PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
President Ayub Khan, faced with near-anarchy throughout Pakistan and the increasing threat of East Pakistan's secession, resigned in favour of General Yahya Kahn, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, who promptly declared martial law. From Anguilla there was no confirmation of Mr Stewart's allegations that a small group of men bad seized power against the wishes of the majority, that arms had been imported, or that sinister business interests had been granted concessions on the island. Troop withdrawals began and Lord Ca radon was dispatched in their place. Lundy Island, of the North Devon coast, was offered for sale at £100,000'by the widow and two sisters of the late Mr Albion Harman, self-styled King of Lundy. In Ulster, nine Opposition tvws who protested against a closure motion on the Public Order Amendr9ent Bill by a sing-song 'sit down' in the Storniont debating chamber were suspended for a week.
The Russian press continued to give full rein to anti-Chinese attacks. Pravda described Mao as a 'petit bourgeois nationalist disguised as a Marxist,' and Marshal Lin Piao, Mao's deputy, visited the scenes of recent clashes on the northern border. Mr Aubrey Jones's Prices and Incomes Board proposed that salaries of the top grade chairmen in nationalised industries should be raised from £12,500 to £20,000 gross. Mr Jones later denied that this drove a coach and horses through Mrs Castle's 3f per cent ceiling. MPs agitating for a salary increase were said to be unimpressed. Lord Segal, a surgeon, de- scribed in the House of Lords debate on euthanasia how he had killed a malformed child and attempted, unsuccessfully, to kill an incur- able octogenarian. The Voluntary Euthanasia Bill was, however, killed. Billy Cotton, the band leader, collapsed and died at a boxing tourna- ment at Wembley. He was sixty-nine. Mr Joseph Kasavubu. first President of the Congo, died at his home in Boma, Central Congolese Pro- vince. Both the Conservative and Labour parties produced reports suggesting that women should be given a fairer deal in the future.
Mr Heath challenged the Chancellor to save £400 million in his Budget, and to cut the stan- dard rate of income• tax by 6d. More than £200,000 was stolen from a London bank. Mr John Gorton the Australian Prime Minister, came under fire in the Canberra parliament for alleged improprieties of a social nature. Mr Arthur Bottomley was punched in the groin and Mr Denis Healey covered with flour during scuffles at the East Walthamstow by-election. Soccer hooligans wrecked six trains on London's underground after Saturday's match in which Chelsea were beaten by Tottenham, and were roundly condemned by Mr James Callaghan, the Home Secretary. Mr Stewart announced his in- tention of axing thirty-seven diplomats.
The report of the House of Commons Com- mittee on Vehicle Excise Duty (Allegations) suggested that there was no truth whatever in Sir Gerald Nabarro's claims of a 'massive Budget leak.' Harold Wiedman, a financier, was sent for trial on the charge of manslaughter after he allegedly jumped from a hotel roof under the influence of LSD clad only in a towel, and landed on a car, fatally injuring the driver.
Previous page
