A.E.U national committee &apos;s demand may cost &amp;pound;30 million . engineers &apos; three-week holiday call . revised pay basis claim . the resumed conference of the A.E.U national committee at Eastbourne today passed a resolution reaffirming the demand for a third week &apos;s holiday , and eight statutory holidays with pay for three million workers . it also asked for a revision of holiday pay to be based on average earnings for all and a minimum of &amp;pound;2 13 s 6 d a day for time workers . it is estimated that this claim , if conceded , would cost the employers between &amp;pound;25 to &amp;pound;30 million a year . Mr L Smith ( Sidcup ) , the mover , said that many employed in public service already had three weeks holiday and also many white collar workers , including draughtsmen , who were winning the day in negotiations with individual firms . he thought Britain was lagging behind many on the continent who had longer holidays . work strain . Mr W J Daniel ( Worcester ) urged that it was vitally necessary to have longer breaks from work because of the stress and strain of working 50 weeks in the year . mental hospitals and homes are being filled because of the strain of modern industry , he declared . I think we can get the British medical association and hospital authorities on our side on this , he said . Mrs M E Sparks ( Birmingham ) said that employers were beginning to recognise that tea breaks were necessary because they revitalised the workers &apos; energy . under automation work was getting more monotonous and that was bringing mental and bodily illness . new grade . Mr W J Carron ( President ) pointed out that in some sections of industry , under the pressure of the rank and file , increased holidays had been agreed based on length of service and other qualifications . there had also been an extension of a new grade known as manual staff where attractions , including longer holidays , were being offered to the rank and file and were being accepted . short-time figures slashed in car factories . improvement in the motor industry situation was reflected in figures issued after today &apos;s monthly meeting of the midland regional board for industry . the number of people estimated to be on short time has dropped from a total of 29,400 including 21,500 car workers a month ago , to a total of 12,000 including just under 8,000 car workers . the total number unemployed in the last month has fallen by 2,800 to just over 29,000 . Major C R Dibben , chairman of the board , told a press conference , that most workers in the industry were now back to a full working week . although the revival in car sales appears to be largely in the home market and difficulties in the exports &apos; markets have continued , there is hope in the industry that the success of British cars at recent motor shows abroad foreshadows further increases in activity in the industry during the next four or five months , he said . export campaign . in Coventry , on April 10 , there were 3,440 unemployed including 700 on short time . a greater awareness of the need for exports by midland manufacturers was reported by Mr C J Holman , regional director of the board of trade . as a result of the government &apos;s export campaign , inquiries to the board &apos;s Birmingham offices from firms had increased by 55 per cent . they came from about 600 firms all over the midlands . a change to a decimal coinage system : as quickly as possible was recommended by the regional board after hearing views of members . motor exports down in first quarter . car exports for the first quarter of this year at 85,219 , represented the lowest quarterly figure since 1956 , the board of trade said today . it was 5,000 below the figure for the final quarter of 1960 and nearly 100,000 below that for the first quarter of 1960 . car output for the quarter , at 218,003 , was well below any quarterly figure for 1959 and 1960 . but the board &apos;s monthly statistics showed a brighter picture for commercial vehicles . the totals for exports in the quarter , at 48,358 and production , at 119,745 , were both well above corresponding figures for any quarter in 1959-60 . ( motor industry expansion hopes questioned - page 6 . ) Algerian paratroop attack beaten off . first shots in revolt . first fighting in the Algeria revolt broke out today when loyal forces repulsed an attempt by paratroops to storm the naval base of Mers el Kebir , near Oran , western Algeria . according to official sources quoted by the French agency a French light cruiser fired warning shots as paratroops approached the base . unconfirmed reports said troops and marines resisted the attack and the paratroops withdrew soon afterwards . two battalions of French motorised infantry were reported to have crossed the Rhine into France today , as the armed forces ministry announced the recall of troops and armour from the 60,000 strong force in Germany to strengthen the Paris area . the capital had passed a second night of vigil against a possible airborne invasion from Algeria . food rush . it was also announced that 10,000 reservists had been recalled and the 16th infantry division put on a war footing . a message from President De Gaulle will be read to the French national assembly and Senate this afternoon . the French grocers &apos; federation appealed to people today not to create a rush on foodstuffs . they said there was no reason to fear a food shortage . the appeal follows a rush by Parisian housewives yesterday to stock up with food . Laos cease-fire near ? the royal Laotian government has accepted the appeal made yesterday by the co-chairmen of the Geneva agreement ( the British and Soviet foreign Ministers ) , for a cease-fire in Laos . a foreign office spokesman said in London today : we very much welcome the royal Laotian government &apos;s acceptance of the cease-fire appeal . the Soviet government is taking steps to bring the cease-fire appeal to the notice of the left-wing Pathet Lao forces . move for coach drinks fails . a move to enable alcoholic drinks to be sold to passengers in public vehicles on specified services was defeated today . Mr William Clark , conservative M.P for Nottingham South , proposed a new clause to the government &apos;s licensing bill so that such drinks could be permitted . he told the