Agreement to resume arms talks early in March was reached by the United States and the Soviet Union, Reagan Administration officials said. The officials said both countries would shortly make a joint announcement, to be followed by public comments by President Reagan. According to Administration sources, the American announcement is expected to come at 11 A.M. Saturday in Washington. Last week, Washington proposed that the arms talks resume in Geneva in early March, and tonight officials said Moscow had essentially agreed to that proposal. “There’s no radical difference from what we suggested,” an official said.
The recovery of a slain priest’s body from a reservoir in Poland was shown on videotape at the trial of three former security police officers charged with his murder. One of the defendants shuddered as he bowed his head, apparently sobbing. The police film showed that the Rev. Jerzy Popiełuszko had been tied up in a manner that would have made him strangle while struggling to get free. One of the men shuddered as he bowed his head, apparently sobbing. The fourth defendant, Colonel Adam Pietruszka, who has denied a charge of aiding and abetting the killing, looked without expression at the television monitor. The half-hour police film, a few seconds of which were broadcast later on national television, showed the body of the Rev. Jerzy Popiełuszko as it appeared just after it was found on Oct. 30. The three men charged with the killing, led by former Capt. Grzegorz Piotrowski, have admitted that they threw the body into the water 11 days earlier. The film showed clearly that the priest’s bent legs were tied to a noose around his neck in such a way that if he straightened them he would be strangled. The rope binding his hands had evidently come loose in the water. Several gags had also worked free and lay covering his clerical collar and the front of his cassock. From his legs hung a sack of rocks that, according to earlier testimony, had been carried all over Poland for the week that the three assailants were pursuing the priest.
A French Defense Ministry official was shot to death outside his suburban Paris home tonight. A left-wing guerrilla group took responsibility. The police said the official, Rene Audran, director of international affairs at the ministry, died immediately after he was hit by six bullets.
Austria’s Chancellor publicly censured his Defense Minister today for meeting and escorting a returning Nazi war criminal who had been freed from an Italian prison. Chancellor Fred Sinowatz said the Defense Minister’s meeting with Walter Reder, a former Nazi SS officer convicted of leading a massacre of at least 600 Italians in the village of Marzabotto, was a “serious political mistake.” The Chancellor dissociated himself from the actions of the official, Friedhelm Frischenschlager. Mr. Frischenschlager said he went to the military airport at Graz on Thursday to meet the former Nazi, who is nearly 70 years old, to insure the secrecy of his return, according to an interview in the newspaper Kurier. Mr. Reder, imprisoned in 1954, has a serious stomach ailment and was released early at the request of the Austrian Government. Austria had asked for his release for years, officially on humanitarian grounds. But former Chancellor Bruno Kreisky said the Government feared that if he died in prison he could be viewed as a martyr by Austrian rightists.
The National Coal Board and the National Union of Mineworkers will meet next Tuesday for informal talks in an effort to settle the 10-month-old British coal strike. Miners continued to drift back to work this week. The coal board and the miners met on Monday for the first time since talks broke down three months ago, and a tentative peace plan was offered to the union. But optimism faded when the coal board demanded assurances in writing on how the union stood on the key issue: the closure of uneconomic mines. Union leaders accused the coal board of sabotage.
A former Government official told the House of Commons today that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had rejected sexual advances from a drunken dignitary by telling him, “I just don’t think you would make it at the moment.” The former official, Nicholas Fairbairn, Solicitor General for Scotland from 1979 to 1982, did not identify the dignitary. He said the incident had taken place in Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, where Mrs. Thatcher was a guest of the Lord High Commissioner of the Church of Scotland. A Thatcher spokesman said as far as he knew the incident never took place.
Pope John Paul II announced that he was calling an extraordinary general assembly of Roman Catholic bishops to examine the results of the Second Vatican Council, which ended two decades ago. He said this year’s synod would seek to “relive, in some way, that extraordinary atmosphere of ecclesiastical communion that characterized” Vatican II. The Pope added drama to the surprise announcement by reading it at the end of a mass at the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. It was at that church that Pope John XXIII called Vatican II exactly 26 years ago today.
Lebanese officials said today that the Government had decided to send 2,000 troops into the southern port city of Sidon as soon as Israeli troops complete their scheduled withdrawal there on February 18. The officials said Syria and the Lebanese factions backed the move.
