Cable Briefs

Press, 10 April 1980, Page 8

Cable Briefs

Border conflict Revolutionary Guards in Iran have reported more trouble on the tense border ! between Iran and Iraq. They said they had exchanged fire with insurgents near the bordertown of Qasr-E-Snirin, where some 6000 Iranians have crossed the frontier after being expelled by Bagdad. The governor of Qasr-E-Shirin said by telephone that the army had been called in to support the guards, and accused Iraqi troops of backing the raiders in an attack on the Boveissi military camp. Relations between Iran and Iraq are near breaking point after a series of incidents including an assassination attempt against the Iraqi deputy Prime Minister (Mr Tariq Aziz) last week which Bagdad blamed on Iran and Teheran denied. —Teheran. Irishmen held

Seven Irish U.N. soldiers are still being held captive by Lebanese Rightist militiamen, diplomatic sources in Beirut said yesterday. The sources said that three of the 10 Irish United Nations peace-keeping soldiers kidnapped after a gun-battle with the militia on Tuesday had been released. One Irishman was seriously wounded during the fighting. According to United Nations sources, . efforts were continuing to ensure the release of the remaining captives. — Beirut. Russian breeder

The Soviet Union has taken another step towards achieving its nuclear power plans, with an announcement that the world’s biggest fast-breeder reactor has gone into operation. A brief report by the Tass news Agency said the 600mw power-generating plant at Belovarsk in the Ural Mountains went into operation yesterday, but gave no details. Codenamed BN-600, it is billed as the world’s first commercial fast breeder producing reusable plutonium fuel as it burns uranium. Other countries have experimental versions of the controversial reactor. —Moscow. Tanaka taxes The Japanese Government has taken possession of property worth about $2.3 million belonging to the former Prime Minister, Kakkuei Tanaka, to secure it against back-tax claims. Mr Kinichiro Yajima, head of the Tax Agency’s direct-tax section, told a Parliamentary judicial committee that land and a country house at Karuizawa, north of Tokyo, was being held pending payment of a $2.07 million tax claim, The claim covers 1973 and 1974, the period during which Mr Tanaka, now standing trial over allegedly receiving a bribe from the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, was Prime Minister. — Tokyo,

Hunt losses The Bache Group, Inc., leading commodity brokers for two of the multi-million-aire Hunt Brothers have said the two have paid 5U522.5 million towards a deficit of SUS 33 million in the family account. Nelson ■ Bunker Hunt and W. Herbert Hunt, two of the richest men in the United States, previously liquidated about SUS2OO million in futures contacts to pay debts, as the price of silver plunged from SUSSO an ounce in January to around SUSI2 near the end of March. The Hunts had put together a syndicate, including partners from Saudi Arabia, which built up silver holdings of more than 200 million ounces to back SUSSOO million they say they still intend to issue. — New York.