An offensive against terrorism has been approved by President Reagan, according to Administration officials. They said the new measures include pre-emptive strikes and reprisals around the world in an effort to stop terrorists before they act. “You have got to have very good intelligence and very good experience to deal with intelligence,” said one Administration official. “We are just trying as best we can to improve this capability.” While the United States Government has been increasingly concerned about terrorism for several years, new impetus to deal with it was given when 241 Americans died in the truck-bombing of a Marine building in Beirut, Lebanon, last October 23.
Although preventive raids and reprisals are part of the new policy, it is not known what form such activities would take or what, if any, limits would be placed on such actions. One White House official said President Reagan had not scrapped the prohibition of assassination attempts by United States Government agents. “The general idea is that we don’t allow terrorism to go unpunished,” this source said. The outline of the new, government-wide approach to terrorism was contained in National Security Decision Directive 138, which Mr. Reagan signed April 3.
The Soviet military command has moved several squadrons of TU-16 Badger medium-range bombers into positions near its border with Afghanistan, U.S. intelligence sources reported. The TU-16 bombers can carry about 20,000 pounds in bombs, as well as six air-to-ground missiles. The consensus among the intelligence sources is that the Soviets may be preparing to use the bombers in a spring offensive aimed at crushing rebels fighting the Soviet-backed Afghan regime.
Soviet troops have staged amphibious landing maneuvers on the coast of Vietnam for the first time in a fresh display of a broadened presence there, U.S. intelligence sources reported. About 500 Soviet naval infantrymen — similar to U.S. Marines — landed about 90 miles south of Haiphong, the American sources said. About eight Soviet warships, including the 37,000-ton aircraft carrier Kiev, reportedly took part in the exercise. Although the landing force was relatively small, the U.S. sources regarded the exercises as a significant indicator of the more or less permanent Soviet foothold in Vietnam.
East Germany has begun erecting new obstacles along its border with West Germany. West German spokesman Peter Boenisch said. A 10-foot metal fence with razor-sharp edges and alarms is being built inside an existing wall along 44 miles of the 856-mile border, in places where the East Germans have dismantled automatic devices that fire shrapnel along the border when triggered by a tripwire. Bonn has long demanded removal of the firing devices.
Twelve ethnic Germans from Lithuania and the Caucasus were taken into custody by Soviet police when they tried to enter the West German Embassy in Moscow to seek assistance for emigrating, a West German journalist said. Hartwig Nathe, of the news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur, said police barred the group, which included six children, from entering the embassy. then forced them into four cars and drove to an unknown destination. An embassy spokesman said members of the group have been trying for two years to leave the country to join relatives who previously emigrated.
An investigation has shown that a Soviet civilian airliner did not deliberately fly over a secret naval base at Toulon in southern France, where the nuclear carrier Foch and the nuclear attack submarine Rubis were docked, Premier Pierre Mauroy said. The Tupolev 134 of the Soviet airline Aeroflot left its authorized flight path and strayed over the base for one or two minutes Friday evening. Mauroy said. Informed sources had said that the plane ignored warnings from French air traffic controllers that it was leaving its authorized route.
Andrei D. Sakharov, the Soviet dissident, suffered a painful attack of thrombophlebitis in a leg last week, friends said yesterday. The friends, who are in close touch with Dr. Sakharov’s family in the West, could not confirm a West German television report Sunday that he had entered a hospital in Gorky, the city where he lives in enforced residence, and had requested an operation to remove a blood clot.
Thrombophlebitis is an irritation of the inner lining of veins, which can cause clots to form. Dr. Sakharov has suffered from the disease for several years but had refused to enter a hospital in Gorky for fear that something might happen to him there, the friends said. He has been seeking to enter an Academy of Sciences hospital in Moscow. The friends said Yelena G. Bonner, Dr. Sakharov’s wife, sent a telegram to her daughter in Boston on Thursday saying she was returning to Gorky because of her husband’s condition.
