“A Proclamation for Dissolving the Present Parliament, and Declaring the Calling of Another” was issued in the United Kingdom, which normally would have been made by Queen Elizabeth II, but was issued instead by the Queen Mother and by the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, in their roles as two of the six “Counsellors of State” “during the period of Her Majesty’s absence from the United Kingdom” after “having received the express instructions of Her Majesty”. At the time, Queen Elizabeth was in New Zealand for the Commonwealth Games.
Britain’s coal miners’ union decided today to go ahead with a national strike Sunday, rebuffing an appeal by Prime Minister Heath to postpone it until after the February 28 election. The decision means that the election campaign will be fought amid labor strife and continued emergency measures, such as a three-day work week ordered by the government for most industries. Some Conservative leaders said privately that the strike should help their party, but Labor party leaders withheld public comment on the miners’ decision.
IRA bombs wrecked utility wires and grocery store in the border villages of Crossmaglen and Colloville in Ulster today. Gun battles were reported in the area. A British army spokesman said, but security forces were not involved. No casualties were reported.
A Beirut newspaper, An Nahar, reported today from Baghdad that France and Iraq were negotiating a billion‐dollar oil deal. It said that the broad lines of the agreement were being negotiated by France’s Foreign Minister, Michel Jobert, during a three‐day visit to the Iraqi capital that began Wednesday. An Nahar’s correspondent said that he was told: “France is to put up more than one billion dollars to finance Iraqi armament projects and industrialization plans. Under this formula, Iraq would submit lists of arms needs, industrialization and technological assistance, especially in the field of oil industry, on a stage‐by‐stage basis. Iraq is to pay in cash at the end of each stage and then deliver an equivalent amount of crude oil for which France is to pay in cash.”
Five Palestinian guerrillas who seized the Japanese embassy in Kuwait released their diplomatic hostages and flew to Southern Yemen on a Japanese airliner. The plane had carried four other extremists from Singapore, where they had tried to blow up an oil refinery.
Egyptian President Anwar el‐Sadat has shelved plans to revise his Cabinet and will continue as his own Premier until “every inch” of Israeli‐occupied Egyptian territory has been recovered, the authoritative newspaper Al Abram said today. At the same time, the newspaper reported, an but military censorship of the Government owned Egyptian press will be lifted, beginning tomorrow, and preparations for partial demobilization of the Egyptian Army are being started, through a Presidential letter to all soldiers asking them to state their wishes for their futures. This was the first hint to be given here that a part of the army might be demobilized as a result of the initial disengagement on the Suez Canal front. The strength of the Egyptian forces has never been disclosed here, but reports from abroad usually use the figure of 300,000 men. The paper’s announcement of the President’s plans for his Cabinet, relaxation of censorship and preparations for partial demobilization was made personally by All Amin, Al Ahram’s new editor. He returned from political exile last month and a week ago replaced Mohammed Hassanein Heykal, the once‐powerful confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, in the editorship.
The Israeli armed forces radio said today that Egyptian forces had blown up several of their missile sites on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, in accordance with the disengagement agreement with Israel. The report said that Egyptian demolition teams had recently been seen destroying four of the five antiaircraft Missile pads installed in the Sinai desert since the end of the Middle East war of last October. The radio also quoted a United Nations official as having said that Egypt had withdrawn three divisions from the canal’s eastern bank, leaving two divisions to man defense lines permitted under the disengagement agreement.
Premier Golda Meir told Israeli settlers on the Golan Heights today that she considered Syrian territory occupied before the October war an “inseparable part of Israel,” the state radio said. The broadcast quoted Mrs. Meir saying that Israel would not pull back from Syrian territory beyond the cease‐fire lines that were established after the 1967 war. She was addressing settlers who had voiced fears that a disengagement pact with the Syrians would leave them homeless.
Cambodian Government forces said they strengthened their positions south of Phnom Penh today, routing rebels from two strategic points and killing more than 120 of them. The insurgents were reported by a Cambodian field commander to have transferred 3,000 troops, including a battalion of girls and women, from positions 80 miles from the capital to its southeastern flank. Military sources said six Cambodian battalion commanders had been relieved of duty and charged with cowardice for retreating from positions south of Phnom Penh without the approval of the high command in the face of the three‐week rebel drive there. In Phnom Penh, more than 50 Buddhist monks began three‐day fast to protest the war.
