In England, Once Again, a Man’s Home Is His Castle

London already had its share of royalty, but now it is also home to an emperor. Ahma Selassie I announced his ascension to the Imperial Throne of Ethiopia, a throne last held by his father, Haile Selassie, who was deposed in a 1974 military coup that established the Marxist government that rules his country. Surrounded by his family in his London apartment, the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah claimed the throne wearing a blue suit and sitting on a simple chair. The members of the royal court-in-exile said they believe that the current government will not last in Ethiopia, which is one of the world’s poorest countries, is torn by civil war and has repeatedly suffered from famine. Seated beside the 73-year-old emperor was his wife, Empress Medferiash Work, who wore a white robe. Asked when her husband might return to Ethiopia, she said: “Since the Ethiopian people are fed up to the teeth with being oppressed and murdered at random, then the will of God should be the decider--soon.” The emperor says he wants to return as a constitutional monarch and establish a democracy.

--Actress Patty Duke delivered petitions signed by 400,000 relatives of mental illness victims to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on labor, health and human services, and pleaded with the panel for more federal spending on mental health research. Speaking on behalf of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Duke said: “There is treatment. You do get well. Having been through it, you don’t want others to go through it.” The actress, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker,” described her battle against manic-depression in the autobiography “Call Me Anna.” The alliance seeks a $157-million increase in the $345-million National Institutes of Mental Health budget. “You’re asking for $502 million. That’s less than the cost of one B-2 bomber,” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said.

--John A. Zaccaro Jr., claiming that he was singled out for prosecution because he is the son of former vice presidential nominee Geraldine A. Ferraro, has appealed his conviction for selling cocaine to an undercover agent. Zaccaro served four months of house arrest but the Vermont Supreme Court could remove the felony from his record if it rules in his favor.