CABLE BRIEFS

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32804, 3 January 1972, Page 9

CABLE BRIEFS

Balloonists’’ bill \ An attempt is to be made’ next month to fly across the, | Sahara Desert in two hot-air balloons, the “Daily Tele|graph” reports. The expedition will fly in stages the 12000 miles from Algeria to (Niger. The balloons, Golden Eagle and Daffodil, will be Taken by sea to Tangier by jtheir pilots, Mr Donald | Cameron, of Bristol, and Mr | Felix Pole, of Newbury. One iof the expedition’s aims will (be to discover archaeological I sites.—London, Jan. 2. Freighter fire II The 6094-ton Indian (freighter Vishka Raksha, carrying 80 tons of high explosives, is reported to be out (of danger, a fire in her hold having been brought under control. All the 61 Indians in her crew are safe. The fire (broke out in the vessel, '(which is owned by the Ship-1 ping Corporation of India.! '(about 20 hours before the : I vessel reached Kaohsiung! 'yesterday.—Taipei, Jan. 2.

Sir Robert Menzies The former Australian Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, was left paralysed by his recent stroke. “He's not very well at all,” his

wife, Dame Pattie Menzies, said yesterday. “He can’t I move because he’s quite i paralysed.” The former (leader, who is 77, was ad(mited to hospital on December 2.—Melbourne, Jan. 2.

Beirut incident

i A group of Palestinian guerrillas stormed a Beirut police station with machineguns yesterday, killing two security men and wounding another, the Lebanese Prime Minister (Mr Salam) said in a | radio broadcast last night. The guerrillas, he said, were attempting to force the release of a fellow-guerrilla who had been arrested for roaming a Beirut street carrying unauthorised firearms. Mr Salam warned the guerrillas that his Government would act “strongly and unflinchingly against those irresponsible elements who disturb peace and order.”— Beirut, Jan. 2.

Hr records claimed

A Soviet Union Tul44 supersonic airliner attained a record speed of 1564 miles an hour in a recent test flight, the news agency, Tass. reports, adding that this speed was maintained for several minutes while the 120-seater airliner was flying at an altitude of 11.4 miles, a record height for airliners.—Moscow, Jan. 2.

Fatal train crash

Seven people were killed and 32 were injured, 18 seriously, when two shuttle trains collided head-on about 13 miles north of Coblenz, Germany, yesterday.—Coblenz, Jan. 2.