A daily pick of news events that happened on this day in history from the pages of Gulf News dated April 19, 1979.
From concrete to culture
His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah said, he will surprise the youth in the near future with a new plan that will help them become more interested in cultural fields. He said that it was time now to stop the concrete revolution and replace it with a cultural one. He expressed his hope that the youths in the area will co-operate with his ambitious plan towards creating a cultural base that includes literature and the arts.
Tunisian Government has nominated Shazili Al Galeby, the Tunisian Minister of Information, to replace the former Secretary General of the Arab League, who resigned lately. The League, currently operating from Tunis, has notified all member states of this nomination.
Thousands defy leaders and vote
Thousands of black voters, defiantly deaf to guerrilla leaders calls to boycott elections in embattled Rhodesia, continued to flock to polling stations. Hundreds were for the second day of five days of polling queuing before voting started at 7.00am outside polling stations, ringed by sand bags and guarded by soldiers and troops against guerrilla threats to sabotage the exercise.
Brezhnev re-elected
Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin were re-elected as the Soviet Union's President and Prime Minister at a meeting of the Supreme Soviet. The nomination of the 72-year-old Brezhnev, President for the past two years and Communist Party Leader since 1964, was proposed by Mikhail Suslov, another member of the party's ruling Politburo.
Top art dealer gets 3 years
One of France's leading art dealers, Paul Petrides, 77, was sentenced to three years' jail for receiving stolen paintings. His conviction with six other accused capped a trial which rocked the Parisian art world with evidence of the sale abroad of stolen masterpieces without effective controls by customs or museum authorities. Passing sentence, Judge Jean-Michel Guth said Petrides' offence was particularly serious since he was an acknowledged expert, who was even consulted by the French customs on the authenticity and origin of paintings.