Lebanese banks suspended currency trading for more than an hour today after the Lebanese pound fell to a record low of 12 to the United States dollar. Bankers said depositors, concerned about Lebanon’s civil strife and a sinking economy, were trading in their pounds for dollars and other foreign currencies. “It’s sheer panic,” a Lebanese banker said. The once-strong pound has lost nearly half its value in a slide that began in August and accelerated recently.
The International Federation of Journalists sent a letter to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India today protesting “serious charges” against a reporter for The Associated Press. The letter also expressed concern about what it described as police pressure to force the reporter, Brahma Chellaney, to reveal the sources for a dispatch in June about the army assault on a Sikh religious temple in Amritsar.
A senior Taiwan official said today that Henry Liu, a Chinese-American author killed in California last October, had been a paid informant for the Nationalist Government for more than three years before his death. The official, who asked not to be identified, said Mr. Liu supplied the Taipei Government with information about China, mainly military intelligence, based on four trips he had made to the mainland. Earlier this week, Mr. Liu’s widow, Helen, denied unconfirmed reports that her husband had been a paid agent of the Taiwan Government or an informer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Taiwan official said he was making the disclosure to show that Mr. Liu was a “complicated identity” and that the Taiwan Government had no motive to have him killed. The widow of Mr. Liu responded, calling the claim a lie.
Talks with key members of Congress are being held by the Reagan Administration on whether to continue trying to support the anti-Government rebels in Nicaragua with covert funds or whether to try different approaches, State Department officials said. The officials said the Administration was willing to discuss alternatives to the covert funds that Congress strongly opposes.
Floods caused by month-long rains have killed at least 71 people and left thousands homeless in three southeastern Brazilian states, civil defense spokesmen said today. Damage and death tolls are expected to rise if forecasts of several more weeks of rain prove correct. In Espirito Santo, where it has rained continually since the end of December, 42 people have been killed and 8,289 left homeless, the civil defense service said. In the neighboring state of Minas Gerais, 24 people were killed and 10,070 were left without homes, the service said. In Rio de Janeiro, the Governor’s press office said exact figures were unavailable, but unofficial figures indicated at least five people had died in the coastal cities of Parati and Paracambi.
Sudanese officials have not recovered from their first encounter with Bob Geldof’s “punk diplomacy.” Mr. Geldof is a British rock star whose hit single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” has raised $8 million for famine relief in Africa. The 31-year-old rock idol recently spent a week in the Sudan trying to determine how $1 million of the money should be spent. After a few days, Mr. Geldof was extremely angry and depressed by what he viewed as the rather unhealthy competition among relief groups and the government’s totally chaotic, uncoordinated relief effort. Suliaman Osman Fagiri, Deputy Governor of the Eastern Region, made the mistake of launching into an extended official explanation of the impediments to speedy assistance for the refugees. As the governor droned on, Mr. Geldof began pounding out a drum beat on the governor’s coffee table and humming the lead tune from the latest album by his group, The Boomtown Rats. Mr. Geldof then informed the governor that he had no interest in listening to bureaucratic explanations. “It’s really very simple, Governor,” he said, pointing his index finger at the minister’s chest. “When people are hungry they die. So spare me your politics and tell me what you need and how you’re going to get it to these people.”
The State President of South Africa promised blacks living outside the country’s tribal homelands a greater political voice today. But he made it clear that his Government had no plans to dilute the white Afrikaner power that has prevailed since 1948. The President, P. W. Botha, said, “It remains the Government’s point of departure that because of the diversity of South African society, it is neither desirable nor practicable to accommodate all communities in the same way.” His comments came at the opening in Cape Town of South Africa’s new three-house Parliament, based on racial segregation and made up of separate chambers for whites, “colored” or mixed-race deputies, and Indians.
Bishop Desmond Tutu rejected President Botha’s pledge to give the country’s black majority increased political influence. “We will not be satisfied with the crumbs of concessions the white man throws at us,” Bishop Tutu, winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, said at a news conference. “The country is ours.” Bishop Tutu, ending a two-day visit to the Netherlands, rejected Mr. Botha’s plans to set up a forum to discuss black affairs and said he would not take part in the discussions. “It is nonsense,” he said. “It is a totally toothless dog. I wouldn’t waste my time on it. We only want to talk when there is an open-ended agenda. Our ultimate goal is to abolish apartheid. The real ones that should take part in the forum are our authentic leaders and they are in jail or in exile.”
