Opinion November 29, 1983, Forty Years Ago: Cyprus Resolution

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 29, 1983.

By: Editorial

November 29, 2023 03:00 AM IST First published on: Nov 29, 2023 at 03:00 AM IST

Spyros Kyprianou, President of Cyprus, sought the assistance of Commonwealth countries in the implementation of the Security Council resolution for restoring the territorial integrity and unity of Cyprus. The United Kingdom, one of the three countries which had guaranteed the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Cyprus, had a special responsibility in this respect.

Nigeria Plane Crash

A Nigerian Airways jet, carrying about 74 passengers on a domestic flight, caught fire and crashed near an airport in southern Nigeria, killing at least 53 people. The agency said that there were at least 18 survivors, including the pilot of the Fokker F28 twin-jet aircraft.

Jnanpith Award Win

The Jnanpith award was presented to the Hindi poetess Mahadevi Verma by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher put a tilak on the forehead of the 73-year-old writer and presented the award amid thunderous applause. Mahadevi Verma was presented the award for her works Yama and Deepshikha, adjudged the best work in Indian languages during the pre-1977 period. The citation for the award noted her reaching out towards “the symbolic reality behind nature”.

Historic Space Flight

The ninth US space shuttle mission blasted off, taking with it the European Space Agency’s billion-dollar space lab and the first non-American crew member. Taking off just ahead of an approaching storm, Columbia lifted from its oceanfront launch pad at 11 am on a nine-day mission that will set many precedents. The flight will be the longest and most ambitious ever planned for America’s reusable spaceliner.