Cable briefs

Press, 18 November 1981, Page 8

Cable briefs

Holden dies William Holden, one of Hollywood’s major stars, may have lain dead in his luxurious apartment for a week before his body was discovered yesterday, a Coroner's Office spokesman has said. He said that Holden, aged 63, star of more than 40 films and winner of an Oscar, had been dead for several days and possibly a week. He believed the actor, who appeared in such pictures as “The Bridge over the River Kwai,” “Stalag 17,” “Born Yesterday” and “5.0.8.”, died of natural causes. President Reagan said he felt a sense of loss at the death of Holden, who was best man at his marriage in 1952 and worked with him in the Screen Actors’ Guild, the acting profession’s trade union. — Los Angeles. Force delay Foreign Ministers of the European Economic Community will review plans today for- the participation of four E.E.C. States in a Sinai peace-keeping force. Britain, France, Italy,, . and the Netherlands are all ready to take part, in the r Americansponsored force. which would patrol the Sinai Peninsula from next April once Israel leaves the area under the Camp David peace agreement. An official announcement of their plans to participate has been held up by disagreement over its phrasing. There is no expectation that a public announcement will be made at this stage. — Brussels. . Storms lash U.S. Heavy rain and winds have pounded the northern Pacific coast of the United States, continuing an onslaught that has caused an estimated $9.8 million damage in Washington state and Oregon. Eleven people have died and eight are reported missing in weather-related. incidents since Friday, according to authorities. Storm warnings were in effect along the coast of northern California and Oregon, with gale warnings along the central California and Washington coasts. — New York. Exercise protest The pro-Soviet governments of Ethiopia, Libya and South Yemen have opened an emergency two-day meeting to counter America’s Brightstar military manoeuvres which they view as a threat to their independence. Foreign ministers of the three countries, which signed a mutual defence treaty in August, gathered at Addis Ababa at the request of Ethiopia, which alleged that the manoeuvres were encircling it. Some 6000 American troops are taking part in the month-long Brightstar exercises in Egypt, Sudan, Oman and Somalia. In Moscow the Soviet Communist Party daily “Pravda” called the Brightstar exercises a rehearsal for the occupation of a Middle Eastern State. — Addis Ababa.

48 die in collapse At least 48 participants in a political rally died when a conefete wall at a bullring collapsed. A Mexico City journalist said most of the dead were trampled to death when the crowd panicked. Another’ 49 were injured, some seriously, a Red Cross spokesman said, according to the Associated Press. The journalist said the ring was filled beyond its capacity of 8000 by an estimated 15,000 participants and more were pushing and shoving to get in. — Menidia. More UN. votes The United Nations Security Council will try again today to come to a recommendation as to who should be United Nations SecretaryGeneral in the five years to start next January 1. A spokesman said that the council would meet privately and “it is expected that several ballots will take place.” The council has taken eight secret, ballots since October 27 without managing to recommend either the present Secretary-General (Dr Kurt Waldheim), an Austrian, or his challenger, the Tanzanian Foreign Minister (Mr Salim Ahmed Salim), for SecretaryGeneral during the next term. — New York. Sect murder A dissident member of a black militant religious sect was shot dead by hooded gunmen and his wife was critically wounded after the couple had talked to the police about the beheading of a friend. The gunmen ambushed Carlton Carey, an accountant, and his wife, Mildred Banks, as they returned to their home. Ashton Green, a mechanic, who shared the home with the couple and belonged to the same religious group, was decapitated on Friday, apparently with a machete. All three were former members of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group that preaches hatred of whites. — Miami. Safeguards inadequate’ A report to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has concluded that the international system of safeguards intended to stop the diversion of uranium and plutonium from peaceful nuclear programmes to atomic weapons has gross deficiencies. The report, prepared by a former commission staff member and international inspector, concluded that the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Viennabased organisation that monitors nuclear material, was “incapable of detecting the diversion- of a significant quantity” of nuclear fuel “in any State with a moderate to large nuclear energy establishment.” That State Department commented that it was aware of deficiencies in the system and it was working to improve it. — Washington.