Cable briefs

Press, 15 September 1988, Page 6

Cable briefs

Prince, P.M. agree

Prince Charles and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher have buried their differences and struck a partnership to work towards revitalising Britain’s inner cities, the “Daily Mail’’ reported. The accord was reached during Mrs Thatcher’s week-end stay at Balmoral Castle, the Royal Family’s Scottish retreat. The pair are said to have discussed how Mrs Thatcher could keep her year-old inner city strategy rolling, and how private firms could be encouraged to contribute more to public-sector initiatives. — London. Detainees escape In a dramatic escape, three of South Africa’s most prominent political detainees fled from hospital to the United States consulate in Johannesburg. The three, Murphy Morobe, Mohammed Valli and Vusi Khanyile, had spent a total of 49 months in detention without trial under emergency laws imposed by Pretoria in June, 1986, to quell black unrest. How they slipped away from Johannesburg’s main hospital, where they were taken under guard to undergo physiotherapy, has not been disclosed. — Johannesburg. ‘Nothing new’

Israel says a speech by the P.L.O. leader, Yasser Arafat, in France con-

tained nothing new, but Palestinians said it paved the way to a full political initiative at a Palestine National Council next month. Official spokesmen rejected Mr Arafat’s remarks to socialist leaders at the European Parliament that he planned a Palestinian State with a democratic, multi-party system “on land liberated from Israeli occupation.” — Jerusalem. Nuns, girls seized Unidentified gunmen seized a bus carrying nuns and schoolgirls travelling to see Pope John Paul and were holding them hostage outside the British mission barely two hours before the Pope’s arrival in Lesotho. Witnesses said the bus, in which the passengers were being held at gunpoint, was parked outside the British High Commission in the capital, flanked by two armoured cars. — Maseru, Lesotho. Language charges A decision to charge a New South Wales high school pupil, aged 16, for allegedly swearing at a teacher was supported by Deputy Premier, Wai Murray, yesterday. A Sydney pupil is due to appear in Minda Children’s Court at Lidcombe next month, charged with three counts of offensive language under a new provision of the Summary Offences Act. Mr Murray paved the way for the Act to be used against allegedly abusive

students in June, when he said teachers and principals should be allowed to call in police to lay charges. The maximum penalty for offensive conduct or language under the new Act is three months imprisonment. — Sydney. Korean talks South Korea will accept North Korea’s proposal to hold high-level reunification talks in Pyongyang if the North does not disrupt the Seoul Olympics, State radio said. The radio said the South Korean President, Roh Tae Woo, would announce acceptance after the Games end on October 2. The North , Korean leader, Kim II Sung, proposed last week that the top-level talks be held in Pyongyang. — Seoul. Haiti attack Attackers raided an independent radio station shortly after a second church in two days was burnt down in continuing strife in Haiti. The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Cite Soleil, a sprawling slum on the outskirts of the capital, was destroyed on Tuesday. — Port-au-Prince. Hostage home A West German businessman, Rudolf Cordes, has returned home from 20 months captivity after being released by his Lebanese kidnappers — a freedom Bonn says was won without concessions.

Gaunt but apparently physically healthy, Mr Cordes arrived at Cologne-Bonn airport on a special Air Force jet. — Bonn. Joint N-test The Soviet Union has staged a powerful underground test blast as part of a joint experiment with the United States aimed at establishing how nuclear explosions can be monitored. — Moscow. Asylum sought A suspected Irish Republican Army guerrilla being held in Belgium has applied for political asylum, a Justice Ministry spokesman said. The spokesman said Patrick Ryan, aged 58, who was arrested in Brussels on June 30, made the application but he said Ryan’s chances of success were slim. “Ireland and Britain are democratic countries,” the spokesman said. “You can’t be a political refugee from either of them,” he said. — Brussels. Gunmen kill 13 Sikh militants shot dead 13 people in an attack on a village market in north India’s Punjab state, the police said. They said about six militants opened fire with automatic rifles on crowds in the grain market at Sirhind, about 50km west of the state capital, Chandigarh. About 20 people were hurt, many seriously. — Chandigarh.