The Palestine Liberation Organization’s leadership presented a political platform in Cairo that bars participation by a Palestinian delegation on the Middle East peace conference in Geneva if the issue of “legitimate rights of the Palestinian people” is not considered. This was one of 10 points in the platform that was submitted to the Palestine National Council, the 151-member group that serves as a parliament for the liberation group.
Eight Palestinians on trial in Khartoum, Sudan, confessed to shooting to death U.S. Ambassador Cleo A. Noel Jr. and two other diplomats at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Khartoum in March, 1973. The eight pleaded innocent when their trial opened Saturday, and those pleas still stood despite their confessions. Also slain were U.S. Charge d’affaires Curtis Moore and the Belgian charge, Guy Eid.
At the insistence of Saudi Arabia, the Arab oil ministers, at their meeting in Cairo, decided to keep their embargo against the Netherlands and to set up a special fund to offset deficits for higher oil payments by Arab countries which do not produce oil. As a condition for ending the Netherlands embargo, the ministers have been insisting on a clear statement of support for withdrawal of Israeli troops from Arab territory. Their embargo against Denmark is being continued for the same reason. No change in their attitude is expected before another meeting on July 10.
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran has had plans to rebuild his country for at least a dozen years and with oil revenues pouring into the national treasury, he apparently now has the money to get them under way. The authoritarian Shah has begun a radical revision of his government and of the scope of the ambitious programs for his rich but underdeveloped country.
As many as 800 million people, comprising almost a quarter of the world’s population, may be suffering from malnutrition, a U.N. report said. The report, background for material for a world food conference to be held in Rome in November, urged “a worldwide effort to bring about a better balance between growing world demand and supply.”
Negotiations in Vienna on reductions of troops in Central Europe are moving ahead slowly, with current emphasis on which of the NATO and Warsaw Pact countries involved will make the initial cutbacks, an American spokesman said this weekend. His remarks were the first Western reply outside the secret talks to a stream of public statements from Communist delegations over the last two months. The Warsaw Pact negotiators, in speeches and private conversations at a series of social events they have organized for correspondents, have also focused on the question of initial reductions, which they insist must include all 11 participating countries. The American said that the Western allies were continuing to press for cuts by only Soviet and American forces in the first stage because the two major powers should “set the example” and also because the North Atlantic Treaty Organization believes this would be simpler than a simultaneous cutback by the seven Western and four Eastern participants with forces in Central Europe.
Nearly 1,000 Frenchmen are coming to the United States bringing personal messages of gratitude and friendship to Americans 30 years after Allied troops swept down the coast of France to help liberate the continent from Nazi occupation. On Thursday, the visitors will meet in New York for a celebration.
About 3,000 persons began moving back to their Lincolnshire villages tonight, hoping that their comes had escaped damage from the blaze that followed yesterday’s explosion of a chemical plant at Flixborough. They had gone from Flixborough and the surrounding areas to Scunthorpe, a few miles away, driven out by the thick smoke and toxic fumes from the blazing plant. The explosion yesterday afternoon at Flixborough, near England’s east coast about 180 miles north of London, caused 29 deaths, the police said tonight. Ninety‐four persons were created for injuries at local hospitals; 30 were from the plant and the rest were residents ‐of surrounding areas. Earlier police estimates had put the number of deaths at 55.
By tonight the fire, which spread over 20 acres, was under control and experts checked the toxicity in the atmosphere and declared it safe. Although many villagers found their homes damaged and blackened, only 30 families were known to be homeless tonight. Scores of other houses will need extensive repairs. The $50‐million plant was destroyed. In its parking lot there was almost nothing recognizable as an automobile, just small twisted bits of metal.
The Soviet press, in its first significant comment on President Nixon’s summit meeting in the Soviet Union since the opening date, June 27, was announced Friday, stressed that the meeting enjoyed the backing of Democrats as well as Republicans in Congress. The commentary in Pravda, following several other recent articles, indicated that the Russians had taken a view more favorable to the Democratic opposition because of a reassessment of the Watergate case.