The Soviet Union’s last ambassador to Egypt. Vladimir Polyakov, held talks in Cairo on the subject of normalizing relations between the two countries, more than 2½ years after he was expelled from Egypt. Polyakov, who now oversees Mideast affairs at the Soviet Foreign Ministry, met with Egypt’s deputy foreign minister. Boutros Boutros Ghali. After nearly a decade of strained relations, Polyakov and six of his aides were expelled in 1981 by President Anwar Sadat, a month before Sadat was assassinated.
The CIA reversed itself and acknowledged it had delayed for six weeks a response to a request by the Senate intelligence committee for a briefing on covert activity in Nicaragua. A CIA spokesman, George Lauder, said he gave an incorrect account Sunday when he told The New York Times that William J. Casey, the Director of Central Intelligence, had been ready to brief the committee in January, but had not done so until March because the committee asked for delays. Senator Barry Goldwater, Republican of Arizona, committee chairman, and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, vice chairman, have said that the CIA did not keep the committee “currently” informed, in particular on the scope of American involvement in the mining of harbors starting in early January.
Nicaraguan insurgents based in Costa Rica who say they have seized a southern coastal town in Nicaragua said they now plan to establish a provisional government there soon. A Government leader denied that rebels had seized the town.
A Salvadoran conservative leader of a large party said he would remain neutral in next month’s presidential runoff. Political officials said the decision was a blow to the far-right presidential candidate, Roberto d’Aubuisson. The conservative leader, Francisco Jose Guerrero of the National Conciliation Party, said in an interview he would reject an offer by Mr. d’Aubuisson to take part in a future Government and would not support Mr. d’Aubuisson in the runoff election May 6. Mr. d’Aubuisson, the Nationalist Republican Alliance candidate, won 29 percent of the vote on March 25. He is trailing Jose Napoleon Duarte, the candidate for the Christian Democrats who won 43 percent of the vote.
Assassins in San Salvador killed the senior Salvadoran security employee of the United States Embassy. Witnesses said that the official, Joaquim Alfredo Zapata Romero, was driving with his wife and daughter when a taxi with five men pulled up beside his car and the occupants began shooting. Gregory Lagana, a spokesman for the American Embassy, said there were no clues as to what group might have carried out the assassination. He did not know whether Mr. Zapata had received any death threats. Salvadoran and American officials have been expecting an increase in violence from both the far right and the left as the country moves closer to the runoff presidential election on May 6.
Violence among Sikh factions in India intensified when a factional leader was gunned down within the grounds of the Golden Temple at Amritsar, the Sikhs’ holiest shrine. At least three Sikh activists were killed today in fighting between moderate and extremist factions within an anti-Government Sikh movement in Punjab state. The daylight killing of Malak Singh Bhatia was apparently an act of revenge for the killing last week of Surinder Singh Sodhi, a Sikh gunman wanted for murder. Sikh groups have been agitating to secure greater political and religious rights from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government. The slayings were the first major violence among Sikh factions, which have been competing for more than 20 months for control of the Sikh agitation against the Government.
Amnesty International today accused security services in Gabon of using torture. The rights group said it had received persistent reports that Gabonese security officers were torturing prisoners with beatings, electrical devices and suffocation by prolonged immersion in water. An Amnesty report said 16 prisoners convicted in November 1982 of threatening state security and insulting President Omar Bongo had not received a fair trial. The prisoners are serving sentences of up to 12 years.
President Reagan sees off Vice President Bush who is leaving for Geneva, Switzerland to present the U.S.’s treaty banning chemical weapons.
President Reagan attends a meeting between Chinese students studying in the United States.
President Reagan participates in several interviews with Chinese reporters.
A key issue in campaign financing for the Presidency will be decided by the Supreme Court, but a decision is unlikely until after the 1984 election. The issue is whether individuals and political action committees can continue to spend unlimited amounts to support a candidate.
Louis Farrakhan unleashed a storm with remarks about Jews and threats against a Washington Post reporter, but he has made similar comments in radio broadcasts and speeches for years. Although Jesse Jackson has put some distance between himself and the Black Muslim leader, the Democratic Presidential aspirant has refused to reject Mr. Farrakhan’s support.
