A man was shot dead and his wife wounded at their front door today in Belfast, Northern Ireland and seven persons were injured in a bomb attack in a book store. A 22‐year‐old British Army sergeant died tonight after being shot in an ambush. He was the first military casualty in Ulster this year. Gunmen knocked at the door of a house in the predominantly Roman Catholic Ligoniel district of North Belfast and opened fire on the 29‐year‐old man and his wife. He died and his wife was shot in the ankle. Later a 59‐year‐old woman in a bar near the city center was shot in the back and injured when two men got out of a hijacked car and fired indiscriminately.
The incendiary bomb exploded in a downtown book shop behind the British Army’s security gates. A warning had been phoned but it said simply there were several bombs in the city‐center area. Shoppers ran screaming into the streets in panic when the bomb exploded in an upstairs room in the shop near the children’s books. The shop is owned by a Protestant charity. The police fear that tonight’s killings could mark the beginning of a fresh round of murders and end lingering hopes that the I.R.A. Provisionals’ ceasefire, which ended on January 10, will be renewed. Since then a young Catholic has been killed by Protestant extremists, and the Provisionals are believed responsible for the killing of a policeman and two schoolboys.
London is the center of a $24 million-a-year abortion racket, according to a Labor member of Parliament, James White. “Abortions are carried out in the main on foreign women who are treated like cattle,” White said. He was speaking in the House of Commons in support of legislation calling for closer supervision of licensed abortion clinics. He said some London clinics are suspected of using taxi drivers at London’s Heathrow Airport to “hijack” pregnant foreign girls. Abortion is legal in Britain.
Major grain producing and trading nations will meet in London Monday and Tuesday to consider establishing a worldwide system of grain reserves, the State Department announced in Washington. The talks are an outgrowth of President Ford’s suggestion last fall for such a global effort. The Soviet Union will participate along with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, India, Japan, Thailand and members of the European Common Market.
The Portuguese Government officially put off the country’s forthcoming elections for a constituent assembly from the end of March to a date not later than April 25. The Junta of National Salvation decreed last May after the military coup, that the elections must take place by March 31. But this date was changed in a notice published in the official gazette today to April 25, the first anniversary of the overthrow of the rightist government. Military and Government leaders have been hinting for some time that they would not be able to complete election preparations by the end of March. Meanwhile 10,000 leftist demonstrators marched to the: United States Embassy last night to protest the presence in Portugal of sailors from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The marchers, many of them burly longshoremen in safety helmets, defied a six-day ban on demonstrations while crews of 19 NATO warships were on shore leave at the end of their 10-day exercise.
The art detective charged with tracking down three Renaissance masterpieces stolen from the Ducal Palace in Urbino urged Italy to refuse to pay a $4.8 million ransom. The government has not yet indicated how it views the ransom demand, telephoned to the art superintendent of Urbino in central Italy. Rodolfo Siviero, chief of the Bureau for the Recovery of Stolen Art Treasures,” warned that any action taken to meet the ransom would set a precedent.
The condition of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis improved and stabilized, medical authorities said. A spokeswoman at the American Hospital near Paris where Onassis is being treated said that he was “a little bit better,” his condition was “not really serious” and he was not in intensive care.
Nine members of the Stannary, the parliament of the Duchy of Cornwall, signed a resolution declaring Cornwall, and its 350,000 Cornishmen, independent of the United Kingdom. Bus conductor Brian Hamblet drew up the document, referring to himself as the “Lord Protector of the Stannary Parliament”, after being referred to as Lord Protector of the Stannaries in a letter from the Ministry for the Environment.
Spain moved naval and marine units into two enclaves on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast today in an apparent answer to Morocco’s assertion of rights to the territories, the Europa Press agency reported in Madrid.
The Pentagon confirmed that 28 security badges with falsified signatures and fingerprints were issued at an Army missile base in West Germany in 1974, but a spokesman said that the badges were issued to members of the unit stationed at the base in preparation for an inspection. Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wisconsin) called on the Pentagon to investigate the incident, which he said took place at a nuclear missile launching site at Bad Kreuznach. The Defense Department would not confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any precise location.
The major Swedish and French warplane makers are offering four Governments in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization financial inducements in an effort to head off the purchase by these countries of United States fighter aircraft. The effort to persuade the Netherlands, Belgian, Norwegian and Danish Governments to “Buy European” and to reject the General Dynamics lightweight F — 16 fighter has been accompanied by warnings that purchase of the American plane, already ordered by the United States Air Force, will be a serious, perhaps fatal blow to the European aircraft industry. Alan H.C. Greenwood of British Aircraft Corporation, president of the Association of European Aerospace Manufacturers, said recently that the European industry, with about 500,000 workers, was in danger of becoming a subcontractor to the United States industry. Other German, French and British sources have said that the outcome of the fighter sweepstakes, involving the sale of 346 aircraft, will determine Europe’s viability as a major manufacturer of aircraft for its own use and for export.
