CABLED BRIEFS

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32232, 26 February 1970, Page 11

CABLED BRIEFS

Condemned To Death Two Singaporean High Court judges yesterday sentenced to death a gunman, the first man to be convicted on a capital offence since Singapore abolished the jury system last month. The gunman, Teo Cheng Leong, aged 36. was found guilty of having fired two shots from a revolver at a police inspector with intent to eause injury after a robbery last March. Both shots missed. The offence is punishable by either death or life imprisonment, the judges decided on death.—Singapore, February 25. $9.6m Hotel Deal The Australia Hotel was sold by auction today for 59.6 m in one of Sydney’s largest single-estate deals, the buyer being the Mutual Life and Citizens Company, Ltd. The price was $100,060 above the reserve set by shareholders at a meeting last December. The Australia Hotel, opened in 1891. cost $600,000 to build.—Sydney, February 25. £253,500 Missine • Gold valued at £243.000 and Spanish currency amounting to £10.500 disappeared from a safe in an office at Orly Airport, Paris, during the night. A spokesman for a French precious metals company, which was to have flown the gold and money to Saudi Arabia yesterday, said he did not know whether they had been stolen or mislaid: there was no evidence that the safe had been forced open.— Paris, February 25, Charge Of Murder Thomas Joseph Baxter, aged 18, a van driver, of Earls Court, London, was charged yesterday with the murder of Mr Jeremy Wingfield, aged 24, a grandson of the first Earl Jellieoe, who ; was a former Governor- . General of New Zealand. Mr Wingfield was found dead from stab wounds in Severn Square, London, on Sunday morning. The accused man ■ will appear at the West Loni don Magistrate's Court today.—London, February 25. Kekkonen In Moscow , The Kremlin’s ruling tri- , umvirate turned out to meet President Urho Kekkonen, of ' Finland, when he arrived in ' Moscow today for a three-day unofficial visit. Although the only stated aim of the visit is a hunting trip outside ’ Moscow, obaervers said that it j is certain the Soviet Union • leaders will hold serious ' political talks with the head ’ of the small neighbouring country.—Moscow, February 1 25. i Back Front Africa The United States Secre- • tary of State (Mr William • Rogers) reported to President Nixon yesterday on his 15-day African tour, the meeting being regarded in Wash- , ington as an initial step towards the formulation of Mr Nixon's African policy. Mr Rogers visited Morocco, Tunisia. Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Congo (Kinshasa), the Cameroons, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia.—Washington, February 25. 1 Record Launchings Nearly half of the ships ■ launched throughout the world last year were built by : the Japanese, according to ■ Lloyd’s Register of Shjp- ■ ping. The 19,315,290 tons i launched in all was a record i for the fourth year tn succession, and 2.407,547 tons • higher than the 1968 figure. • The Japanese shipbuilding in- > dustry increased its tonnage i launched by 720,483 tons to reach 9.303.453 tons, of 48 2 i per cent of the world’s total, i —London, February 25. I • Coaster Sinks ' The 496-ton West German . coaster Inka sank off Esbjerg. . Denmark, this afternoon after being in collision with the 1500-ton Danish freighter Blenda. Five members of the Inka’s crew were rescued, but one man is missing, and •is presumed drowned. — 1 Esbjerg, February 25. s f Vietnam Transfer The South Vietnamese ; Navy will take over the re- , sponslbility for all coastal [ patrols in the South China . Sea off the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam ’on Saturday after being handed 11 United States Navy patrol-boats at Da Nang.—Da Nang, February 25.