PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
'To a social security office in the UK!'
lye Arabs hijacked an Egyptian airlin- er on a flight from Athens to Cairo; the security men on board resisted, and in the ensuing gun battle the plane was punctured and forced to land in Malta. After the hijackers had started to shoot their hos- tages, Egyptian commandoes stormed the plane. Fifty nine people died in the next few minutes; 30 survived, among them one hijacker. Most Western governments has- tened to congratulate the Egyptians. One policeman was killed, 14 were injured in a bomb attack during continued unrest in Athens. Dr Terry Waite was trapped for two days by a particularly violent ceasefire in Beirut; afterwards he flew to New York, and announced that the four American hostages whose release he is trying to negotiate were all in good health, but would say no more than that. President Reagan and Mr Gorbachev emerged from their seclusion in Geneva to give press conferences where they announced that they still disagree about practically every- thing, but now feel much better about it. An American 'defence analyst' was arrested by the FBI after taking refuge in the Israeli embassy, and is to be charged with spying; another, a former intelligence man who had worked for the American equivalent of GCHQ, was arrested and charged with working for the KGB. A Californian man was jailed for 104 years after he picked up a hitchhiker and kept her as a sex slave for 71/2 years. Two former terrorists jailed for an attempted hijack at Stanstead airport were granted a year's asylum in Britain. They plan to live on social security.
THE Swiss came to the rescue of Mr Derek Hatton, as to Lenin before him, by sup- plying loans to Liverpool City Council which will enable it to set a legal rate, after adjusting the books a little more. Mr Hatton was ungracious in defeat, and blamed the unions and Mr Kinnock, who was himself said to be contemplating the dissolution of the Liverpool Labour Party. He said that only a psychiatrist could understand the motives of some party members. Mr Tony Benn explained that the miners who had killed Mr David Wilkie had committed no crime, only manslaugh- ter. The House of Commons voted against exhibiting itself on television. The Anglo- Irish deal struck at Hillsborough continued to provoke reaction; Tom King was pun- ched in the chest by a demonstrative loyalist; Mrs Thatcher was burned in eftigY at a Unionist rally in Belfast; 14 Unionist MPs announced they would resign their seats and fight by-elections in protect; Mr Enoch Powell indicated that he might if asked. Both Parliaments concerned approved the treaty. Mr Robert Maxwell had another final showdown with the printing unions, which ended in a draw after 48 hours; a splendid memorial service was held for Charles Douglas Home in St Paul's. Sir Terence Conran said he would merge Habitat with British Home Stores. An American scholar claimed to have found a hitherto unknown poem by Shakespeare in the Bodleian Library, and to have authenticated it with help of .a computer. The Prince of Wales said Britain might become a fourth-rate nation unless we adopted America's enterprise culture. An Alma-Tadema bought for £5 fetched £49,500 at Sotheby's.
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