Cable briefs

Press, 25 May 1984, Page 6

Cable briefs

Marcos move President Ferdinand Marcos. stung by election setbacks. has ordered a special National Assembly session that is expected to rubber - stamp a bill that would allow him to appoint 18 more members of the legislature. Mr Marcos has scheduled a special session on Monday of the old assembly to consider a bill increasing the membership of the new assembly from 200 to 218. The 18 new members will be appointed by the President.—Manila. Italian gas deal Italy has signed a longpostponed contract to buy Siberian natural gas on terms described by the Italians as internationally competitive and favourable to Italy. More than two years ago Italy suspended talks on buying up to eight billion cubic metres of the Soviet gas annually from Siberia to protest against the martial law crack-down in Poland, but the negotiations were reopened recently. France. West Germany, and Austria earlier signed agreements to buy the gas, from the Urengoi field in western Siberia Deliveries would start at the end of this year. Italian officials said.—Moscow. Diaries charges A Hamburg court has indicted a reporter and a Naziregalia dealer or. fraud charges in the century's biggest literary hoax, the' SUS 3 6 million sale of the bogus Hitler diaries. The indictment alleged that the reporter, Gerd Heidemann knew the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler were counterfeit but convinced his employer, "Stern" magazine, to pay the huge sum of money for them. Konrad Kujau was charged with receiving at least 1U5573.000 from Heidemann for forging the diaries. —Hamburg. Police acquitted Five policemen have been acquitted of the manslaughter of a 16-year-old Aboriginal, John Pat.'at Roebourne, Western Australia. They pleaded not guilty to unlawfully killing Pat on September 28 last year.---Karrafea.