Cable briefs

Press, 17 May 1989, Page 10

Cable briefs

Pull-out confirmed A senior United Nations official confirmed on Monday that Namibian nationalist guerrillas had pulled back to Angola and been confined to camps there. The official told Reuters in Luanda that 5166 guerrillas of the South West Africa People’s Organisation paraded at the week-end at Chibemba in southern Angola, where they were counted by United Nations officials. — Luanda. Duke’s friend in crash A close friend of the Duke of York was one of nine servicepeople killed when their Royal Navy Lynx helicopter crashed into the Kenyan bush, it was revealed yesterday. Lieutenant Commander Christopher Fessey served with the Duke on H.M.S. Osprey, where the helicopters are based. Accident investigators flew to Kenya yesterday to probe the cause of Monday’s accident, which happened as the Lynx was heading for the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa.—London. U.S. tests bomb The United States carried out a successful underground nuclear test yesterday at the Yucca Flat test site in the Nevada desert, the Energy Department announced. The device, which the department said was less than 20 kilotonnes in yield, was one of the weakest tested at the site, said a department spokesman. It was the fourth nuclear test announced this year by the United States Government.—Nevada. Soviets out, U.S. in Three United States warships will begin a goodwill visit to Shanghai on Friday, the day after the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, completes his historic China trip, the Defence Department announced yesterday. The department said the arrival date was agreed to in discussions with the Chinese but declined to say if it was intentionally set after Mr Gorbachev’s visit to China, the first by a Soviet leader in 30 years.— Washington. Strike hits commuters It was all systems slow for millions of London commuters yesterday as the capital suffered its worst public transport standstill since a general strike in 1926. Bus and underground train services were halted almost completely as drivers stopped work for the day in a growing pay revolt against Britain’s rising inflation. There were just 11 strike-breaking trains and 10 out of 4000 buses for the 3.5 million people who travel into central London each morning.—London. Teachers strike Twenty thousand Los Angeles teachers went on strike yesterday, causing about half the area’s 600,000 students to stay home, school officials said. The teachers, who last went on strike 19 years ago, want a raise of 21 per cent spread over two years. The city has offered an increase of 21.5 per cent over three years. The teachers are also seeking a bigger say in school decisions. —Los Angeles. Star wins libel suit The pop star George Michael won libel damages of at least £lOO,OOO ($277,000) from a British newspaper which alleged he gatecrashed a party given by the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and was drunk and abusive. Michael’s lawyer, Mr Richard Hartley, said the allegations were false, and the "Sun” newspaper apologised in court—London.