Arab countries warned of another oil cut to Europe and Japan beginning January 1. Saudi Arabian oil minister Sheik Ahmed Yamani outlined the conditions for ending the oil embargo to the U.S. today on “Meet the Press.” He stated that Israeli withdrawal from Arab territories would cause oil to begin to flow to the United States immediately. The new cutback will be felt, most by Europe and Japan.
Israel has charged that at least 42 Israeli soldiers taken prisoner in October were murdered by Syrian, Moroccan and Iraqi soldiers serving in Syria. The charges were made in document sent this weekend to Secretary General Waldheim, which said that evidence showed captured Israelis had been beaten and knifed, others had been bound and executed, and one soldier’s eyes had been gouged. The document included copy of a complaint to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, asking that it investigate the Israeli accusations of “murder, brutality, and other grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.” Israel requested that copies of the charges also go to members of the Security Council and the General Assembly.
The Israelis made a similar complaint to the Red Cross on November 10, alleging that the bodies of 15 Israeli prisoners had been discovered when their forces advanced into Syrian territory. The accusations were denied by Syrian authorities, including the chief delegate to the United Nations, Haissam Kelani, who said today that he knew nothing of the latest Israeli complaint but that his government had informed Mr. Waldheim that the first Israeli complaint was “completely false.” The Syrian declared that Israel had violated the Geneva Conventions by expelling 24,000 Syrians from their villages. The Geneva Conventions include provisions for investigations, but the cooperation of all parties in a complaint is required before an inquiry can be made. Syria and Israel’s complaints are both pending before the Red Cross.
The Israeli document charged that before the outbreak of fighting on October 6, Syrian soldiers were given orders to remove the identity disks from dead Israelis to make identification difficult. A number of dead Israelis had been found stripped of dentification, which was later discovered in the possession of captured Syrians, the document added. “The Government of Israel,” the document said, “is prepared to furnish the International Committee of the Red Cross with the testimony of Syrian prisoners of war, which points clearly to the identity of the perpetrators of the murders and acts of brutality, and gives particulars on the commanders who ordered these acts.”
A five‐man judicial committee in Jerusalem has been taking top‐secret testimony for the last few weeks from Israeli Cabinet ministers, intelligence specialists and Government officials. The select panel is seeking to answer the major question being asked in Israel: What went wrong that left Israel so unprepared for the combined Arab attack of October 6?
South Vietnamese troops, who were reported to have recaptured the strategic Central Highlands district capital of Kiến Đức today, pulled back today and then made a fresh assault, reports from the field said. First reports said that about 20 government soldiers pushed into the town, 13 miles west of here, and more were moving in behind them. There was no immediate report on casualties. The Saigon troops pulled back to allow air and artillery strikes at North Vietnamese pockets of resistance, government pilots said. The situation was described as confusing and newsmen have been barred from the front. Military sources here said that South Vietnamese A‐37 and A‐1 planes flew 50 strikes against Kiến Đức yesterday and a similar number today. The sources said that an undetermined number of North Vietnamese soldiers were in a strong reinforced bunker near the center of the town, which is about 100 miles northeast of Saigon, “and even 500‐pound bombs can’t knock it out.”
Kiến Đức fell to a North Vietnamese tank assault Tuesday. Acting on direct orders from President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu to retake it, elements of the 23d Division said they successfully counterattacked Friday and met only light resistance. One military source said that there now are indications “that field reports from commanders in the past few days may not have been accurate.” Confusion also surrounded the number of tanks and troops the North Vietnamese have concentrated in the town. “We don’t know whether the North Vietnamese have reinforced, and they still have many small elements around the town,” one military source said.
The Sunningdale Agreement was signed between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with an agreement that the Irish government and the Northern Irish government would both prosecute persons accused of violent crimes, regardless of which part of Ireland where the crime was perpetrated. The agreement also created the 14-member Council of Ireland with seven members from mostly-Catholic Ireland and mostly-Protestant Northern Ireland. The pact was signed in Sunningdale, Berkshire by Prime Minister Edward Heath, Irish premier Liam Cosgrave, and representatives of the Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. The new Council was sworn in on December 31.
