LONDON: Brian Glover, the robust English character actor who liked to joke about his hefty size, died yesterday of complications from a brain tumour. He was 63. Born in the Yorkshire town of Barnsley in the north of England, Glover began his career as a teacher and professional wrestler, turning to acting only in his 30s. He made his film debut in 1969 in the influential low-budget English film Kes,'' directed by Ken Loach, and went on to be a familiar, likable face on TV, in movies, and in the Westend and subsidized theatre. He had supporting roles in, among other films, An American werewolf in London,'' The Company of Wolves,'' Leon the Pig Farmer'' and the Hollywood blockbuster Aliens 3, in which he played Andrews.

Paz critical

MEXICO CITY: Mexican television reported early today that the Nobel prize winning author Octavio Paz is in critical condition at a US hospital. The 83-year-old writer was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1990. He was the first Mexican ever to win the award. Paz was reported to be in a hospital in Rochester, Massachusetts.

Liberia polls

CAIRO: A former warlord has become Liberia's new president winning elections with an overwhelming majority and declaring that he will not be a ``wicked president''. With a clean chit from United Nations which said last week's presidential elections were free, fair and credible, Charles Taylor, who launched a war in Liberia eight years ago to oust dictator Samuel Doe, yesterday pledged to build a new country.

China floods

BEIJING: Flooding and landslides caused by heavy rainstorms earlier this month in southwestern China's Yannan province have killed at least 17 and affected thousands, report seen here today said. Floods also affected 74 total towns -- including 91 villages and 70,000 hectares (172,900 acres) of farmland -- in Qujing prefecture, a Jinping county.

Plane crash

RIO DE JANEIRO: An air force plane crashed in a forest in southeastern Brazil, killing all four officers aboard, the air force ministry said yesterday. The plane, a Brazilian-made, twin-engine Bandeirantes, with the officers and seven parachutists aboard took off on Wednesday from the town of Resende, 100 miles southwest of the capital.

Prisoners' riot

CARACAS: Some 1,600 prisoners incarcerated in Venezuela's prisons were on hunger strike yesterday, reports said. Inmates of the El Rodeo jail east of Caracas began their strike late on Wednesday to draw attention to the constant abuse by prison guards.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.