Reinforced South Vietnamese troops supported by an armored column battled North Vietnamese forces 14 miles southwest of the Central Highlands capital of Pleiku, the Saigon command reported today. A communiqué said initial reports indicated that 54 North Vietnamese were killed in the battle yesterday and that the Government had lost six dead and 17 wounded. The communiqué said that North Vietnamese troops had shelled a government position and then made an infantry assault. Lieutenant Colonel Lê Trung Hiền, spokesman for the Saigon command, said that the South Vietnamese component of 400 men was then reinforced by another battalion and armored vehicles. Colonel Hien said that the South Vietnamese also had been supported by artillery and air strikes.
North Vietnam and South Vietnam resumed their exchange of prisoners of war for the first time since July. A group of 199 Viet Cong guerrillas was transported by a South Vietnamese Army helicopter from Biên Hòa Air Base to the South Vietnamese town of Lộc Ninh, which was under Communist control.
Premier Kim Jong Pil of South Korea asserted today that the imprisonment of political critics who advocated the restoration of democratic rule here was justified to prevent “social disorder and chaos.” Since President Park Chung Hee proclaimed his “emergency measures” a month ago, 15 Opposition politicians, Protestant clergymen and students have been jailed for urging constitutional amendments that would limit the President’s almost dictatorial powers. Premier Kim defended the constitution, which was imposed in 1972. while the nation was under martial law, as “the summary of our experiences over all the years since 1948,” when Korea’s first constitution was adopted. In an interview with American news correspondents in his office here, he said, “We have come to the conclusion that such a constitution and such a system is the only way to assure our survival.”
New pronouncements from China today declared that the “high tide” of the new ideological drive is still to come and that what has been seen so far is “just the beginning.” The warnings, voiced in articles in the Communist party’s theoretical journal, Hung Chi, were coupled with a vow that “all reactionary elements of the reactionary classes who dare to resist” would be “resolutely mercilessly suppressed.” The only “reactionary elements” in China that have been openly identified since the campaign went into high gear last week are hardly capable of resistance. They are the ancient sage Confucius, who is supposed to have died 2,471 years ago, and Chairman Mao Tse-tung’s onetime “successor,” Lin Piao, who is reported to have been killed in a plane crash in September, 1971, after failing in a coup attempt.
Prime Minister Eric M. Gairy said today that evidence of a plot to assassinate him had been found in the home of an opposition leader. The opposition leader, Maurice Bishop, was arrested on Wednesday on a charge of illegal possession of ammunition. He was released today on $125 bail. Mr. Gairy spoke at a news conference a day after this Eastern Caribbean Island, the southernmost of the Windwards, became independent of Britain. A 39‐day general strike that has left Grenada without electricity and phone service was continuing, but Mr. Gairy insisted that the country would soon be back to normal. Mr. Gairy said the police had found maps and plans in Mr. Bishop’s home that he said showed, there was a plot to assassinate him in the nightclub he owns tomorrow night.
A military coup in the Republic of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) against the government of Prime Minister Gérard Kango Ouédraogo kept President General Sangoulé Lamizana in power. Lamizana announced the suspension of the Constitution and the dissolution of the National Assembly. The army seized power in the West African nation of Upper Volta today, although General Sangoulé Lamizana, head of state for eight years, will apparently remain President. Announcing the coup d’état over the state‐run radio, General Lamizana said that the Constitution had been suspended and the National Assembly dissolved. A 10½‐hour overnight curfew was imposed, and President Lamizana said that the armed forces would maintain order and public safety in the capital, Ouagadougou
After a record 84 days in orbit, the crew of the fourth Skylab mission — astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue — returned to Earth. At 02:33:12 UTC, the Skylab 4 Apollo command module undocked from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit, after 83 days, 4 hours, 38 minutes, 12 seconds. After several orbits, the Apollo capsule reentered the atmosphere and landed in the Pacific Ocean southwest of San Diego California, at 15:16:53 UTC. The crew was recovered by USS New Orleans (LPH-11), a helicopter carrier. Today, the Apollo capsule is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. Seventy-six minutes after the 84-day mark, the Apollo space capsule separated from the space station and landed in the Pacific Ocean 176 miles (283 km) southwest of the U.S. coast, and was recovered by the New Orleans. The recovery was the first splashdown of a crewed NASA spacecraft since 1966 not to be broadcast live on U.S. television. The astronauts were shaky following splashdown but seemed to be in good condition. The next U.S. space flight will be the joint mission with the Soviet Union in 1975.
Washington indicates that no new agreement for striking truckers is forthcoming. Many truckers rejected the latest proposals.