The Silicon Valley engineer charged with selling key missile research data to Polish intelligence agents pleaded guilty to one count of espionage in Federal District Court in San Francisco. The engineer, Edward Durward Harper Jr., read a statement implicating himself and at least four others.
A ruling in an Agent Orange case will keep the Federal Government as a defendant. The case involves thousands of veterans who have sued several manufacturers of the herbicide that was used in the Vietnam War. The decision by an appeals court paves the way for a major civil trial to begin on May 7.
The U.S. government has been ordered by a federal judge to release to a private group the names and addresses of servicemen who participated in the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests in Nevada and the South Pacific. U.S. District Judge. Joyce Hens Green said the National Association of Atomic Veterans Inc., a nonprofit group, plans to conduct studies relating to the adverse effects of exposure to radiation and to inform atomic veterans of the group’s “Self-Help Guide on Radiation.” The Defense Department has argued that releasing the information would constitute “invasion of privacy” and would lead to duplication of its own studies.
Rising temperatures triggered avalanches in Utah’s snow-covered mountains and melting snow pushed streams higher, threatening to cause widespread flooding. One avalanche with a snow base of 30 feet roared a mile down Spring Mountain east of Ogden, stopping just short of several summer homes and forcing the closure of a nearby road, Weber County Emergency Services Director Brad Dee said. Mud slides closed highways, and a 60-foot-wide chunk of earth fell into Emigration Creek, pushing it over its banks and flooding two homes. With temperatures climbing into the 70s, the National Weather Service said the chances for flooding were 9 out of 10. Officials said the snowpack in northern Utah is 25% to 35% more than it was at this time last year, when the state had its worst recorded flooding.
The Air Line Pilots Association accused Continental Airlines of disregarding air safety in an effort to maximize income and minimize costs and asked Congress to investigate the airline’s operations. At a Washington news conference, Captain Henry A. Duffy, president of the union, also accused the Federal Aviation Administration of “evading its duty” to correct safety problems at Continental. Duffy said his group had reported nearly 100 safety-related incidents involving the airline to the FAA. In a newspaper ad, the union cited 35 unsafe incidents, including several in California, as reasons not to fly Continental, which filed for reorganization under federal bankruptcy laws last fall and later resumed operations. Richard M. Adams, a senior vice president of Continental, immediately denied the charges and accused the union of trying to hurt the airline.
Michigan must start an auto emissions inspection program soon or face tough sanctions and loss of federal funds, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus has warned. The Michigan Legislature approved a mandatory tailpipe testing program in 1980 under pressure from the EPA, but the measure has not been implemented. And a 1982 deadline for Michigan to meet air quality standards for ozone and carbon monoxide already has been extended into 1987.
Air Illinois, the troubled commuter airline that shut down temporarily late last year to bring itself up to federal aviation safety standards, announced that it has suspended operations indefinitely. The shutdown came almost exactly four months after Air Illinois grounded its entire fleet under pressure from the Federal Aviation Administration to meet safety regulations regarding manuals, personnel training and record-keeping procedures. The agency’s demands came after an intensive federal investigation of the airline after an October 11 Air Illinois plane crash that killed all 10 persons aboard.
The Board of Trustees in Oak Park, Illinois, voted 4 to 3 to outlaw handguns in the Chicago suburb. Gun owners will have six months to get rid of their weapons or face a fine when the ordinance goes into effect in September. Oak Park banned the sale of handguns in 1978. The new ordinance prohibits ownership and possession of handguns and is similar to gun bans in nearby Morton Grove and Evanston.
The father of the slain singer Marvin Gaye was ordered today to undergo psychiatric examination to see if he is able to understand charges he murdered his son. Marvin Gay Sr. “doesn’t understand the nature of the proceedings and is unable to undertake his own defense,” a defense lawyer, Michael Schiff, said in seeking the examination. Judge Michael Pirosh of Superior Court canceled Mr. Gay’s arraignment, scheduled for April 25, and appointed Dr. Ronald Markman to examine Mr. Gay and submit a report May 2. Should Mr. Gay be found mentally competent, he could be returned for his arraignment. His lawyers, however, could challenge such a finding and demand a full competency hearing.