A Soviet jetliner crashed short of the runway in landing at a Moscow airport, killing 13 persons, unofficial Soviet sources said. The plane was a TU-104, the kind of aircraft that crashed in October at Domodyedovo Airport, a busy terminal for internal flights. As with the October crash, the jetliner was on a flight from Tbilisi: In the earlier crash, 28 persons were reported killed. Casualty figures could have been higher, however, in both cases. It is not unusual for passengers to ride standing up on the overloaded flights from Tbilisi.
Amnesty International today opens a two-day conference in Paris on the worldwide use of torture. The conference will take place in a private conference center because the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization refused to play host, saying the conference had documentation that criticized some of UNESCO’s member states. Even so, the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the Council of Europe and the Organization of African Unity will take part in the conference. Amnesty International is an organization that seeks to defend the rights of political prisoners throughout the world.
A court hearing was scheduled today in Copenhagen for Mogens Glistrup, controversial leader of Denmark’s Progress Party, over alleged tax violations. No charges have been placed against Glistrup, but police requested the hearing to seek a court order to seize some of Glistrup’s papers. His party emerged as Denmark’s second largest in last week’s elections after promising to abolish the income tax. Glistrup gained prominence two years ago when he told how his law firm kept its clients’ taxes down to almost nothing by taking advantage of legal loopholes.
A majority of the unmarried women in France are against having an abortion even if they have no wish to be pregnant, an opinion poll published in the Paris news magazine L’Express indicated. The survey showed that 56% of the unmarried women polled were against abortion compared to 31% in favor. Another 13% were undecided.
A Roman Catholic priest in Spain who disappeared over the weekend and was reported kidnaped reappeared and was questioned by police in Bilbao. Police sources said a statement was expected today about the disappearance of Rev. Bernabe Benavides. Earlier reports said he had been kidnaped and that his captors had threatened to kill him if authorities did not yield to the demands of six other priests being held in Zamora Prison for political crimes.
Athens military police have closed down the outspoken magazine Christianiki, which had called for a referendum to decide on the country’s future regime and for parliamentary elections. It was the second publication to be closed since the November 25 army coup which ousted George Papadopoulos as president and installed General Phaedon Gizikis. The newspaper Vradyni was closed December 2. A spokesman for the magazine said police told the staff that the magazine would not be published for some time.
The voice of Greece’s primate, Archbishop Ieronymos, was cut off on the state‐owned Athens radio, apparently foreshadowing his ouster as head of the Orthodox Church of Greece. The customary nationwide broadcast of the Sunday service from Athens Cathedral was turned off just as the Archbishop charged that “sinister forces” sought his resignation to stop his efforts to “cleanse” the church.
Five persons were killed in exchanges of gunfire among political rivals today as Turks voted in local elections, officials said. More than 60,000 local officials, including mayors of the large cities, were up for election. Results were expected late tomorrow.
Millions of Venezuelans turned out to vote for new local and national governments. Voters in Venezuela cast ballots for the new president, as well as all 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 47 of the 50 seats in the Venezuelan Senate. Among the first to vote were Social Christian President Rafael Caldera, whose term expires March 11, and many of the 13 candidates seeking to replace him. Venezuela has been governed by democratic governments since the ouster of Perez Jimenez 15 years ago. The Acción Democrática (AD) party gained 36 seats for majority control (102 to 98) over the opposition in the Chamber and nine more seats for control (28 to 19) in the Senate. Carlos Andrés Pérez of the AD was elected president of Venezuela with 48.71% of the vote, over Lorenzo Fernández of COPEI (36.7%) and 10 other candidates.
In Bogota, Colombia, Captain Mark Phillips, husband of Britain’s Princess Anne, was confined to bed, suffering from acute gastroenteritis. The princess went ahead with engagements planned for the first full day of their official visit to Colombia, a stop on their way home from a honeymoon in the Caribbean.
