PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
Sit Keith Joseph resigned as Secretary of State for Education. He is replaced by Mr Kenneth Baker, who is replaced at Environment by Mr Nicholas Ridley. Sir Keith's last statement criticised the use of `racism' and 'racist' as terms with which to stifle thought: Mr Jonathan Savery, a Bristol teacher who had had the temerity to defend Mr Ray Honeyford's right to an opinion was formally cleared of charges of racism by his employers. Mr Kinnock denounced as 'feudal' the management style of Mr Murdoch, who retaliated by quadrupling the cash compensation he is offering the sacked printers, who will, however, remain sacked. Mr Ken Living- stone continued his course of history les- sons for foreigners by telling an audience in Harare that Mrs Thatcher was 'an open and convinced racist'. Mr Tom King spoke of suspending the Northern Ireland Assembly. Irish dissidents murdered two policemen, an army major, and a civilian accused of being an informer for the IRA. Mr Martin Wingfield, dissident chairman of the National Front, complained to the Guardian that: 'Three weeks ago the NF bulletin said I was a martyr for going to prison in defiance of the Race Relations Act. Now they claim that I am in the pay of the Jewish Board of Deputies.' Mrs Thatcher visited Israel: she told Shimon Peres that Israel should hold elections on the West Bank, and met Palestinian lead- ers at the British consulate in East Jeru- salem. Her Israeli hosts were unimpressed. She also said that the search for repre- sentatives of the Palestinians more moder- ate than the PLO should begin. Dr Norton Friedman, an American, complicated di- vorce proceedings from his wife Carol by petitioning for access to two baby grand pianos.
SOME 50,000 people were rendered homeless and 50 killed in power struggles in two South African shanty towns. White dissidents belonging to the right-wing AWB movement broke up a National party meeting in Transvaal. American tele- vision showed Mrs Thatcher's appeal on behalf of the British tourist industry. In New York an 87-year-old English gentle- woman who had her handbag snatched by a passing cyclist chased him, knocked him down and beat him with her umbrella. A bomb went off in a Spanish holiday hotel. In Beirut, President Gemayel announced that 'only legitimate authority will prevail': assorted dissident factions responded with an outburst of joyous shelling which killed 33 people and damaged the Maronite patriarch's seat. A car bomb in East Beirut later killed ten more people. After four years of war, Iraq announced the fast of Ramadan would be observed, and expelled all bar girls. The Iranian deputy Prime Minister exhorted the French to return to him exiles 'whose hands were soiled with blood'. A French prisoner serving 18 years for armed robbery was rescued from a high-security prison in Paris by his wife, who plucked him from the roof in helicopter. The couple had met while serving an earlier sentence. A one-legged leper, swung himself on crutches six miles through the streets of Harare to raise money for the starving. About 30,000,00.0 other people in 78 countries took part in the same sponsored event and raised tens of millions of pounds, though the Amer- icans, who launched the fashion for keep- ing slim through fitness, preferred this year to hold hands in a meaningful way across their continent. The festivities were conde- mned by the Lord's Day Observance Soci-
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