December 26

Mr Rushdie is still in hiding

England have

Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said the death sentence on writer Salman Rushdie for alleged blasphemy will remain in force.

He rejected the author'srepentanceand recent decision not to publish a paperback edition of the novel The Satanic Verses which was deemed offensive to the Islamic faith.

Tehran Radio quoted Ayatollah Khameini as saying the decree by his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini "remains unchanged even if he repents and becomes the most pious man of his time".

The Indian-born novelist has been in hiding under police guard since Ayatollah Khomeini ordered his death 22 months ago.

He renewed his faith in Islam on Christmas Eve and disassociated himself from the anti-Muslim sentiments expressed by characters in his book.

His decision came after talks with Muslim moderates, including Egyptian officials, and was an attempt to smooth over his differences with the Islamic community and come out of hiding.

Mr Rushdie said he believed it was "the beginning of the end" for the death threat and he pledged not to permit further translations of The Satanic Verses and to "continue to work for a better understanding of Islam".

But Ayatollah Khamenei was adamant the 'divine ruling' was irrevocable.

He said the efforts of "certain pseudo-Muslim persons" would not change the Iranian fatwa of 1989.

The Ayatollah inherited the mantle of supreme spiritual guide of the Iranian revolution when Ayatollah Khomeini died in June last year and his authority is unlikely to be challenged in Tehran.

His decision was backed by some Muslim scholars in Britain.

Mr Mohammed Siddiqi, leader of Britain's Muslim Youth Movement, reiterated demands for a withdrawal of all copies of The Satanic Verses and for a pledge the novel would never be published in any form again.

The UK Action Committee on Islamic Affairs acknowledged Mr Rushdie had taken a step in the right direction, but said he should have withdrawn The Satanic Verses from circulation.     

Lillian Board won several medals at international level

Miss Board, who turned 22 on 13 December, died at the Munich University Hospital today, where she was undergoing treatment for Crohn's Disease, an inflammation of the intestine.

The athlete's doctor Dr Josef Issels said Miss Board died after a "terrible series of complications".

She entered his controversial clinic in the Bavarian Mountains on 7 November but after a series of setbacks she was transferred five days ago to the hospital in Munich, West Germany.

There she underwent surgery to relieve an intestinal blockage, the third such operation she had had, but she deteriorated shortly afterwards.

The twice European Gold medallist and Olympic silver medallist who set three world records on the track, died late in the afternoon after she slipped into a coma on Christmas Eve.

Parents George and Francis, her twin sister Irene and her brother George were at her bedside.

Tributes have been flooding in for Miss Board.

The Queen and Prince Philip and Prime Minister Edward Heath are among those who have sent private messages of sympathy to Miss Board's family.

Miss Board ran her final race in June over 800 metres in the Women's AAA Championship at London's Crystal Palace.

Pains forced her to withdraw from Britain's squad for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and tests revealed her illness.

In 1967 she strode from fourth to first position in Los Angeles for the British Commonwealth to beat the world record holder Judy Bullock over 400 metres.

In the Mexico Olympics in 1968 she was pipped to the winning line in the 400m race by Colette Besson of France, despite recording a British record time of 52.12 seconds.

In 1969, she won the European 800m title as well as anchoring the 4x400 metres relay to a thrilling victory over France against Miss Beeson.

Both teams were credited with a world record time of 3:30.8.

Miss Board was awarded an MBE this year for her contribution to sport.

repentance: remorse for your past conduct（后悔，悔改）