Cable Briefs

Press, 4 March 1980, Page 8

Cable Briefs

Soldier shot A British military policeman, aged 22, has-been shot dead by at least two gunmen. The gunmen used a 5.6 mm sub-machinegun and a 9mm rifle. Ten spent cartridge cases were found at the scene. The soldier was shot in his car when he stoppea at a crossroads. The attack came shortly after the killing of a British Army colonel. Mark Coe. in Bielefed, Rhineland-Westphalia on) February 16. The Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility for that crime.— Bonn.

Snoic toll 22 A record-breaking March snowstorm chilled much of the United States, spreading a deadly mantle on roads and sending temperatures plummeting. At least 22 deaths were blamed on the storm, and snow-covered bodies were found in Missouri and Virginia. The storm moved over the mid Atlantic coast after dumping 30cm of snow in parts of Indiana and Ohio, extending its grasp as far south as Louisiana. In heading out to sea before reaching New England, the storm continued the pattern of the 1978-80 winter season — almost no snow for the north-east. —New York.

Tito worse President Tito’s heart grew still weaker yesterday, and his doctors said his general condition had worsened. The 87-year-old Yugoslav leader, critically ill and close to death in recent days, is also suffering from pneumonia, cardiac disturbances, kidney failure, and internal bleeding. The medical bulletin, issued by the president’s panel of eight medical professors. said he was continuing to undergo intensive treatment at the main hospital in the northern city of Ljubljana where his left leg was amputated last month. — Belgrade.

! Officer cleared A Singapore judge has ) cleared a Jurong shipyard i safety officer, Lau Kum ) Seng, of failing to take safety measures on board a Greek tanker that exploded in 1978 resulting in 76 deaths. Lau was cleared by the judge of failing to take all practical steps to keep heat sources off the 64,000tonne tanker Spyros. The 76 dockworkers were killed when fire engulfed the engine room of the. tanker while it was undergoing repairs at a local shipyard in October, 1978. Lau’s counsel said his client should not be held liable for what was ac- ; tually the shipyard’s responsibility to ensure safety, — Singapore. _ ' True, Britt? Britt Ekland says Peter Sellers is a monster, Rod Stewart is mean, and Warren Beatty an incredible lover. The 37-year-old Swedish actress gives the rundown on her former loves in the current issue of “People” magazine, which is printing excerpts .of her biography, “True Britt,” to be published this summer in the United States. She says Peter ■ Sellers has not paid child support for their daughter, Victoria, for nine months, and says Rod Stewart, who dropped her for a model, “knows he’s mean.” Miss Ekland said her affair with Warren Beatty lasted only six weeks but that; was longer than her. dalliance with Ryan O’Neal. —New .York. Name dropped The English county of Shropshire, officially renamed Salop in . 1974, is to revert to its former name. Salop County • Council has voted 48-to-five in favour of dropping the name, Salop. Although the name, Salop, is rooted deep in history, it angered locals and confused outsiders and foreigners, who always identified that region with A. E. Houseman’s “A Shropshire Lad.” A pro-Shropshire campaign claimed that 90 per cent of the people , who lived in the county, which is oh the Welsh border,- favoured the original name. —London.

New primate Robert Ruhcie, who fought as a tank officer in World War Two, has taken office as the 102nd of Canterbury, Primates of All England, and honorary lead< er of the worlds 65 million Anglicans’. He is the firslj Archbishop of since medieval times to have fought for his country before ordination as priest, A tank officer' with the Scots Guards when \the Al- , lied forces invaded Nazi-oc-cupied Europe in 1944, he won the Military Cross for gallantry during the advance into Germany: — London.