The space shuttle Discovery was reported today to be “performing satisfactorily” on the second day of its secret military mission. In what is probably the briefest mission announcement in the annals of American manned space flight, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration released a status report late this afternoon. It read in full: “The orbiter Discovery, her crew and elements of the space transporation system are performing satisfactorily.” Because the Discovery is carrying a secret military payload, all communications between the five-man crew and Mission Control in Houston are encoded and blacked out to the public. The Air Force has restricted NASA to the release of status reports every eight hours.
Smaller increases in military outlays were called for by the Senate majority leader, Bob Dole, in his strongest attack on the Reagan Administration’s unwillingness to reduce its 1986 military spending. He said efforts in the Senate to assemble a deficit reducing package probably would fail if President Reagan did not agree to smaller increases. Mr. Dole, the Senate majority leader, also leveled his sights at Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger for his resistance to reductions beyond those the Secretary said he made in negotiations with the White House. Mr. Dole also contended that Mr. Weinberger had used unduly large estimates of expected inflation in calculating the military budget. He said the Secretary had to be brought “into the game.” Mr. Dole’s remarks were his strongest attack yet on the Administration’s adamance on big increases in the military budget. It could presage an effort to shift the blame to the Administration if the Senator cannot put together a deficit-reducing package of $50 billion that he has set as a goal for the fiscal year 1986, which begins October 1.
President Reagan meets with Chief of Staff Donald Regan to discuss the transition.
President Reagan addresses the 1985 Reagan Administrative Executive Forum. Borrowing a phrase from the 1950’s, President Reagan cautioned his political appointees today against resting on the victories of his first term. “From here on in,” he said, “it’s ‘shake, rattle and roll.’ ” The comment drew laughter and applause from the nearly 3,000 Reagan appointees throughout the Government who attended the annual forum.
Worldwide financial deregulation is freeing business centers from Tokyo to Wall Street from restrictions that had both curbed and cosseted domestic financial markets. Among the sweeping changes are the lifting of government regulations on interest rates, elimination of withholding taxes on the foreign purchase of domestic securities, and the opening of domestic financial markets to foreigners.
A Manhattan grand jury indicted Bernhard H. Goetz yesterday on charges of criminal weapon possession but refused to charge him with attempted murder in the shooting of four youths on a subway train last month, Late in the afternoon, after a final 70 minutes of debating whether the shooting was justified, the 23-member grand jury informed the prosecutor that Mr. Goetz would be indicted only on three gun possession charges. The most serious charge is a felony and carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years. If Mr. Goetz is convicted, it would be his first offense and therefore unlikely that he would receive the full sentence. “It was the view of the grand jurors that Mr. Goetz was justified in taking the force that he did,” the Manhattan District Attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, said after the grand jury’s action. The decision was the latest development in a case that began on December 22, when, by his own admission, the 37-year-old electronics specialist shot the youths on an IRT train after they surrounded him and one of them demanded $5.
The Union Carbide staff warning in September of a possible “runaway reaction” at a tank storing poisonous methyl isocyanate at the company’s plant in Institute, West Virginia, was given “immediate attention” and “a simple change in operating procedures completely eliminated the concern,” a vice president said. Jackson B. Browning, who is responsible for health, safety and environment, said the inspectors had found the threat “in no way imminent.”.
Under pressure from business people and Congressional leaders, the Internal Revenue Service announced today that it was relaxing its record-keeping requirements for some taxpayers who drive company cars or drive their own cars on business. Under the new rules, many people who use the cars only incidentally on personal matters would not have to keep detailed ledgers documenting each trip. Salesmen and others who drive partly for business and partly for other reasons would still have to keep careful records. Last year, Congress passed a law intended to insure that taxpayers pay taxes on the value of their personal use of company cars and that they did not take excessive deductions for the business use of their own cars.
