Cable Briefs

Press, 19 April 1980, Page 8

Cable Briefs

8000 casualties’ An estimated 8000 Soviet troops have been killed or wounded in Afghanistan dur-| ing the last four months, theAmerican State Department! has said. A State Depart-' ment spokesman also told; reporters that the Soviet-led • Afghan army units were! becoming increasingly rebellious towards Kremlin control. — Washington. Attackers hanged Thirteen men sentenced to death by the Tunisian State security court for a guerrilla attack against the mining town of Gafsa last January have been hanged, the Justice Ministry has announced. Left-wing leaders in France and other countries had called on President Habib 1 Bourguiba to spare the lives of the 13 men. Two other men have been sentenced to death in their absence. Tunisia said the attack was prepared with Libyan support. —Tunis. Last quin dies The last surviving Kissane quin, Justin, has died, a spokesman for Mel- . bourne’s Royal Children’s . Hospital has announced. The spokesman said Justin died • of acute respiratory trouble. The quins were born eight weeks ago yesterday — Melbourne. Plot charges Thirty people will soon stand trial before a State se- ! curity court charged with at- ' tempting to overthrow President Anwar Sadat by force, the Egyptian Attorney-Gen- , eral (Mr Raga I Arabi) has ’ said. He said the State security prosecution has also ordered the arrest of .24 others living abroad but ! deferred levelling accusations against them pending further investigations. The indictment charged the 30 accused with membership of an underground Communist organisation. — Cairo. Korchnoi plea The chess grandmaster, Victor Korchnoi, refugee from the Soviet Union since 1976, has asked for help from Britain in getting his wife and son out of the Soviet Union, authoritative sources have said. Korchnoi, who is now second in the world and is now playing in an international tournament in London, will meet today with Lord Avebury, president of the Parliamentary Commission on Human Rights. Since leaving the Soviet Union, Korchnoi has not seen his wife and son. 1 Soviet authorities have rejected his four requests since July, 1977, for a visa for them. —Paris. Suicide hid An Iranian. accountant accused of smuggling millions of dollars worth of heroin in the United States has appeared in court with his wrists heavily bandaged and blood on his shoes. Thel police said Muhammad Ali Bastanipour, aged 36, had slashed his wrists with a . razor blade after being arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on Tuesday while 1 carrying 4kg of heroin pack- J ed in 20 gift-wrapped tins of caviar.—Chicago. ! China on I.M.F. !

China has been voted into the International Monetary Fund, a move that opens the potential for considerable financial aid to Peking. While there was no announcement on the future membership of Taiwan, which had been occupying the China seat in the 140nation institution, it was learned that Taiwan has lost its position in the fund.—Washington.