Cable news in brief from all over the world

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33101, 16 December 1972, Page 15

Cable news in brief from all over the world

P and O revolt

About 150 off-duty Asian crew-members from the 45,000-ton P and O liner Canberra walked off the ship at Southampton yesterday to demonstrate their solidarity with colleagues dismissed from the 29,000-ton Orsova. P and O dismissed 212 Goanese crew-members from the Orsova when they refused to submit to medical tests after a dysentery outbreak on a sunshine cruise to the Equator. The Canberra is due to leave tomorrow for a 21-day Christmas cruise to the West Indies, and the Orsova is also due to sail tomorrow, on a 16-day cruise to West Africa and Madeira. —Southampton, December 15. Aust, take-over The new Australian Government plans to take over an Australian drug company in a move aimed at producing cheaper drugs, and at breaking the hold of 1 overseas companies on the local market. The Government intends to rejuvenate the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, which lost: sl.2m last year. — Sydney,! Dec. 15. Conti dead Count Ettore Conti, the pioneer of Italy’s electrical industry and founder of the A.G.I.P' oil company, has died in Milan at the age of 101 — Milan, Dec. 15. I

Paris strike over

/ The 4700 Paris dustmen) > were confronted with about, 10,000 tons of rubbish litterc ing the city’s streets when j they returned to work yester- . day after a week-long strike, j The men agreed to go back after winning their demands > for a minimum monthly J salary of 1250 francs ($220), . a 48-hour break after six I days work, and protective . leather aprons for all. Since > Monday, 2000 troops had j been helping in the monumenr tai task of clearing the ever- , mounting piles of rubbish, » but, mostly young draftees j from infantry regiments, they » had had difficulty in working the dustcarts’ complicated- ) machinery, and were bewildered by the maze of oneway streets in Paris.—Paris, December 15. i L'.S. position ’ The United States’ balance of payments moved deeperl : into the red in the third) rquarter of this year, when a! ■ deficit of SUS22ISm was ■ recorded, compared with a! 1 deficit of SUSIB64m in the - second quarter. Despite the • ■ deterioration, however, the ) over-all trend shows little ; chance for the first nine months of this year, com- > oared with 1971, and the I c»nnnd a n d third quarters of >; 1972 reflect a significant ;: imnrovement on the rnmnarf able period a year ■ago. — Washington. Dec. 15.

Citizen’s arrest

A rickshaw driver has earned an official reward of a rifle and 50 rupees ($4.29) for delivering a passenger clutching 16 bottles of wine to the Peshawar police station in India’s North-West Frontier Province, where alcohol has been banned since last April. — Rawalpindi, Dec. 15.

Contraception move American scientists in Los Angeles are studying the brain processes ‘ to see if these can be used to provide ! a new, certain method of ! contraception. Dr Abraham Rakoff, a professor of female endocrinology, told a family-planning centre conference that the study was centred on the part of the brain called hypothalmus, which secretes chemicals causing fertility in males and females. He said that scientists were working to produce “antagonists” to the release of these chemicals, as a potential method of contraception. — Los Angeles, Dec. 15. Belgian crisis The Belgian Socialist leader. Mr Edmond Leburton, has accepted King Baudouin’s invitation to try to form a new coalition government. The Cabinet of Mr Gaston Eyskens resigned three weeks I ago, over the country’s long-' standing language dispute. —) Brussels, Dec. 15. 1

Air fares discord

The nine-day meeting of executives of airlines flying North Atlantic routes has ended without reaching agreement on a new fares structure. A spokesman for the International Air Transport Association says this will mean that from February 1 there will be an “openmarket” situation, with individual airlines able to fix their own fares subject to the approval of the governments concerned. The North Atlantic routes are often a pointer to fare structures in other parts of the world. — Geneva, Dec. 15. Dacca ceremony The members of the Bangladesh Constituent Assembly have signed the country’s new Constitution, which officially comes into force i tomorrow — the first anni-! versary of her independence! from Pakistan. The Consti-j tution, which contains 153 articles, lays down nationaL ism, socialism, democracy, and secularism as fundamental principles of State policy. — Dacca, Dec. 15. Japanese economy Japan had a surplus of SNZSSOm in her balance of payments for November, rnmnared with a surplus of WZ75Om in October Her surplus for 1972 is m-r.iv t 0 total about SNZ7I2m. — Tokyo, Dec. 15.

India’s need

Near-famine conditions, brought about by drought in four populous Indian states, will force the Indian Government to import about two million tons of food grains in the next three months. India has already bought from the United States and Canada 450,000 tons of wheat and millet, which are expected to arrive in Bombay late next month, and frantic efforts are now being! made by Indian missions: abroad to find other suppliers. — New Delhi, December 15.

Indonesian shortage Indonesia is importing almost 1.5 million tons of Irice, the country’s staple I food, to meet an acute shortjage caused by the drought ithat damaged half the Java harvest.—Jakarta, December 15. I Cholera toll More than 500 Indonesians died from cholera in September and October-double the figure for the same period last year. The Minister of Health (Dr G. A. Siwabessy) recently reported that 5025 people had died of cholera throughout Indonesia this year up to the end of last month.—Jakarta, December 15.

Wool summary

Sales of Australian wool in the months from July to November totalled 1,855,822 bales worth $391,287,818, compared with 1,744,323 bales worth $155,917,889 in the corresponding months of last year. The average price during the period was 147.48 c per kilo, compared with 62.82.—Sydney, December 15

Wool teaming

The Japan Wool Spinners’ 1 Association has advised its I members to remain calm when contemplating import purchases of raw wool. The advice was issued in view of a sharp rise in worsted yarn prices on the Japanese markets, apparently arising (from speculative buying by smaller investors and covering by sellers. In the second week of December, 1.09 million bales, or 60 per cent of Japan’s estimated needs in ■ the year ending next June ! had been bought.—Osaka, ) December 15. Taiwan tragedy Fifteen fishermen are known to have been drowned, and 59 others have been reported missing, in a storm off Taiwan’s south-western coast. Only seven men were: rescued when eight fishing: boats capsized in the choppy’ sea. Three other vessels from; a fleet of 120 are also re-j ported missing.—Taipei, De-j cember 15. 1

Sartorial complaint

[ Ground hostesses at Orly , Airport, Paris, bored with > the same red uni- ' form for four years, turned ( up for work yesterday in 1 their own jazzier choice: blue - sweaters, and bright yellow, i cut-away skirts. “All we want to be is more elegant, ' more modern, and more - seductive in the eyes of the public,” one of the girls explained. The management has agreed to discuss their complaint.—Paris, December , 15. 1 Cold comfort ! Japanese department stores j i will soon begin selling 2000-: 1 year-old Arctic ice from! , Greenland from December 20 ! for whisky on the rocks. The! : Greenland ice will sell for: . 600 yen (about $1.50) per 21b I pack at three stores in Tokyo 1 and . Shizuoka. —Tokyo, De- : cember 15. In short supply Bottles of Scotch whiskvj realised up to sRhodls (about $2O) each at an auction in) Salisbury. A shortage of) ! foreign exchange has almost ■ dried up the supply.—Salisbury, December 15. 1 Honest plea ;) A prominent sign displayed :on a San Francisco store: (“FIRE SALE. Buy something, ;or somebody’s going to get j fired.” — San Francisco, I December 15.