President Nixon played a far more active role in the secret operations of the White House plumbers than either he or witnesses before the Senate Watergate committee have reported, according to the second of two articles on the plumbers group. Interviews in the last few weeks with federal investigators and with dozens of present and former Government officials disclosed that the President developed a close working relationship with the leaders of the plumbers through a series of meetings in the White House in the summer of 1971.
Americans took a second gasless Sunday in stride; 80% of gas stations were closed voluntarily.
Environmental Protection Agency director Russell Train said that Americans can expect dirtier air because of the effort to ease the energy crisis.
Republican leaders rallied to support President Nixon’s public listing of his personal finances and tax returns. Questions of credibility and propriety still exist along with simple accounting questions, however. The President has stated he is willing to pay additional taxes if that is determined to be necessary.
The question of vice-presidential papers donated by Richard Nixon to the federal government remains a touchy subject. Until July of 1969, a president could donate his political papers and claim large tax deductions. “Common Cause” lawyer Ira Tannenbaum declared that President Nixon didn’t make his papers a formal gift to the archives because it lacked a deed of gift. The White House insists that the mere delivery of the papers constitutes a gift even without a deed. Arthur Sampson, in charge of gifts received by the national archives, said that the IRS never questioned him regarding Nixon’s papers.
A White House spokesman stated that further information will be released by the President regarding the ITT case and campaign contributions from the dairy industry.
The theory that having more police cars on patrol reduces the crime rate is being challenged in Kansas City, Missouri. The city’s overall crime rate is average; the police force, formerly headed by current FBI director Clarence Kelley, is considered excellent.
But a recent experiment showed that the crime rate in unpatrolled areas actually dropped by a fraction of a percent, while increased patrols in other areas led to more crime. Chief of police Joseph McNamara said that the results surprised everyone in law enforcement, but many patrol officers were not surprised. Some of them believe that cruising a neighborhood does little to actually prevent crime. The results could signal a change in patrol procedures.
A meeting of Republican leaders in Atlanta showed that President Nixon still has strong support among southern Republicans. National party chairman George Bush attended the conference along with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, John Connally and California Governor Ronald Reagan.
Rockefeller stated that the President has a good record. Reagan noted that the business of governing must again become foremost in the minds of officials, to save America. Connally insisted that Nixon would still win over Senator George McGovern if the election were held again now. Bush believes that Americans will to force their Senators and Representatives to allow President Nixon to resume governing without further interference.
Governor Rockefeller has been using visits to hinterland Republican dinners in the last several months to present the dual message of a happy Republican warrior and a prodigal liberal willing to recant. The resultant applause in places such as Ohio, Arizona, Iowa, and Georgia has been more than just polite. It has been friendly and at times enthusiastic, even in conservative Goldwater country. Last October, Republicans laughed, clapped and even cheered the Governor across the scraps of their steak dinners as he told, in successive nights in Phoenix and Tucson, how he had changed and was now employing stringent antidotes to “welfare culture” idlers and drug addicts.
The Army plans to spend at least $200‐million producing a new type of nerve gas for its larger artillery shells. At the same time, it will cost the Army about as much to destroy the munitions that the new nerve gas will replace. Behind this decision, which ultimately will cost upward of $500‐million, lies a conviction within the Army that the new type of nerve gas represents a “significant improvement in modernizing” its chemical warfare capability.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton have reconciled; plans for a divorce are canceled.
The FTC ruled that Bristol Meyers was falsely advertising its spray deodorant, “Dry Ban”. The ruling will be appealed.
In the week ahead: truck drivers have threatened more work stoppages unless their demands are met; Congress is approaching final action on a bill to deal with the energy crisis; NATO foreign ministers including Henry Kissinger will meet in Brussels to deal with the Mideast war and its aftermath; the Israeli election campaign begins officially with Prime Minister Golda Meir seeking re-election.
On the Georgia-South Carolina border, the river which was used as the setting for the movie “Deliverance” is now attracting amateur river runners. Six people have been killed in attempts to navigate the rapids on the Chattooga River. Expert river runner Claude Terry said that the river is being used by amateurs who are trying to prove their manliness.