President Nixon refuses to order a rollback in diesel fuel prices for truckers; he met with administration officials to discuss the situation. Federal mediator William Usery reported that more truckers were on the highways today, as energy czar William Simon insisted that federal troops are not being considered as a means of keeping roads open. Attorney General William Saxbe stated that truckers who are in violation of federal regulations during their strike will be punished, and the FBI has been called in to help. Truckers demonstrated outside the White House to protest.
Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shapp played a major role in the strike talks. Shapp vowed to explain the new agreement to truckers personally, and he tried to do that today in Bartonsville, Pa. Truckers criticized the new agreement and again demanded price rollbacks. Shapp attempted to explain the settlement, without success. Truck traffic increased somewhat, though scattered acts of violence occurred. Two trucks were shot at in East Liverpool, Ohio; one driver is in critical condition.
Although the truck strike may end soon, a meat shortage is likely to occur. Consumers will start to feel the pinch next week.
New Jersey Representative James Howard believes that gasoline may be stored in abundance at closed service stations. Howard suggested the government check abandoned stations for fuel supplies.
At least seven states have now adopted the Oregon plan for gasoline distribution. The plan, which permits purchases only on certain days according to a vehicle’s license plate number, is working extremely well and drivers have reacted enthusiastically. Long lines at filling stations would likely return if the plan were abandoned, and it may be a national answer to the gasoline shortage. Federal energy czar William Simon is recommending the Oregon plan to other states.
Oregon Governor Tom McCall credited the gasoline distribution scheme to his assistant Donald Jarvey. Other ingenious schemes for gasoline distribution exist too. In Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, a gas station manager has taken a limited number of customers into an “advance purchase” program which guarantees them fuel in the future. The owner says he earns interest on the money he receives in the advance purchase plan.
A federal judge in Washington dismissed a suit by the Senate Watergate Committee to obtain five White House tapes out of fear that the charged atmosphere of the committee hearings might prejudice the rights of potential defendants, including President Nixon. Judge Gerhard Gesell rejected the President’s blanket claim of confidentiality but held that the possibly prejudicial effect of pretrial publicity was the overriding issue in the case.
Senator Jacob K. Javits, Republican of New York, proposed today the creation of a $4‐billion government fund to provide public service jobs if a recession develops this year. Mr. Javits, the senior Republican on the Senate Labor Committee, announced plans to introduce a bill to set up such a fund. The Senator said his proposal would finance 500,000 jobs, or one‐tenth of the total number of unemployed expected in a recession. The money would be released automatically if the unemployment rate exceeded 6 per cent for three consecutive months.
Several major banks, including the Bank of America the nation’s largest, and the First National City Bank, largest here and No. 2 in the country, lowered the interest rate they charge on loans to large corporations. The new rate — 9¼ percent, down from 9½ percent — brings many major banks into line with the level set earlier this week by the Chemical Bank and Bankers Trust Company.
New York City declared its first snow emergency in five years as the heaviest snowstorm of the winter blustered across the metropolitan area, causing huge traffic jams and many fender-bending accidents. Some highways were closed to traffic and others turned into treacherous skidways. Motorists were urged not to use their cars, and parking or standing was prohibited on the city’s designated snow-emergency streets. The storm also tied up Washington, where President Nixon set out by car for his delayed medical check-up but was forced to turn around and once again postpone the appointment.
A B-52 Stratofortress veered off the runway, crashed and exploded prior to takeoff from Beale Air Force Base in California, killing seven of its eight crewmembers.
The American television soap opera “The Secret Storm” ends a 20-year run on CBS.
The popular TV sitcom “Good Times” premiered on CBS as the first TV show about a two-parent African-American family. The show was a spin-off of “Maude” (which in turn had been spun off from “All in the Family,” making “Good Times” the first “spin-off from a spin-off”, with all three shows created by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin). Esther Rolle brought her role of Florida Evans from “Maude” and was joined by John Amos as her husband, but actor Jimmie Walker would become the most popular character.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 820.40 (-8.06, -0.97%).
Born:
Seth Green [as Seth Benjamin Gesshel-Green], American film actor and comedian (“Family Guy”, “Austin Powers”), in Overbrook Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Kimbo Slice [ring name for Kevin Ferguson], Bahamian-born American boxer and mixed martial artist; in Nassau, Bahamas (d. 2016 from congestive heart failure).
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, French musician and half of the duo Daft Punk; in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine département, France.
Died:
Fritz Zwicky, 75, Swiss-American astronomer known for the discovery of the gravitational anomaly which he called “dunkel Materie”, commonly called dark matter, died of a heart attack.
History Diaries 