Cabled briefs

Press, 30 August 1977, Page 8

Cabled briefs

Gunman kills six A young man armed with a .44 calibre rifle has shot six people dead and then turned the gun on himself, the police in Hackettstown, New Jersey, have reported. The gunman, Emile Benoist, aged about 22, a former Marine with no apparent mo tive for the killings, started the shooting spree about 4 p.m. Friday, firing at people taking walks along the tracks, a common practice. The police cornered Benoist in a cornfield and about 9.15 p.m., as some 25 state troopers and a score of local police, supported by helicopters with spotlights, closed in, he came out on a road and shot himself fatally in the head. — Newark. Drought learning Delegates representing more than 100 countries are meeting in Nairobi for 11 days to discuss ways of stopping the spread of the world’s deserts. An American scientist has warned that swift action must be taken if a catastrophe is to be avoided. The seminar's chairman, Dr Harold Dregne, said: “I think there is going to be a widespread drought in the world soon, and when that happens there will be a tremendous tragedy. We are really going to see the results of man’s neglect over the last 50 years.” — Nai< robi. Basques gather About 40,000 Basque nationalists have massed in the countryside near Pamplona to hear stinging attacks on the Spanish and French Governments from exiles who returned illegally. The huge meeting marked the end of a 50-day march demanding autonomy for the Basque region and a full amnesty for political prisoners. Before the rally the police found and detonated a bomb near the meeting site. Basque leaders said they were worried about possible trouble from Right-wing extremists. — Pamplona. Fire investigation A fire which caused more than $250,000 damage to the Indian High Commission in Canberra on Sunday night may have been deliberately lit. Scientific squad detectives and fire brigade experts are sifting through the charred wreckage of the two-storey building in an attempt to determine the cause of the blaze. — Canberra. Currency moves Finnish banks have suspended all trading in foreign currencies. The move came after currency devaluation by Norway and Denmark of five per cent, and reports that Sweden was expected to devalue today by about 10 per cent. — Helsinki. Out of ‘snake* Sweden has left “the snake,” the joint float of West European currencies intended to create stable economic conditions, and has announced that it is devaluing the krona by about 10 per cent. Like Britain, France, Italy, and Ireland, which withdrew earlier from the snake, Sweden found its foreign Currency reserves draining away under pressure of having to defend an exchange rate fixed largely by outside factors. — Stockholm.

Police car stolen A 10-man gang, speaking with Northern Irish accents and armed with at least one sub-machine-gun, have attacked a police squad from the Irish Republic and seized the policemen’s car. The incident took place when a van driven by the gang broke through a police checkpoint at Ballybofey, near the border with’ Northern Ireland. No shots were fired. — Dublin.

Bhutto men jailed

A Pakistan military court has jailed three supporters of the former Prime Minister, Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, for six months each and 10 lashes for violating martial law restrictions on political activities. The three were found guilty of holding an unlawful gathering and chanting slogans on Mr Bhutto's arrival at Islamabad Airport on Friday. —- Islamabad.