Cable Briefs

Press, 3 February 1979, Page 6

Cable Briefs

Czechs jailed Two young Czechoslovaks who threatened to blow up an airliner with a suitcase of explosives have been jailed for three years by a West German court. Josef Katrincak, aged 27, and Dradomir Sebesta, aged 26, commandeered a Czechoslovakian Airlines plane with 46 passengers and crew on an international flight from Prague to Bonn last May and forced the pilot to fly to Frankfurt. The court decided the offence was minimised by the fact that there were no detonators in the suitcase.—Frankfurt. San Salvador blast Bombs have exploded in a police station and the central National Guard garrison in San Salvador, killing 20 persons and injuring dozens of others. In a leaflet left at radio and television stations, the Leftist guerrilla Army of the People claimed responsibility for the blasts. The leaflets said the bombings were in retaliation for the killing of a Roman Catholic priest and four other persons by soldiers during a January 20 shoot-out at a house in a working-class district of the capital of the Centra! American country, El Salvador. — El Salvador. Flood toll 530

The death toll from floods in Brazil's central-eastern state of Minas Gerais has risen to 530. and more than 10,000 people are homeless. Some 30 towns have been isolated by floods brought on by steady rains since the [beginning of January. — Rio ide Janeiro.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy in Iceland is the highest in the world, according to the latest issue of the United Nations Demographic Yearbook. Women there can expect to live 79 years, whije men can look forward to 73, In contrast. most Africans average less than 50 years, and in 21 African countries life expectancy is less than 20 vears. In general North Eurooean. Japanese, and North American women live about 75 years, and men about 70. — Geneva.

Fair cop A Washington policeman who retired voluntarily from the force to undergo a sexchange operation is to be reinstated as a woman officer. Ormus W. Davenport 111, aged 35, once an undercover policeman who worked on breaking up burglary rings, will return next week as Officer Bonnie Nora Davenport. — Washington. Soviet cruises The Soviet Union has testfired long-range cruise missiles from its Backfire bomber, United States government sources say. The Backfire — N.A.T.O. codename for the Tupolev Tu26 twin-jet, swing-wing bomber — has been a cause of argument in United States-Soviet negotiations for a second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. The Russians refuse to have the Backfire considered a strategic weapon for S.A.L.T. purposes, arguing that it is designed mainly for use in Europe. — Washington. i Film awards ■ “Midnight Express" was The surprise winner as best dramatic film of 1978 at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes Awards at the week-end. The film, which beat such favoured contenders as “Coming Horae” and “The Deer Hunter" earned a best film-acting debut award for its star, Brad Davis, and best supporting film actor and actress awards for John Hurt and Irene Miracle. Giorgio Moroder was cited for bis original score, and Oliver Stone for his screenplay, for the movie about a young American’s nightmarish experiences in a Turkish prison. Jane Fonda, the young wife in “Coming Home”, and John Voight, who played her paraplegic lover, won the best dramatic actor and actress awards. — Hollywood.