Cable Briefs

Press, 27 February 1980, Page 8

Cable Briefs

Deng steps aside The Chinese Senior VicePremier (Mr Deng Xiaoping), delegating some of his responsibilities, has stepped down as chief of staff of the armed forces in favour of one of the two main commanders in last year’s border war with Vietnam. A Foreign Ministry spokesman i said the new chief of staff 1 was Yang Dezhson, aged 70, a ■ blacksmith’s son and one-time I miner who commanded the Kunming military region bordering Vietnam during the month-long war. Diplomatic sources said the move in no way represented a lessening of Mr Deng’s power, but indicated he now felt in full enough control to delegate some of his dudes. — Peking.

Secret session The United States House of Representatives held a closed meeting yesterday for only the second time in 150 years, to debate secret information on Communist influence in Nicaragua. The House was discussing an Administration request for > $75 million in aid for the Central American State, where Left-wing guerrillas overthrew President Anastasio Somoza in July last year. Opponents of the proposal wanted to debate information held by the House Intelligence Committee, which they say shows that Nicaragua’s Sandinista Government is Communist and dominated by Cuba. — Washington. Peron acquittal An Argentine Federal judge has acquitted the former President, Maria Estela Peron, of one of five separate charges against ■ her. Judge Pedro Narvaiz dismissed the accusation of the National Prosecutor of' Administrative Investigations that the deposed leader had received illegal gifts from a Buenos Aires bank. The judge said the gifts from directors of the Bank of the City of Buenos ' Aires — two semi-precious . stones, and a gold necklace , — were not of' sufficient ( value to justify proceedings. , Mrs Peron, aged 49, widow , Of the late President Juan j Peron, has been held under house arrest since the Ar- ] gentine military overthrew < her Government in March, j 1976. — Buenos Aires. <