Soviet naval exercises on the Norwegian Sea north of Scotland have aroused the concern of British Royal Navy Captain John Moore, editor of the authoritative annual on the world’s navies, Jane’s Fighting Ships. “The new Russian fleet is not a defensive fleet. It is designed… to be worldwide and to implement the Soviet Union’s political will,” Moore said, adding that two warships in the exercises are far superior to anything that Atlantic Alliance navies have or are likely to have for two years.
Moscow Jews demonstrated for the third time in a week outside a hotel for foreigners to protest the Soviet government’s refusal to grant them exit visas, a Jewish source said. Police broke up the demonstration and arrested six persons, the source said. Eight Jews were arrested the day before and five the previous weekend.
Italy celebrated the 28th anniversary of the republic with a parade in Rome that police said may have been the target of an abortive fascist bomb plot. Police had earlier uncovered a mountain hideout for rightwing extremists that contained large stores of explosives and plans for a bomb attack during the parade. The parade went off without incident.
A Roman Catholic father of seven was slain by machine-gun fire as he relaxed in the sun outside his mother’s store in the Northern Ireland town of Rostrevor. His death raised the toll in almost five years of religious violence between Protestants and Catholics to 1,030. The man’s mother was slightly injured in the attack that police said had the earmarks of an “execution” by the Irish Republican Army.
Malta’s constitution goes into effect.
A rocket from Communist launcher struck a South Vietnamese prison housing Việt Cộng and other political prisoners near Biên Hòa air base before dawn today, killing 29 and wounding 63, the police reported. In all 42 Vietnamese were killed and 83 wounded in the attack. The casualties other than the prisoners were reported at the airfield and four surrounding villages, and most of them were civilians, officials said. Most of the dead were women political prisoners and their children, the police said. They said the missile was among 30 rockets that rained down or the Biên Hòa area, the first shelling in seven months at South Vietnam’s largest tactical air base, which is 15 miles northeast of Saigon. Officers at Biên Hòa, said five rockets had caused light damage to the base’s facilities, including one of the two runways. A government spokesman said the rocket that killed the prisoners had made a direct hit on Tân Hiệp prison, a correctional center for Việt Cộng, political and criminal prisoners.
Communists rocket crews and sappers struck deep into the area around Saigon today, sinking a South Korean tanker just south of the capital, a South Vietnamese Government military spokesman said. Four Korean crewmen were missing after the tanker was sunk in the Saigon River, where it was docked about eight miles southeast of Saigon, the spokesman said. The sinking was attributed to an explosive device set off by communis saboteurs. Diplomatic sources identified the tanker as the 178‐ton Yu Chang, which they said had been plying the route between Saigon and Phnom Penh.
The coronation of Jigme Singye Wangchuck as King of Bhutan took place in an elaborate Buddhist ceremony at Thimphu, the capital of the Himalayan kingdom. Jigme Singye had succeeded to the throne on July 24, 1972, upon the death of his father, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. Royal astrologers had determined that the coronation itself should take place at exactly 9:10 in the morning (UTC 0310) local time.
Tens of thousands of Orthodox Muslims took to the streets as religious rioting against the extreme Qadianis Muslim sect spread through all four provinces of Pakistan. In the fourth consecutive day of rioting in Punjab province, the most seriously affected so far, more than 80 persons were reported injured, two Qadianis mosques set ablaze and 22 homes and businesses ransacked and looted.
At least 34 of the 277 people on the Philippine inter-island ship Aloha were killed when the vessel caught fire and sank in the Sulu Sea.
Algeria became the first of the Arab OPEC nations to split with the rest of the Arab world, and ended its partial embargo on the export of oil to the Netherlands, almost eight months after curtailing oil production in October.
The African National Council rejected proposals agreed upon by Bishop Abel Muzorewa and Ian Smith for a settlement in Rhodesia. The African National Council rejected the latest proposals by Rhodesia’s white minority government to settle an 82-year-old constitutional dispute. A spokesman said that under the plan suggested by Premier Ian Smith it would take from 40 to 60 years for blacks to reach equal representation in Parliament. The council proposed more negotiations on the issue of black representation and voting rights.