“Pajama Game” opens at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC for 65 performances
NFL Football:
In Buffalo, O. J. Simpson, who is pursuing the single-season rushing record held by Cleveland’s Jim Brown, stayed close to form. He edged to within 60 yards of the record by gaining 219 yards as the Bills were trouncing the Patriots, 37—13. All eyes were on Simpson, and Buffalo’s superb running back responded, gaining his 219 yards on 22 carries. He needs 61 yards against the Jets at Shea Stadium next week to break Brown’s record of 1,863 yards for one season. Simpson netted only 43 yards in the first half, but came to life with a 71‐yard sprint to the New England 9‐yard line in the third period. In the final quarter, he ripped off successive gains of 28, 27, 2, and 5 yards. In the second quarter, he had scored from the 6‐yard line. With the Patriots keeping their attention on Simpson, Joe Ferguson threw two touchdown passes to Bob Chandler as the Bills kept their hopes alive for a wildcard playoff berth. Jim Plunkett gained 292 yards for the Patriots on 17 completions in 41 passing attempts.
The Miami Dolphins, the defending Super Bowl champions of the National Football League, took a 10‐game winning streak and some other impressive credentials into yesterday’s game against the Colts at Baltimore. They had held the Colts scoreless for 18 straight quarters since 1971 and had run up a 44—0 triumph earlier this season. The Colts had lost their last six games. Final score: Baltimore 16, Miami 3. With the AFC’s Eastern Division championship clinched and playoff competition only two two weeks away, Coach Don Shula of the Dolphins elected to keep Bob Griese, normally the starting quarterback, on the bench. On a rain‐slick field, he went with Earl Morrall, the 39‐year‐old standby who had thrown only 11 passes all season. A suddenly rugged Baltimore defense allowed Morrall to complete 11 of 22 passes for 153 yards, but held the Miami running game in check. Larry Csonka gained 70 yards, but Mercury Morris was limited to 7 yards on five carries. The Colts ran up a 16—0 lead after three quarters. After a 19‐yard field goal by George Hunt in the first quarter, Lydell Mitchell ran 2 yards for a touchdown in the second period. The clincher for the Colts came on a 2‐yard scoring toss from Marty Domres to Tom Mitchell in the third quarter. The Dolphins averted shutout on a 10‐yard field goal by Garo Yepremian early in the fourth period. Later, Miami failed on two fourth‐down passing attempts deep in Baltimore territory.
The Chicago Bears went meekly to their fifth straight defeat and their 10th of the season as Detroit’s Mel Farr ran for two touchdowns and Bill Munson threw two scoring passes in a 40—7 blowout. Munson helped the Lions score their sixth victory against six losses and a tie by completing 14 passes in 28 attempts for 166 yards. Gary Huff replaced Bobby Douglass at quarterback for the Bears when Douglass hurt his left knee early in the game. Although the game was not televised locally, more than 10,000 ticketholders chose not to watch the Lions close their home season. The victory clinched second place in the Central Division.
The Saints avenged a 40—0 defeat suffered earlier this season at San Francisco and scored their fifth victory in seven games at Tulane Stadium, beating the 49ers, 16—10. Archie Manning started the Saints on the way to the triumph by hitting Jubilee Dunbar with a 37‐yard scoring pass in the first quarter. Manning left the game with a sore arm in the second quarter. Bill McClard then took care of New Orleans scoring with field goals of 19, 20 and 29 yards. The only San Francisco points resulted from a 39‐yard first‐quarter field goal by Bruce Gossett and a 14‐yard touchdown pass from Joe Reed to Ted Kwalick in the final period. An official of the Saints said that Manning’s injury was not believed to be serious. He is expected to play next week at Atlanta when New Orleans will be aiming at a victory that could give the Saints the best season record in their six‐year history.
