US nuclear moratorium
US President George Bush on October 2 signed into law legislation that requires an immediate nine-month halt to nuclear weapons testing. The act mandates that the president submit a schedule for nuclear test ban talks with Russia and requires a plan for achieving a multilateral comprehensive ban on testing before the end of 1996. Following the moratorium, the US will be limited to a maximum of 18 nuclear test explosions and will end all nuclear testing after 1996, unless another nation conducts a nuclear test explosion. Bush had opposed the moratorium, but Congress made it part of an appropriations bill so that it would not be vetoed.
Britain to cut overseas aid
BLACKPOOL — The British Conservative government is preparing to slash its overseas aid budget by £250 million. This follows a steady reduction during the 13-year rule of the Tories, from 0.52% of GNP in 1979 to a measly 0.32% in 1991.
Prime Minister John Major promised only three months ago to steadily increase aid over the next few years. ACTIONAID's director, Martin Griffiths, condemned the move as "completely out of line with the public's own generosity and the level of obvious need throughout the Third World".
Labour pro-nuclear
BLACKPOOL — The Labour Party conference here rejected moves to rid Britain of nuclear power stations — for environmental reasons, of course.
In moving the rejection, engineering union boss Gavin Laird claimed that the government had ignored the environmental advantages of nuclear power. A more preposterous suggestion is hard to imagine: British governments over decades have downplayed or hidden nuclear accidents at several plants. Further, the Thatcher government lied about the true cost of power generated by nuclear energy, understating it by some 150%.
Meanwhile, the Tories are investigating — before rubber-stamping — the feasibility of privatising the nuclear power industry.
Poverty and single parents
LONDON — According to statistics released by the General Household Survey, the traditional family grouping of two parents and children is now only the third largest household grouping.
Single parent families are more likely to live in rented accommodation lacking amenities such as central heating. Fifty-three percent of these have incomes below $240.
In Ireland, a report by the Combat Poverty Agency shows at least 50,000 families with children under 18 are headed by a single parent, usually a woman. Such households have the lowest per capita income in
Broadcasting ban
LONDON — The BBC has demanded an end to the ban on broadcasting the words of members of certain organisations from the north of Ireland, notably Sinn Fein. It has been enforced since 1988.
This was only after a storm of criticism of the BBC for censoring an interview with Bernadette McAliskey. She is not a member of any party, so the ban should not have applied to her.