Voters in the West African nation of Mali overwhelmingly approved a new constitution to allow direct election of the president and a unicameral national assembly.
The annual National Governor’s Conference, which is being held this year in Seattle, opened with a panel of six governors — four Democrats and two Republicans — unanimously expressing the opinion that President Nixon should give the House Judiciary Committee all the tape recordings and documents it has asked for in its impeachment inquiry. Watergate and the fate of Mr. Nixon’s presidency were generally the first topics of conversation, and there was an almost euphoric feeling that the Watergate case and the slow response of congressional investigations have made the governors’ state houses look good by comparison.
Oregon Governor Tom McCall, a Republican, said Eugene J. McCarthy, unsuccessful candidate for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, had approached him about teaming up for the 1976 presidential race. McCall said also that former Governor George Romney of Michigan, who had sought the 1968 Republican nomination, had indicated an interest in the next presidential election. McCall brought up the names as “peripheral” possibilities when asked on the television program Meet the Press whom he considered 1976 candidates. His list of potential contenders included Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Massachusetts), former New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, former Texas Governor John B. Connally and Governor Ronald Reagan (R-California).
The six appeared on the National Broadcasting Company program, “Meet the Press,” in conjunction with the opening of the National Governors’ Conference here. Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia, a Democrat, declared, “I personally think that the President is guilty and I think that the release of evidence will prove it.” Governor Tom McCall of Oregon, a Republican, said that impeachment was a “completely ludicrous procedure,” and that President Nixon should resign immediately. Pressed by the “Meet the Press” moderator, Lawrence E. Spivak, for a yes‐or‐no answer on whether the President should comply with the Judiciary Committee request for evidence, the Governors all answered, in effect, “yes.”
General Motors Corp. President Edward N. Cole urged technically educated young persons to consider going into politics. Cole told graduates at Lawrence Institute of Technology in Detroit, “We need technical specialists who understand and are not afraid to become involved with people, with politics, or with social problems. People like that, if they speak out, can have a great influence on the way we put technology to work for mankind. Many people mistrust technology and they listen to those who question whether the problem that it has caused outweighs the benefits it has brought,” he explained.
Dallas police, acting on a tip, found the automobile of missing executive Dan Burney and arrested a man and a woman “for further questioning.” Burney, 47, senior vice president and general counsel of the Dallas-based Ling-Temco-Vought Corp., one of the nation’s larger conglomerates, was reported missing two weeks ago by his wife after he did not return home from work. His company last Wednesday offered a $20,000 reward for information concerning his whereabouts. Police staked out the car, found at a housing project, for some time until a man, woman and a child emerged and attempted to drive off.
Blacks can be expected to continue the steady gains of recent years under the administration of the next apparent Governor of Arkansas, David H. Pryor. Mr. Pryor won the Democratic nomination in last Tuesday’s primary. He faces a Republican opponent, Ken Coon, in November but is not expected to have much trouble being elected. Mr. Pryor defeated former Governor Orval E. Faubus and Lieutenant Governor Bob Riley by piling up huge majorities among blacks and white union members. That combination of support would have hurt a candidate more than it would have helped a few years ago. Mr. Faubus used Mr. Pryor’s organized labor support as a club against him. He did not mention black support, apparently because he hoped to get some of that himself. Mr. Pryor eked out a narrow victory with less than 51 per cent of the vote.
The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America planned to set up picket lines across the nation today on the first business day of a strike against 700 manufacturers of boys’ and men’s apparel. The 110,000-member union called the strike after negotiations with the Clothing Manufacturers Association collapsed despite the service of federal mediators. No new talks were scheduled. A union spokesman said picket lines would be set up at selected firms in about 30 states.
