PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
`Thank God! That's the last of the bank holidays' The official inquiry into the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power station blamed a catalogue of basic human errors, although the Soviet nuclear generating authority nevertheless shut down half of those of the country's nuclear plants with designs similar to Chernobyl. American scientists, basing their calculations on the official Soviet report, estimated that as many as 48,000 people could die from cancer caused by the radioactive leaks. In western Cameroon at least 1,200 people were killed by a cloud of highly toxic gas which rose from a lake in a volcanic crater. A similar cloud of gas had killed 35 people almost exactly two years before. Four people were killed, and 10,000 hectares of forest destroyed, by fires which swept through southern France. Delegates from 101 countries assembled in Harare for the non-aligned summit. It was expected that the subject of South Africa would domin- ate the discussions, and a draft document prepared in advance by Zimbabwe deman- ded vastly increased material and military support for the ANC. In South Africa 11 blacks were killed in Soweto, in the worst night of trouble since the imposition of the state of emergency, only a few days after the government claimed that violence had declined. Almost two and a half billion pounds has flowed out of the country in the past 12 months, but the South African government dismissed as unadulterated rubbish a report that British companies operating there might be nationalised in retaliation against the imposition of econo- mic sanctions. Reports from Washington suggested that President Reagan might be preparing to launch another attack on Libya because of an increase in activity by that country's terrorists.
IAN Botham celebrated his return to Test cricket by taking three wickets — one with the first ball of his first over — and scoring 59 not out, 24 in a single over. Despite his endeavours, England could only draw the third Test against New Zealand and so for the first time lost a series against a touring New Zealand team. Five people in Britain, and three in the Republic of Ireland died in gales and flooding as the tail of Hurricane Charley arrived from the Atlantic. The deputy chief constable of Manchester, Mr John Stalker, was reinstated despite sug- gestions that he should answer allegations of professional misconduct. The price of petrol rose by another five pence a gallon, the second increase in a month, and 130 holidaymakers spent an uncomfortable eight hours adrift on a Channel hovercraft which broke down after a fire. But in the Pacific Ocean three fishermen from the Kiribati Islands were rescued after spend- ing 119 days adrift in a small open boat. They survived by catching 25 sharks with their bare hands and clubbing them to death before eating them raw. SJRR
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