standing committee on the bill : you can eat in a long-distance coach in this country , you can softly drink , but you can not have alcoholic drink . Mr Marcus Lipton ( Lab , Brixton ) said he supported the new clause but he would not like to see 24 hours drinking going on - combined cruising and boozing while enjoying the beauties of the countryside . public concern . Mr Dennis Vosper , Minister of state , home office , said there ought not to be a close association of alcohol and road transport when there was so much public concern about road accidents . Mr Harold Boardman ( Lab , Leigh ) said : miners hire a private coach and fill up the boot with beer cases . people come down for the cup final in coaches carrying more beer bottles than passengers . ( laughter . ) Ceylon cabinet orders general mobilisation . the Ceylon government today ordered general mobilisation and called out on active service nine units of volunteers and reservists of the army , navy , air force and home guards . the units were ordered to report for duty immediately . the Prime Minister , Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike , said in a broadcast to the nation today that the government had received information that various other organisations besides the recently banned opposition federal party were secretly planning to undermine the government . death penalty . the estate strike yesterday morning was aimed at this and certain elements were using the bank clerks &apos; strike to cause great economic harm to the country , she declared . Mrs Bandaranaike called upon all patriotic Ceylonese to give their full support to the government . by a proclamation last night , the death penalty for looting and arson , and other punishment for offences such as the breaking of bridges , obstruction to roads and damage to buses and trains was extended to the whole of the island . the measures had previously applied only to certain areas affected by recent trouble in Ceylon , arising out of a civil disobedience campaign in the Tamil-speaking northern and eastern provinces against the adoption of Sinhalese as the official language . London Jew faces Eichmann after 23 years . a British estate agent , Mr Moliz Fleischmann , of St John &apos;s Wood , London , told the court trying Adolf Eichmann , today , of the occasion 23 years ago when he faced the Nazi leader across a desk in the Gestapo &apos;s Vienna headquarters . Mr Fleischmann , a former Jewish leader in Vienna , where he was born , escaped on one of the last trains out of the city before the outbreak of war . in March , 1938 , he and other Jewish leaders were called to the Hotel Metropole , Gestapo headquarters , and taken before Eichmann . he sat at a large desk - we had to stand , Mr Fleischmann said . he was in uniform , the black S.S uniform which became very familiar to us later . he told us his task was to purify Vienna and Austria from Jews in the quickest possible way . today , as he recalled those words , Mr Fleischmann again faced Eichmann . the witness box from which he spoke is directly opposite the bulletproof glass-covered dock in which Eichmann sat . the influence of Eichmann &apos;s activity and the fear which developed in the heart of Viennese Jewry was felt immediately , said Mr Fleischmann . part of Mr Fleischmann &apos;s testimony added to the mystery of Eichmann &apos;s birth . he said that at the Vienna interview Eichmann told him : I speak Hebrew and Yiddish fluently because I was born in Sharona ( a German community near Tel Aviv , Israel ) . but in interrogation Eichmann has told his captors that he was born at Solingen , Germany , and can not understand how the idea got about that he is Palestine-born . protest over Berkswell footpaths . three Berkswell footpaths and one at Bickenhill , which are all used by visitors , ramblers and residents in the areas , should not be closed , Meriden R.D.C is to tell British railways . asking for closure orders , British railways say the footpaths cross railway lines and will be affected by the Coventry-Birmingham main line electrification scheme . people who live in the neighbourhood and ramblers were asked their opinion before Meriden R.D.C came to its decision . Berkswell parish council strongly opposes any proposal to close the footpath which runs from the south of Truggist Lane , crossing the railway line short of the eastern side of Berkswell station . association &apos;s evidence . it considered that this path was an important right of way linking the southern part of the parish with the village and the church . the ramblers &apos; association also confirmed that this path was used by their Coventry-based clubs . the association provided evidence to prove that paths which linked Kenilworth Road with Wootton Lane and Bradnocks Marsh Lane were frequently used , although the parish council raised no objections to closures . the closing of a fourth footpath , connecting Old Station Road with Church Lane , Bickenhill , is being opposed by the local parish council and the ramblers &apos; association . bill gives licensees more protection . Coventry and Leamington members of the midlands womens &apos; auxiliaries who attended their association &apos;s annual rally at Sutton Coldfield yesterday were told that the new licensing bill would bring more protection from teenage drinkers as well as more competition . nearly 400 wives and relatives of licensees belonging to the association were at the rally . they are responsible for a great deal of charity work , both nationally and in the licensed trade . going continental . they were told by Rear-Admiral W G Brittain , director of the national trade development association , a body which helps to co-ordinate relations between the brewer and the publican , that under the new bill the penalty for under-age drinkers would go up from &amp;pound;2 to &amp;pound;25 . I hope that will choke off some of them from their games and give you a more peaceful life in your houses , he said . Rear-Admiral Brittain said the government had clearly decided that the country must go continental and give drink licenses to restaurants and boarding houses . for better or for worse this would bring competition to the licensed trade . he said : that leads us to the importance of catering , but it does n&apos;t have to be a Ritzy meal . 