which has announced a pre-tax loss of £181 million, was reported to have given Lord Aldington a £500,000 loan to meet the legal costs of his libel action against Count Nikolai Tolstoy and Nigel Watts over alleged 'war crimes'. Mr Gerald Ratner, chairman of Britain's largest jewellery chain, attributed his suc- cess to selling cheap and tasteless rubbish. It was revealed that the DSS is paying an unemployed designer £1,784 a week to cover his mortgage. Sheffield council announced that it will close more than 100 public lavatories to save money. A Jack Russell called Sam was lured out of a tunnel in a Welsh quarry, after 15 days of imprisonment, by a sausage sandwich.
THE ALLIES told Iraqi military forces to move out of the areas of safe haven for Kurds in northern Iraq, and US and French troops, with British Royal Marines, began to move into the area to set up camps. American Marines found 200 Iraqi police armed with Kalashnikovs in one of the areas which should have been cleared. Amnesty reported that Kuwaiti torturers had been using electronic shocks, acid and whips on Palestinians suspected of col- laborating with Iraq. The Emir of Kuwait was said to be depressed. President Gor- bachev left Japan after three days of talks with nothing gained by his visit. Valentin Pavlov, the Soviet prime minister, said troops might be deployed to break strikes in strategic industries. Poland appealed to Britain for economic aid, as its president, Lech Walesa, arrived for a state visit. A cholera epidemic in Peru was reported to have killed more than 1,000. At least ten died in an earthquake in Costa Rica. Foot and mouth disease was reported to have been eradicated from Europe. The former prisons minister of Queensland, Australia, was jailed for a year for fraud. Neo-Nazis in Germany celebrated the 102nd anniversary of the birth of Hitler by marching in an undisciplined rabble with air guns, petrol bombs, chains and knives. Mathias Rust, who once flew a light aircraft from Germany to Red Square in Moscow, was found guilty of stabbing a nurse who refused to kiss him. Sudden late frosts severely damaged French vineyards, causing catastrophic damage to this year's wine harvest.
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