Cable briefs

Press, 15 October 1986, Page 10

Cable briefs

Shooting accidental A probationary constable who died on Monday was accidentally shot by a friend who had been handling his service revolver, the police said yesterday. The friend had believed that the revolver was empty. Constable Robert Francis Mackay, aged 18, an Australian Federal Police probationary constable, was shot at his home in Gilmore, South Canberra. — Canberra. Lead level halved Government moves to reduce the amount of lead in petrol have cut the level of lead in the atmosphere in Britain by half, says the Environment Minister, Mr William Waldegrave. Britain ordered the lead content in petrol to be cut by 60 per cent in December, last year. Petrol now must contain only 0.15 gm of lead a litre, reckoned by scientists to be the lowest level needed by most cars on the road today. — London. Pigs sniff drugs . Sniffer pigs may be the latest weapon in the war against drug trafficking. A

meeting of European Community Ministers next week will discuss a recommendation that pigs replace dogs at customs checkpoints. The West German police have been using a 150 kg pig named Luise who has made two big hashish finds in the last month. Pigs are said to have a better sense of smell than dogs. — London. Airwaves clean-up More than 200 Turks were charged with swearing or using bad language over Citizens’ Band radio transmitters in a recent police crackdown. The Anatolian news agency said 130 radio-users had already been convicted and fined up to 30,000 lira ($B4) each. — Ankara. Biggest pumpkin An annual search for the “biggest pumpkin in the world” has been won by a United States farmer, Robert Gancarz, of Jacobstown, New Jersey, with a 304 kg pumpkin. Weigh-offs were held in other points in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Wales, Italy, and Australia, but no-one could top Gancarz’ entry, which won him SUS4OOO ($7800). — New York.