Decision on M.I.G. deal
In the Lok Sabha, the Defence Minister, Mr. V.K. Krishna Menon replied in the negative to a question whether arrangements for the purchase of M.I.G. planes or equivalent planes and manufacture of that type of aircraft had been finalised. He told the House that offers had been received from more than one source and they were under examination. Mr. Menon added, “It is not in public interest to disclose the details.” As was expected, there was a volley of questions meant to elicit more details.
Tree leaves used as food
Powdered tree leaves mixed with flavoured water are eaten by many people in China to ward off hunger, a refugee said on arrival in Toronto. Yan Wing Hong, 31-year-old former bus driver in Canton, said people everywhere in China were dissatisfied with the Communist regime because of food shortage. He fled to Hongkong and was one of five refugee families to arrive in Toronto on August 7 — the first of 100 admitted by the Canadian Government. Another refugee, a Shanghai car mechanic, said his food in China consisted of a Government rationed mixture containing 20 per cent rice and 80 per cent synthetic substitute. Oil, meat or eggs were almost unknown in his part of China, he said.
Ban on raising pigs
The Israeli Government have made it illegal to raise pigs anywhere in Israel except in seven enclaves in Galilee. Pig farmers elsewhere in the country will be given a year to dispose of their swine. Anyone convicted of raising the animals after this, except for display in a public zoo or for scientific purposes, will be liable to a fine of £ 1,185.
A surgical feat
Less than an hour after a workman’s hand was severed in an accident in Chicago on August 6, four surgeons began a five-hour operation to re-attach it to his arm. The surgeons, who said it would not be known for at least 48 hours whether the operation, on 48-year-old Arthur Holmes, had been successful, however, added the major arteries, veins, and bones of the hand had been re-attached to the arm and the pulse had started to beat again.
