News In Brief

Some British ports struck, but union split has grown

Longshoremen at half a dozen British ports joined a nationwide dock strike Tuesday, but workers at 11 others decided to stay on the job. The votes indicated a growing split over the five-day-old strike called by union leaders to support striking coal miners. The 25-week-old miners' dispute over the state-run National Coal Board's threat to close 200 unprofitable mines and cut 20,000 jobs has idled three-quarters of the country's 175 mines.