Cable briefs

Press, 4 May 1984, Page 6

Cable briefs

Berri’s terms A Shi’ite Muslim leader, Nabeh Berri, has told the Lebanese Prime Minister, Mr Rashid Karami, that he would join Lebanon’s Cabinet if Mr Karami complied with one of two conditions. Opposition sources said that Mr Berri had demanded either that the Cabinet be enlarged to 26 members as originally envisaged in negotiations with Syrian officials, or that the Government create a special Ministry or other body to deal with Israelioccupied southern Lebanon. — Beirut. Pit protests More than 10,000 striking miners picketed a prosperous pit in the central England region of Nottinghamshire in what the State-run National Coal Board described as “an attempt at intimidating on a massive scale.” Haworth Colliery, near Worksop, witnessed the largest picketing since the strike began seven weeks ago over the board’s plan to close 20 unprofitable pits and lay off 20,000 miners. The colliery announced in March that it had produced a near-record one million tonnes of coal in the previous 12 months. It is not endangered by the Coal Board’s closure plans. — London. Emergency ends The Brazilian President, General Joao Figueiredo, has signed a decree lifting the limited state of emergency imposed on the capital Brasilia and surrounding areas. The restrictions were being suspended because, “at the moment there are no existing reasons to justify the emergency measures.” General Figueiredo declared the emergency measures for 60 days on April 18. — Brasilia. ’Copter ditches A British helicopter was forced to ditch in the North Sea and all 47 on board were rescued unhurt. The British Airways Chinook was ferrying workers home from an oil rig when the pilot signalled that he was in difficulties and put his craft down on the water. Rescue ser-

vices alerted nearby shipping and five helicopters and six ships were quickly at the scene, about 160 km east of the Shetland Islands. — London. Telecom’s value The British Government has valued its giant telecommunications network at $l9 billion shortly before it is due to be sold in the biggest share issue in the nation’s history. Word of the valuation came from the Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr Norman Tebbit, in Parliament. In line with Mrs Margaret Thatcher’s policy of reducing Government participation in industry, 51 per cent of British Telecom will be sold off this year. — London. Liverpool festival An international garden festival on the site of a former garbage dump has been opened in Liverpool by the Queen as part of a drive to reverse the fortunes of the depressed city. Among the exhibits is a floral tribute to the Beatles, Liverpool’s most famous sons, featuring a large yellow submarine. The organisers say that the show, dominated by a huge glass dome and featuring contributions from 28 countries, is the biggest exhibition in Britain in more than 30 years. The festival was conceived after riots in 1981 brought attention to the plight of a city in which traditional industries had collapsed and investment had slowed to a trickle. — Liverpool. Mine to close A South African uranium mine will close because of the dismal state of the world market, its owners say. The General Mining Union Corporation said that the unprofitable Beisa Mine would cease this year because there was no chance of its making money in the foreseeable future. The spot market price of uranium, used in enriched form as a fuel in nuclear power plants, has slumped in recent years. — Johannesburg.