Cable briefs

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 6

Cable briefs

Fiji strike About 50 firemen went on strike in the Suva area yesterday in what observers said could be a test case for union rights in Fiji. Lifting of restrictions on union activity was , a key issue in the decision by Australian and New Zealand trade union organisations last year to end trade bans on Fiji after the two military coups. The firemen’s walkout to protest a 15 per cent pay cut was the country’s first union led strike since the first coup in May. — Suva. New witness A United States-based Filipino has agreed to testify on who plotted the assassination of Benigno Aquino and on payoffs made to the man originally said to have pulled the trigger, a State prosecutor said. Raul Gonzales, chief prosecutor in the trial of 37 men charged with Mr Aquino’s murder, said the witness “promised to name names” in what he said could be the most devast-

ating testimony by anyone in the long-running case. — Manila. Soldiers killed Seven Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with Tamil separatist guerrillas in Sri Lanka in the last two days as the rebels continued their fight for an independent state, security sources said. The clashes flared as the Sri Lankan President, Junius Jayewardene, and Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, reviewed in New Delhi the implementation of a peace pact under which 37,000 Indian troops have been deployed on the island. — Colombo. Policy ‘appalling’ A leader of the American Jewish Congress said Israel’s policy of beating Palestinian protesters was “appalling and repugnant” and urged it to end repression in occupied territories. The statement by Henry Siegman, the A.J.C.'s executive director, was the severest criticism so far by an established

American Jewish organisation of Israel’s handling of Palestinian demonstrations. “There are certain lines that no civilised society can allow itself to cross even in the face of extreme provocation,” Mr Siegman told a news conference on his return from a fact-finding visit to Israel. — New York. Palestinian aid The European Economic Community has voted to provide food aid worth $815,340 to the Palestinians of the occupied territories. The aid, for the purchase, transport and distribution of food, brings to $1.17 million the total aid granted by the E.E.C. since disturbances broke out in the occupied territories seven weeks ago. — Brussels. Swiss A.I.D.S. Switzerland still has the highest incidence of A.I.D.S. in Europe, with 355 cases reported in 1987 compared with 192 in 1986, says the Interior Ministry. There were 54 cases of A.I.D.S. per

million inhabitants, a higher proportion than in any other European country. By the end of 1987, 184 people had died of the disease in Switzerland. — Berne. Student fees up. British universities are to increase fees for their 38,000 overseas students by TO per cent next year. Current fees for arts courses are £3690 ($9889) a year, £4840 ($12,971) for science and £8960 ($24,012) for clinical courses such as medicine. — London. Vitamin sell-out British parents are rushing to buy vitamins in a bid to boost their children’s intelligence, say retailers. The rush was touched off by a television report that a daily vitamin dose could increase children’s IQ, or curb aggressiveness. — London. Nodule claims Four countries have been granted permission to exploit polymetallic nodules on the sea bed, it

has been revealed. France, the Soviet Union, India and Japan have each been awarded claims to 52,300 sq km of seabed by the United Nations. Specialists believe it will take at feast 10 years before new techniques are developed to allow exploitation of the mineral aggregates, resting on the sea bed. at depths of 5000 to 6000 m. —Paris. Bankruptcy auction The four-day bankruptcy auction of personal possessions belonging to former United States Treasury Secretary, John Connally, raised SUS 2.7 million. Mr Connally, a former Texas governor who served in the Cabinets of two Presidents and was wounded during the 1963 assassination of President John Kennedy, went broke during the Texas oil and real estate recession. He fifed for bankruptcy protection six months ago when his real estate ventures turned sour. — Houston.