Cable briefs

Press, 22 July 1976, Page 8

Cable briefs

Missile sale delayed In the face of early Congressional opposition, the Ford Administration has decided to postpone, at least for a short time, a proposed sale of 2000 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles to the Saudi Arabian Air Force. — Washington. ' Anti-bomb gadget \ American scientists have (developed an electronic deIvice which can neutralise atomic bombs from a disItance, according to the (magazine “Newsweek.” The i magazine said the device couid be used in the event of an atomic bomb being stolen or to neutralise bombs captured by an enemy. Once the bombs had been neutralised they would have to be taken to bits and completely rebuilt — a process which would take weeks or even months — before they could be used. | — New York. I Anti-hijack fee | The Philippines Govern(rnent has begun collecting (aviation security fees from airline passengers in the Philippines to provide funds for anti-hijacking measures, the Defence Department has; said. The fee is 10 pesos] (about sAustl.Os) a passenger on international flights! and three pesos (about 32c Aust) on domestic flights. —; i Manila. j

S'.S. learning The association of former S.S. soldiers has warned its members to be on their guard against assassination attempts after the killing of a former S.S. colonel, Joachim Peiper, in France last week. Karl Cerff, executive secretary of the West German organisation in Karlsruhe. said that three or four former Nazi officers had recently received death threats' — Bonn. Record ban i A temporary court order has been granted by a judge prohibiting a man taking, selling, or offering for sale records made from live performances by five giants of the rock world without their written consent. The petition was brought before Lord Grieve in a court in Edinburgh by Bad Company, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Jethro Tull, and four record companies — Island, E.M.1., Rocket, and Chrysalis — against Dougie J. Robb of Doon Place. Kilmarnock. — London. Dairy talks delayed Common Market Farm ; Ministers have postponed i until September any further discussion of controversial I proposals for dealing with (the Community’s surplus of | dairy products, E.E.C. jofificials have said.

Fishermen released Vietnam has released all 212 Thai fishermen and eight fishing boats detained during the last year, the Vietnam News Agency has reported. — Hong Kong. Guerilla chief dead Mario Roberto Santucho, founder and leader of the People’s Revolutionary Army and Argentina’s most powerful guerrilla leader since Che Guevara, has been killed in a shoot-out with security forces, the Army has announced. Police sources said that Santucho’s chief lieutenant was also killed in the clash, but an official communique from Army headquarters did not mention (him. —Buenos Aires. London raid Armed raiders wearing grotesque wolf masks burst into a Regent Street jewellers this week, threatened to kill the staff unless they kept quiet, and got away with about £lOO,OOO worth of watches, rings and cash. —London. Poison gas escapes A cloud of poison gas which accidentally escaped from a chemical factory near Milan has resulted in the death of animals and plants within a radius of 20km. The gas, trichlorpohenol, was said by a factory spokesman to be the same substance which was sold to the United States in 1970 and which was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam war. About 15 people who came in contact with the gas have been treated for burns. —Milan.