The bodies of three Ft. Gordon, Georgia, soldiers were pulled from a reservoir near McCormick, South Carolina. The throats of two of the victims had been cut and the third, had died from a blow on the head. Captain Zack Fowler, public information officer at the fort, 30 miles from McCormick, said the victims were privates assigned to signal school but their identities were being withheld pending notification of relatives. Officials said the bodies had apparently been in the water since Saturday. They were unable to suggest a motive for the slayings.
About 600 residents of Tolleson, Arizona, a farming suburb west of Phoenix, reportedly were evacuated from their homes when a leak was found in a high-pressure natural gas line. A. crew from Arizona Public Service Co. was dispatched from Phoenix to repair the leak as police and firemen went door to door in a four-square-block area, cautioning people not to smoke or turn on lights and asking them to stay at the homes of friends or relatives until the danger passed.
Many more people than in the past are planning highway trips to relatively close-in resorts, within 100 to 300 miles of their home, a trend that promises to bring crowding at many places near urban areas and plenty of room at more distant spots. This was typical of the opinions of people in the travel industry on the eve of the nation’s annual summer vacation. Rising inflation, 60-cents-a-gallon gasoline and fresh memories of the gasoline shortage all may contribute to what may be the biggest change in vacations since World War II.
Luna 22, an exploratory probe launched form the Soviet Union on May 29, entered orbit around the Moon and would return photographs and data until September 2, 1975.
The Red Sox, the East Division leader, won their 11th game in the last 14 as Rico Petrocelli clouted a pair of two‐run homers to lead Boston to a 9–7 win over the Chicago White Sox. It was the eighth time in his career that Petrocelli has hit two home runs in a game. Reggie Cleveland, a disappointment since he was acquired from St. Louis Cardinals last fall, struggled to his fourth triumph in nine decisions.
The A’s won their fourth straight game, 6–4 over the Milwaukee Brewers, and 17th in the last 23 to give them a 3½‐game lead in the West Division. Jim Hunter, with relief help from Rollie Fingers, gained his eighth victory. All of Oakland’s runs came on homers. Joe Rudi hit a three‐run homer and Reggie Jackson clouted his 14th and 15th of the season.
The Philadelphia Phillies downed the San Francisco Giants, 4–3. Greg Luzinski greeted Randy Moffitt, the relief pitcher, with a two‐run homer during a four‐run eighth that led to the Philadelphia victory. Two Giant errors put John D’Acquisto, who was pitching a two‐hit shutout, in trouble.
Chris Evert won her first major international tennis tournament today by defeating Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia, 6–3, 6–3, in the women’s singles final of the Italian open. Miss Evert, a 19‐year‐old star from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., also won the women’s doubles with Olga Morozova of the Soviet Union when Mrs. Helga Masthoff and Heide Orth of West Germany defaulted. In her singles final, Miss Evert’s great consistency and experience were too much for Miss Navratilova, a 17‐year‐old Czech appearing for the first time in a big international tournament.
However, Stan Smith failed in a bid to become the first American to win the men’s singles since Barry McKay in 1960. He lost to Ilie Nastase of Rumania, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4, in a semifinal match. Nastase’s opponent in the final will be either 17‐year‐old Bjorn Borg of Sweden or Guillermo Vilas of Argentina. Their semifinal match was called in the fifth set because of darkness. It will be completed tomorrow. Vilas won the first two sets, 6–2, 6–3, but Borg took the next two, 6–3, 6–4. The fifth set was tied 1–1 when play was halted.
Born:
Leah Cairns, Canadian actress (“Interstellar”, Margaret “Racetrack” Edmondson-“Battlestar Galactica”), in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Gata Kamsky, Soviet-born American chess grandmaster and five-time U.S. chess champion; in Novokuznetsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
Scott Shaw, NFL guard (Cincinnati Bengals), in Detroit, Michigan.
Died:
Arnold Lunn, 86, British skier (created the modern Alpine slalom race).
Elliott Sullivan, 66, American actor (“The Persuaders!”, “Fury Below”, “Sergeant”), from a heart attack.
History Diaries 