Cable briefs

Press, 18 June 1976, Page 6

Cable briefs

One downpour . . . The long, heavy rains that caused devastating floods in eastern Bangladesh have abated, leaving a death toll of at least 105 people. The affected areas, including Port Chittagong remain cut off from Dacca by road and rail, but air flights resumed when waters receded from airports in Chittagong and Sylhet. Many deaths were caused by large-scale landslides in eastern hill ranges, burying small hamlets. Bridges were washed away, snapping sea resorts’ links with the rest of the country. Sylhet was evacuated after an onrush of flood waters from the upper reaches of India and a rainfall of about 48 inches in 72 hours.—Dacca. . . . and another Six people died, hundreds were taken to safety, and a hospital suffered damage amounting to s2m when more than 13 inches of rain fell in about 13 hours in Houston Texas. A spokesman for the Contemporary Arts Museum said that at one time the water was seven feet deep in the basement, and that the damage to objects d’art might well amount to $400,000. Ambulance crews had to swim several times to rescue stranded people. — Houston. Royal director Princess Grace of Monaco will become the first woman member of 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation’s board of directors. Princess Grace,

known as the Hollywood star, Grace Kelly, before her marriage to Prince Rainier, will be formally elected to the board on July 29, a company spokesman says. — Beverly Hills, California.

Poisono us ft re Poisonous chlorine fumes from a fire forced more than 4000 people to leave their homes in Can Nuys, California. Forty-three people were taken to hospital, one of whom, a fireman, is in a serious condition. The fumes occurred when firemen turned hoses on a blaze at the premises of a swimming pool supply firm, officials of which say that the combination of heat and water applied to a chlorine concentrate used to purify swimming pool water released a highly-toxic gas.— Los Angeles. London tragedy Nurse Deidre Aylett, aged 24, the daughter of a consul-tant-surgeon, laughed and chatted with friends in a| London public house, but a few hours later she was found dead in 12 feet of water with two anchors tied around her waist. The St Pancras Coroner decided after an inquest that Nurse Aylett had taken her own life. — London.

Discrimination ease A Manchester motor-fac-tory owner, Mr James Clay, has vowed to sell up and retire after losing a dispute with the Race Relations Board because he refused to hire an Irishman. Mr Clay withdrew his offer to give Mr Charles Rossiter, aged 25, a job soon after the Birmingham public house bombings in November, 1974, in which 17 people died and 120 were injured. He told the board that the offer was withdrawn because two cousins cf one of his employees had been hurt in the bombings, and the staff had threatened to walk out if he hired an Irishman. Mr Clay was ordered to pay damages of £29.50 to Mr Rossiter, and costs estimated at £l,OOO. — Manchester. TVo joke A British schoolboy, Matthew Pass, aged 15, was drowned in the sea near Shoeburyness because people on the beach thought that his cries for help were a joke, the police say.—Shoeburyness. ’Quakes galore Sixteen earthquakes, one comparatively strong, shook Tokyo and parts of eastern and central Japan yesterday, causing several casualties and minor damage. But Meteorological Agency officials say that the series of tremors does not necessarily mean that a serious earthquake is imminent.—Tokyo. Japan’s economy Japan’s over-all balance of payments continued to be favourable for the fourth consecutive month in May. when there was a surplus of s46om, an increase of $279m on the April figure.—Tokyo. Deficit in U.S. The United States had a deficit of sBom in its international transactions for the first quarter of 1976, compared with a surplus of $3085m in the fourth quarter of last year. The main cause of the fall was a slsoBm trade deficit in the first quarter, compared with a $2199m surplus in the previous three months. —Washington. Crime rate slowed In the midst of a dismal economic picture, there is good news from Britain: the crime rate, although still increasing, is not growing as fast as before. Home Office figures show that the number of indictable crimes in the first quarter of this year rose only 4 per cent, while in 1975 there had been a 6 per cent increase over the 1974 figure.—London. Male midwives Britain’s first school f< r male midwives will open in London early next year. The Ministry of Health says that the school, which will have training places for 16 men. is planned after discussions arising from the Sex Discrimination Act introduced m Parliament earlier this year.—London. Mailbag theft Talks between the Australian police, railway, postal, and bank officials, will be held to discuss increased seI curity for money shipments • after another mailbag theft Hat Port MacQuarie. Thieves i; escaped with $54,000 in i oanknotes stolen from a taxi I J” r oute from banks in Port i MacQuarie to the Reserve Bank in Sydney. Mailbag • thieves have netted $500,00C : in the last 11 months in i seven so-far-unsolved cases. — Sydney.