PORTRAIT OF THE WEEK
ATWA jet on a flight between Athens and Rome was hijacked by two Shi'ites who demanded the release of the 766 Shi'ite internees transferred into Israel from southern Lebanon when the Israeli army was withdrawing from Sidon. The plane was flown first to Beirut, where the original hijackers, armed only with gre- nades, were reinforced by ten others. Four American marines among the passengers were singled out for specially brutal treat- ment: two were badly beaten and one was shot dead. The plane shuttled between Algiers and Beirut for a time, while the Americans threatened direct action. The hostages were then, it seems, removed and concealed by Amal in Beirut. The Finnish troops kidnapped by the SLA were re- leased after it became apparent that the SLA soldiers whose return was demanded had defected to Amal and not been cap- tured at all. The American government made strong noises about terrorism in the Middle East — and Congress approved a payment of $27 million in 'humanitarian
aid' to the Nicaraguan Contras. After the South African army raided the capital of Botswana, and killed 15 ANC terrorists, one of them Dutch, and the youngest six years old, the American ambassador to Pretoria was withdrawn for consultations. The trial of three Solidarity leaders in Poland ended in jail sentences of between two and a half and three and a half years for discussing the possibility of a 15-minute strike. A second secretary at the American embassy in Moscow was expelled for spying; in an unrelated move, Russian embassies eschewed the consumption of vodka as part of Mr Gorbachev's campaign against alcoholism. The Portugese govern- ment fell shortly after Spain and Portugal had joined the EEC. A bomb killed two people at Frankfurt airport.
THE IRA killed two policemen and badly injured another. They also let off a 1,000 lb bomb in Belfast that killed nobody. The Queen unveiled a monument to the dead of the Falklands War. The rate of inflation
rose to seven per cent, the highest for two years. Most welfare payments will be raised by this amount but child benefit will go up only two per cent. Paul Boateng was selected as the Labour Party candidate for Brent South, and so seems certain to become the first black Labour MP. Philip Larkin was made a Companion of Honour in a list otherwise distinguished only by honours awarded to a great many people who had helped to clear up after the Brighton bomb last autumn. Sinclair Re- search, the computer firm, was rescued by Robert Maxwell, who bought a controlling interest for £12 million. British Leyland announced a deal with Honda which would keep it in business for the next five years; the Government promised to underwrite the necessary loans. England won the first Test against Australia, but the moment of victory was marred by a pitch invasion. Ian Sullivan, aged 14, was slightly bruised when the dom- fell off a light aircraft a thousand feet above him, and landed on
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