Isaac Curtis, a wide receiver who is now probably the fastest player in the National Football League caught three touchdown passes today as the Cincinnati Bengals moved toward their second Central Division title in the American Conference with a 34—17 victory over the Cleveland Browns. If the Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who share first place, both win their final game, the Bengals will be awarded the division title because of a better won‐lost record against conference opponents, 8‐3 to 7‐4. The Bengals play Houston next Sunday, the Steelers finish Saturday in San Francisco. If the Bengals and Steelers win, the Bengals will open the American Conference playoffs in Miami while the Steelers, who then would qualify as the wild‐card team, go to Oakland or Denver. The Browns who play in Los Angeles next Sunday retain a slim mathematical possibility as the wild‐card team. Curtis, a 9.3‐second sprinter for 100 yards at San Diego State, spurned the 1972 United States Olympic team because it interfered with football practice there. When the Bengals drafted him in the first round this year, Coach Paul Brown predicted, “He’ll give us the deep threat we’ve never had.” Curtis has fulfilled the prophecy. Curtis’s value to Ken Anderson, the Bengal quarterback, has increased since the return of the other wide receiver, Charley Joiner, in the 27—0 upset of the Minnesota Vikings last week. With the Browns unable to double cover both of them, Anderson completed 11 of 19 passes for 201 yards, five to each wide receiver. “When we have our two outside receivers,” Brown said, “our quarterback is a splendid passer.”
The Falcons’ wild‐card playoff possibilities suffered a jolt as the Cardinals’ Jim Bakken kicked six field goals — one short of his record set in 1967 — to spark the 32—10 upset. The Falcons had jumped to a 10‐0 lead, but then a strong St. Louis defense forced five turnovers and sacked Falcon quarterbacks five times for 47 yards. With Terry Metcalf gaining 100 yards in 18 carries; the Cardinal running attack churned for 243 yards to set up Bakken kicks of 35, 46, 35, 31, 37, and 28 yards. Bakken’s kicking pushed his career point total to 1,002, fifth best on the career list. “We were just starved for a win,” said Coach Don Coryell of St. Louis. “It didn’t make any difference who it was against. It was our best game.” “The team now has no spark, no fight, no grit, no determination,” was the assessment of Norm Van Brocklin, the Atlanta coach.
The Steelers broke a three‐game losing streak and stayed in a tie with Cincinnati for the lead in the Central Division by holding Houston’s total offense to only 95 yards, routing the Oilers, 33—7. Meanwhile, Terry Bradshaw, making his first start at quarterback in six weeks, passed for two touchdowns and Roy Gerela booted four field goals. The Oilers were of immeasurable help to Pittsburgh by losing the ball on fumbles five times and having four passes intercepted. The interceptions lifted the Steelers’ total for the season to 32, a team record. “We played almost the entire game in their half of the field and that’s what you like to do,” said Coach Chuck Noll of the Steelers who can qualify for the playoffs, either as Central Division champions or as a wildcard selection, by defeating the 49ers on Saturday at San Francisco.
Joe Namath, like many souls before him, spent a lost weekend in Philadelphia today, but the trip wasn’t a complete waste for the quarterback who was knocked out of the entire game by a sore right knee. Namath stood on the sideline in an almost steady rain and watched the Jets turn a 17—0 lead into a 24—23 loss to the Eagles. He also saw a National Football League record for ticket holders who stayed away and Harold Carmichael, a Philadelphia wide receiver, complete a 62‐yard touchdown play by running the last five yards backward. The no‐shows — 31,333 or 47 percent of the total tickets sold — played no role in the outcome of the meaningless contest. The missing fans simply stayed dry, at least externally, presumably in front of their television sets. The attendance at the game was 36,421. Roman Gabriel’s touchdown pass to Carmichael, though, played a distinct part in the Eagles’ come‐from‐behind victory. It reduced the Jets’ lead to 17—14 on the fifth play of the third quarter; and six plays from the end of the quarter, John Outlaw intercepted a pass by Al Woodall and raced 45 yards for another Eagle touchdown. After that score, Tom Dempsey, who kicked a 40‐yard field goal in between touchdowns, added the extra point that turned out to be the winning margin. Trailing 24—20, the Jets staged a rally of their own, starting with Bob Howfield’s third field goal, a 41‐yarder with 3:45 left in the game. Then they got the ball back at the Philadelphia 47 with 2:06 remaining, but one run and three passes failed to move them into the field‐goal position they had sought and they accepted their ninth loss in 13 games.
