PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
The World at War (repeat) Mrs Thatcher went on a five-day visit to the Soviet Union. She had lengthy talks with Mr Gorbachev and luncheon with Dr Sakharov. Dining one night at the Krem- lin, she declared: 'A world without nuclear weapons would be less stable and more dangerous for all of us.' Her host replied: 'I have already pointed out the evil of this ideology. Deterrence is . . . the fuse of the charge which could destroy civilisation.' The European Community sold 181,500 tons of butter to the Soviet Union at the modest price of six pence a pound. In Washington, Mr Kinnock met President Reagan for 'slightly less than 20 minutes' according to the White House, but for 28 minutes according to the Labour Party. Mr Kinnock was told that Labour policies would damage Nato. Mr Denis Healey, accompanying him, was greeted by the President with the line: 'Nice to see you again, Mr Ambassador.' In New Jersey, the mother of a one-year-old daughter was ordered to give her to the couple on whose behalf she gave birth to her. This was the first time a surrogate parenthood contract had been upheld. In Philadelphia, the case was reported of a man who kept four women in his cellar as sex slaves and had killed at least three others. In Madrid, the trial opened of 38 people accused of selling the poisonous cooking oil which killed 584 people. In the Aegean, a Turkish oil exploration vessel escorted by warships prepared to enter waters claimed by Greece. Mr Papandreou, the Greek Prime Minister, said, 'If war breaks out with Turkey, this would result in a profound change in the Balkans . . , and the Turkish oil exploration vessel stayed in Turkish waters.
IN A Gallup poll, the Alliance parties, with 31.5 per cent, moved into second place, two points above Labour and six behind the Conservatives. In Belfast, the IRA murdered a soldier. The Roman Catholic Church , said that two former Anglican clergymen would become the first married men to be ordained as Roman Catholic priests in Britain. The February balance of payments figures showed, in- stead of the expected deficit, a surplus of £376 million. World stock markets fell for fear of a trade war between the United States and Japan. Britain also wondered how to retaliate against the exclusion Of Cable & Wireless from the Japanese tele- communications market. John Fleming, a Briton wanted for questioning about a £26 million gold bullion robbery, was deported from America, where he had contrived to stay since last August, and was charged with dishonestly handling £1.1 million. It was revealed that more than £3 million of a £5.2 million secret fee paid by Guinness to a director last year had passed through a Swiss bank account belonging to the for- mer chairman, Mr Ernest Saunders, un- beknown to him. David Watt, the journal- ist, Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor Who, and Maria von Trapp, whose adven- tures inspired The Sound of Music, all died, as did 11 other people in the gales which swept Britain. A commuter was trapped for three hours under a tree which hit the 8.48 from East Grinstead. Oxford
Previous page