As public hospitals are taken over by private chains, the impact of the profit motive on health care is being debated. Critics charge that the chains customarily take two actions that affect the community at large: They raise charges to paying customers and eliminate costly services like burn centers. The firefighters in Louisville, Kentucky were distraught in the summer of 1983. A new $80 million city hospital had planned to open an adult burn unit. But when the city leased the hospital to Humana, a private hospital chain run for profit, the burn unit was scrapped. A nonprofit children’s hospital had treated adults as well as children in its burn unit pending the opening of the new city hospital. But when Humana canceled its adult burn unit, the children’s hospital, citing the prospect of further financial losses, announced that it would no longer accept adult patients. Humana’s cancellation resulted in a storm of criticism, led by firefighters asking where they would be treated if burned on the job. since there was no other adult burn unit in the area. The chain ultimately reversed itself and agreed to open the unit.
A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled today that a company is responsible under federal antidiscrimination law when its supervisors sexually harass employees they oversee, even if the employer is not aware of allegations of harassment. To hold otherwise, the court said, would “open the door” to circumvention of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “by looking the other way.” The ruling gives Mechelle Vinson a second chance to pursue her suit against Capital City Federal Savings and Loan Association here and Sidney Taylor, her supervisor, who she charged had sexually harassed her. The Federal District Court decided that she was not the victim of sex discrimination and, even if she had been, that Capital City would not be responsible. The appeals court said the lower court erred in not allowing evidence involving harassment of other women.
Rates for international mail will rise about 10 percent on February 17, the same day domestic rates go up, the Postal Service said today. The basic international airmail rate for letters will rise to 44 cents per half ounce, up to two ounces, from 40 cents. Each additional half-ounce, up to 32 ounces, will cost 39 cents, up from 35 cents. Surface rates also are rising.
Coast Guard officials recommended today that the captain and maintenance chief of the coal ship Marine Electric be prosecuted for violating safety regulations for two years before the vessel sank in February 1983, killing 31 of the 34 people aboard. The 38-year-old ship “was poorly managed and horribly maintained,” the Coast Guard said in its final report on the sinking off the Virginia coast, which cited the placing of more than 400 patches on hatch covers in the two years before the sinking. The report recommended Federal prosecution of the maintenance chief, Joseph Thelgie, and James Farnham, the vessel’s regular captain, who was not aboard when she sank. A spokesman for Marine Transport Lines, the collier’s owner, could not be reached for comment.
The Centers for Disease Control said today that influenza outbreaks around the country were striking people of all ages and that those in high-risk groups should immediately have vaccinations. “The outbreaks we have seen this season have involved all age groups from the very young to the elderly,” said Dr. Karl Kappus of the centers’ influenza surveillance branch.
Religious groups are stepping up financial support for social change, human rights and advocacy issues, while maintaining their traditional charity for the hungry and the homeless, according to a study of sectarian philanthropies.
Carl Lewis won and was booed because he took only four of his six long jumps. Diane Dixon won, and the announcement of her victory was booed because a breakdown in the automatic timer cost her an American indoor record. Mary Decker was cheered and booed before the women’s mile, but there were only cheers after she won. But the greatest cheers last night at the 78th annual Wanamaker Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden greeted Eamonn Coghlan’s victory in the Wanamaker Mile. His time of 3 minutes 53.82 seconds was the second fastest in Millrose history, bettered only by his 3:53.0 in 1981.
Doug Flutie, the renowned quarterback from Boston College and the 1984 Heisman Trophy winner, has reached agreement on a contract with the USFL’s New Jersey Generals, owned by Donald Trump, and will sign it next week. Flutie’s attorney and agent, Bob Woolf, made the announcement today in Boston, and a confirmation by the Generals came from the club president, Jason Seltzer, at the team’s training camp here. The contract, according to sources familiar with the negotiations, is for five years and is reportedly worth from $5 million to $7 million in total, with the first three years guaranteed.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1276.06.
Born:
Patrick Willis, NFL linebacker (Pro Football HOF, inducted 2024;Pro Bowl, 2007–2013; San Francisco 49ers), in Bruceton, Tennessee.
Brent Celek, NFL tight end (NFL Champions, Super Bowl 52, 2017; Philadelphia Eagles), in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Danny Woodhead, NFL running back (New York Jets, New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Ravens), in North Platte, Nebraska.
Troy Bodie, Canadian NHL right wing (Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Mapple Leafs), in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, Canada.
Acie Law, NBA point guard (Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Memphis Grizzliies), in Dallas, Texas.
Shane Lindsay, Australian MLB pitcher (Chicago White Sox), in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Tina Karol [Tetyana Hryhorivna Liberman], Ukrainian pop singer, in Orotukan, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
History Diaries 