Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith accepted the proposals reluctantly

England have

The Rhodesian Government has agreed to introduce black majority rule to the country within two years.

Prime Minister Ian Smith announced the news five days after hearing the proposals of the United States-led diplomatic delegation.

The plan presented to him by US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had been formulated by the American and British Governments.

But Mr Smith made it clear he was only accepting the plan under pressure and was not happy with the conditions.

In a broadcast to the nation from the capital Salisbury, Rhodesia's premier outlined the first of six steps agreed with Dr Kissinger.

Aninterimgovernment is to be established and the violent guerrilla warfare being waged by factions of the country's black population must end.

In return international sanctions against the state, which declared its independence from the United Kingdom 11 years ago, would end.

UK Prime Minister James Callaghan welcomed his counterpart's acceptance of the proposals, saying it was a decisive step forward.

"It offers a real hope of bringing peace to Rhodesia and of averting the threat of intensifying warfare and bloodshed," he said.

Despite the hopes of peace Mr Smith announced he was only taking the step reluctantly.

"I would be dishonest if I did not state quite clearly that the proposals which were put to us in Pretoria do not represent what in our view would be the best solution to Rhodesia's problems," he said.

But the prime minister ended his speech by urging his countrymen to make the agreement work.

"I hope all Rhodesians will join with me in dedicating themselves to ensure that there can only be one answer - success," he said. 

Iraqi soldiers fighting in Iran

Iranian officials have confirmed oil exports from the terminal, off the north-west coast of Iran, have been halted and given no indication when they may be resumed.

The fighting began three days ago when the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, ordered a bomb attack against Iran following months of border clashes.

Tension between the two countries has been rising since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was hailed the leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran and took control from Shah Reza Pahlavi in February 1979.

Appeals for an end to the violence from the United Nations Security Council, the secretariat of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the European Economic Community have all gone unheeded.

The worst fighting has been close to the disputed Shatt al arab waterway, which forms Iraq's only access to the Persian Gulf.

The strategic Iranian cities of Khorramshahr and Abadan are said to be holding out against heavy Iraqi pressure, which has been mostly directed at oil facilities there.

Baghdad is demanding recognition of its sovereignty over the Shatt al arab waterway, the lower reaches of which also mark the border between Iraq and Iran.

It has torn up the 1975 Algiers agreement under which Iraq agreed to shift the border with Iran to the middle of the estuary.

Speaking in Baghdad tonight, Iraq's deputy commander in chief of the armed forces, General Adnam Khairalla, left no doubt Iraq would extend the war to achieve its aims, regardless of international or other pressures.

The Foreign Office is advising British ships not to visit Iraqi or Iranian ports and is also discouraging British citizens from visiting Iraq.

Although no general order has been given for the evacuation of British subjects from Iraq, many British families have been fleeing the country and the first have arrived back in the UK today.

Western oil industry officials say there is no immediate threat of a world shortage because the non-Communist world has about 100-days worth of oil in stock.

However, there are fears war between the two sides could lead to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage which forms the gateway to the Gulf, through which much of the oil from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other smaller states is transported.

interim: serving during an intermediate interval of time（臨時的）

evacuation: the act of evacuating; leaving a place in an orderly fashion; especially for protection（撤退）