In a game overflowing with spectacular plays on both sides, the Denver Broncos today beat the San Diego Chargers, 42—28, and set up a showdown at Oakland next Sunday for a National Football League division championship and playoff berth. A 19‐point third quarter, added to a 20—14 halftime lead, assured the Broncos their first winning season in the club’s 14‐year history. The victory was their seventh against four losses and two ties. Oakland is 8‐4‐1. Denver must beat the Raiders next week to finish first in the Western Division of the American Conference. A tie would give first place to Oakland. The loser of next week’s game cannot make the playoffs as a wild‐card team. First place puts a team in the playoffs regardless of other teams’ records, but the loser next week cannot have as good a mark as whoever finishes second in the Central Division. This was the most important game a Denver team had ever played, and the Broncos rose to the occasion. They fell behind, 7—0, in the first. 10 minutes after a field‐goal attempt by Jim Turner had been blocked. But they dominated the rest of the half and the third period, outscoring the Chargers, 39—7, over a span of 35 minutes. Then they held on for dear life as the loose but frustrated Chargers, who had won only three of 19 games (counting exhibitions), stormed back with two touchdowns in the first 6½ minutes of the fourth quarter. They had time enough to get two more touchdowns, but Denver wouldn’t yield.
The Washington Redskins ran out of fuel in Texas today as the Dallas Cowboys routed them, 27—7, in a game that should have been tense and exciting but fell short. It came apart in the second period for the Redskins when their usually reliable field‐goal kicker, Curt Knight, missed three times from the Dallas 23, 28, and 37-yard lines. If he had made good those kicks, Washington would have led at half‐time, 9—3. The game came together in the third period for the Cowboys, who scored two touchdowns to take a 17—0 lead. The second of the touchdowns ended a 72‐yard drive that broke the back of the Washington defense, so staunch throughout a long season of travail. The victory brought the Cowboys into a tie with Washington for first place in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference. The decisiveness of the victory, 20 points, assured Dallas of first place in the division and a playoff spot should both teams win their final games next Sunday. The outcome today made it highly probable that the Cowboys would qualify for the eighth year in a row, a record.
George Allen, the Redskins coach, was eminently correct when he said afterwards, “I have to give credit to the Cowboys for playing a super game.” The Dallas quarterback, Roger Staubach, who has had his problems coping with the Redskin defensive team, did a superb job in chopping up that defense. Staubach completed 16 of 25 passes for 223 yards, and many were on plays in which he rolled out to the right or left, breaking the structure of the Redskin zone, and then drilled a short pass to a tight end or a back. Calvin Hill rolled, too. The National Conference’s top ground‐gainer carried the ball 27 times and gained 110 yards, scoring two touchdowns. He also eclipsed the 1,000‐yard season mark, reaching 1,095.
New England Patriots 13, Buffalo Bills 37
Miami Dolphins 3, Baltimore Colts 16
Chicago Bears 7, Detroit Lions 40
San Francisco 49ers 10, New Orleans Saints 16
Cleveland Browns 17, Cincinnati Bengals 34
St. Louis Cardinals 32, Atlanta Falcons 10
Houston Oilers 7, Pittsburgh Steelers 33
New York Jets 23, Philadelphia Eagles 24
Denver Broncos 42, San Diego Chargers 28
Washington Redskins 7, Dallas Cowboys 27
Born:
Stacey Abrams, American politician, lawyer and voting rights activist, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Tony Batista, Dominican MLB third baseman, shortstop, and third baseman (All-Star, 2000, 2002; Oakland A’s, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals), in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Chris Truby, MLB third baseman (Houston Astros, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Devilrays), in Palm Springs, California.
Darnell Stephens, NFL linebacker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), in San Antonio, Texas.
Li Quan, Chinese martial artist; in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, People’s Republic of China.
Died:
Leonid Pervomayskiy, 65, Jewish Ukrainian Soviet poet and Stalin Prize winner.
History Diaries 