The local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has suspended its boycott of McDonald’s after the two sides agreed to form a committee to investigate charges the food chain had a weak affirmative action record. The N.A.A.C.P. chapter called off the boycott Friday against 25 nonmi nority-owned McDonald’s franchises in southern California. The civil rights group contended the company did not hire enough blacks, buy enough from black-owned companies or allow blacks to operate franchises outside minority communities.
A consortium of Japanese energy companies signed a contract today to contribute $18 million over five years to help clean up the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The 17 Japanese utilities, engineering companies and reactor manufacturers expect to send 20 engineers to study and assist in the cleanup of Unit 2, site of the nation’s most serious commercial nuclear accident. A contract was signed by Sunichi Hamaguchi, chairman of a Japanese committee on Japan-United States research, and Shelby Brewer, assistant United States energy secretary for nuclear energy.
Scientists today proclaimed the end of the spectacular 22-day eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano which sent lava flowing within four miles of Hilo, Hawaii Island’s largest city. The state’s chief volcanologist, Thomas Wright, said a harmonic tremor, the shuddering of the big mountain which indicates magma is moving underground, had been decreasing for several days and Sunday dropped to pre-eruption levels. In the first two weeks of the eruption that began March 25, lava flows stretching out to 17 miles inched in the direction of Hilo and its 35,200 inhabitants. In the later stages, the eruption eased off and left rivers of lava to cool and become hard on the flanks of the mountain. Officials drew up plans for possible evacuation of parts of Hilo, and tried to calm the fears of anxious residents on the city’s fringes who could see the glowing wall of rock approaching.
Two interns have acknowledged that they were awarded medical degrees by a university in the Dominican Republic that they never attended. Both are interning at Worcester City Hospital. One intern said he had paid about $9,000 to a broker in medical credentials for a degree and transcript.
Small turboprop aircraft makers are returning to an idea used by the Wright Brothers with a “backward” configuration they say will make their new craft virtually stall-proof. The nose-mounted wings and rear “pusher” propellers of the business aircraft echo the aeronautical design of the earliest airplanes.
Major scientific endowments were announced by the University of Texas. It said it would establish 32 new faculty positions, each endowed for $1 million, and all in scientific and engineering fields. The university is deeply committed to research and scholarships in the microelectronics and computer fields.
The 1984 Pulitzer Prize for fiction was won by William Kennedy for his novel “Ironweed.” The drama prize was awarded to David Mamet for his biting comedy “Glengarry Glen Ross.” In journalism, two prizes each were awarded to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and The Los Angeles Times. Theodor Seuss Geisel, known by his pen name of “Dr. Seuss,” won a special citation.
Geoff Smith won the Marathon in Boston. Running in a cold drizzle into a headwind, the Briton finished the 26-mile, 385-yard race in 2 hours 10 minutes 34 seconds, exceptional time for the difficult conditions. Gerry Vanesse of New Milford, Conn., came in second in 2:14:49, his fastest ever. The women’s winner was Lorraine Moller of New Zealand, who finished in 2:29:28.
Dave Kingman hits 3 home runs — including his 12th career grand slam — and drives in 8 runs in the A’s 9–6 win over the Mariners. It is Kingman’s 5th career 3-home run game, one shy of the Major League record held by Johnny Mize. Kingman hits the homers in his first three at-bats.
Down 2–1, the Twins score 8 in the bottom of the 6th to beat the Angels, 9–2. Kent Hrbek has a grand slam for the Twins.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1160.28 (+10.15).
Born:
Johnathan Joseph, NFL cornerback (Pro Bowl, 2011, 2012; Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals), in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Daniel Coats, NFL tight end (Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos), in Layton, Utah.
Claire Foy, British actress (young Queen Elizabeth II – “The Crown”), in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom.
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