PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
`if you do that again, we won't sell you any more arms.'
The Prime Minister proposed a Euro- pean Magna Carta entrenching basic hu- man rights. The IRA failed to kill Lord. Armstrong, the former Cabinet Secretary, with a bomb which fell off a car parked at an address he left six years ago. Arthur Scargill came under more pressure after Colonel Gaddafi said that Libya gave money to the National Union of Mine- workers during its strike, a suggestion Mr Scargill has always denied. Strikes for better safety and union recognition affected repair and maintenance on North Sea oil rigs. Nicholas Ridley, formerly Secretary for Trade and Industry, said there was widespread support for his warn ings on the threat from German dominance in Europe. The parliamentary recess began. with Labour showing a 14.5 per cent lead in the polls over the Conservatives. Mid- land Bank announced that it is to shed 4,000 jobs. The Lord Chancellor said that experienced judges and magistrates would be specially trained for court cases involv- ing children. It was reported that more than 5,000 farmers are being forced to sell land, cottages, and other assets in order to remain solvent. The Queen Mother cele- brated her 90th birthday. The Prince of
Wales agreed to give the plaster cast on his broken arm to be raffled in aid of a church roof. Britain recorded its highest tempera- ture since records began, with 98.8F in the shade at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. Elton John, the singer, sold Watford foot- ball club for £6 million. A depressed man threw himself over a 90-foot cliff near Brighton, but remained entirely uninjured and was able to walk back up.
IRAQI forces under President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and took control. Around 700 citizens of Kuwait were thought to have died. The United Nations voted with only two abstentions (Yemen and Cuba) for a total ban on trade with Iraq. Saddam failed to persuade Turkey to remain neutral, but King Hussein of Jor- dan, situated between Israel and Iraq, stayed loyal to his Muslim brother. Presi- dent Bush sent troops of the 82nd Air- borne Division and aircraft to Saudi Ara- bia, after satellite photographs showed Iraqi troops close to Saudi Arabia's bor- der. Britain also sent support forces, and Saudi Arabia moved troops to its threatened border. There were reports that Americans and Europeans in Kuwait were being taken to Baghdad, possibly to deter American bombing, but 'reports from Jor- dan said all foreigners would be allowed to leave Iraq. The price of petrol rose sharply around the world and share prices fell. Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakis- tan, was deposed by the President for rumoured corruption and for 'undermining the constitution'. An indefinite curfew was ordered on all cities in the Kashmir Valley including the capital, Srinagar. The Afri- can National Congress suspended its armed struggle against white rule in South Africa. US Marines entered Liberia to airlift out Americans and other nationals. West African countries, including Nigeria, agreed to send troops in to end Liberia's deadlock. Fifty Tamil Tiger rebels were killed by government troops at Fort Jaffa in northern Sri Lanka. The Vatican announced that many priests were leaving the Church because they felt misunder- stood. The former Archbishop of Atlanta, Georgia resigned his post after his two- year affair with a singer became public. A Nigerian judge was sacked for dissolving a marriage and then marrying the divorced wife.
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