An explosion destroyed a clothing store today in the southern Mediterranean port city of Ashdod, Israel and started a fire that damaged four adjacent shops, the police reported. A police spokesman declined to comment on Palestinian guerrilla claims that Arab saboteurs had caused the explosion. He said the police were investigating whether the blast had been caused by Arab guerrillas, a criminal vendetta, or a gas leak. A statement issued in Beirut by the Palestinian agency WAFA said that guerrilla bombs had blown up seven shops, a restaurant, and several other buildings, killing or wounding several Israelis. The Israeli police spokesman, rejecting the guerrilla casualty claims, said that the shops were closed and there were no casualties. Another explosion today, in the northern Sinai town of El Arish, killed a 6-year-old Arab boy and injured three other children, military sources said. The cause of the explosion in an Arab house was not known.
A private American contractor in Los Angeles is recruiting several hundred former members of the United States Special Forces and other Vietnam war veterans to train Saudi Arabian troops to protect oilfields. The training will be carried out in Saudi Arabia under a $77 million Defense Department contract awarded to the Vinnell Corporation, an engineering and construction concern that has been active for years in the Persian Gulf. It is the first such contract given to a private American company to train a foreign army, the company said.
A shipment of American-made Tow anti-tank missiles recently arrived in Oman, a highly placed informant said. The United States agreed last month to sell an undisclosed quantity of missiles in the first known direct arms sale by Washington to the Omani government. This was regarded as a further indication of growing American interest in Oman, a conservative oil-producing nation, which is getting support from the Shah of Iran against a radical-led rebellion in Dhofar Province.
An Iraqi official says Baghdad “floats on a lake of oil” that will make Iraq’s reserves the second largest in the world, the Beirut newspaper Al Anwar said today.
A bomb blast at Peshawar University in Rawalpindi killed 18 persons including Hyat Mohammad. Khan Sherpao, 37, home minister of Pakistan’s politically troubled northwest frontier province and a close friend of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto, who had talks in Washington with President Ford earlier in this week, canceled his scheduled visit to Romania and planned to fly directly home from New York. A bomb also exploded in a small hotel in downtown Rawalpindi, injuring two persons and causing extensive damage.
1800 Unification church couples wed in Korea.
A shark tore off the leg of an 11-year-old boy before the eyes of his mother at a south Australia beach at Point Sinclair. The boy, Wade Shipard, died on the way to a hospital. He was swimming to a fishing boat offshore to get fresh crayfish when the shark attacked. His mother, Aileen Shipard, said he screamed, “Shark, mum,” but there was nothing she could do. The trawler captain jumped into the water, beat off the shark with a gaff, and gave the boy first aid on the beach, but was unable to save his life.
The Northern Marianas Islands, where some of the hardest fighting in World War II took place, are on the verge of signing an agreement to affiliate with the United States as a commonwealth, President Ford’s special envoy here says.
The United States will reduce its shrimping fleet off the coast of Brazil and pay an increased tax for shrimping rights, according to an agreement reached last night between the two nations. The new shrimping accord, which is expected to be ratified this month and will remain in effect until 1977, does not involve any change in the divergent positions of the two governments on the issue of territorial waters and fishing jurisdiction. Brazil claims territorial waters extending 200 miles from the coast, whereas the United States recognizes territorial claims of 12 miles.
Ethiopia’s military rulers said today that Eritrean guerrillas had tried but failed to cut the vital road link between Addis Ababa and its only supply of oil. An announcement by the military government over the national radio said that three guerrillas had been killed in an unsuccessful attempt to blow up a major bridge on the road between Addis Ababa and the Red Sea port of Assab, site of the country’s only refinery. Earlier, reliable sources in Addis Ababa said that guerrillas had blown up a bridge southwest of Assab, effectively cutting the road link to the capital.
The six-month transition period allowed under law for former President Richard Nixon to “adjust to the life of a private citizen” expires today. He will then become a private citizen with sharply reduced perquisites allowed him from government funds. He is also a frail and lonely recluse clinging to the hope of salvaging his reputation and returning to politics. He insists that despite “errors of judgment” he is innocent of any criminal wrongdoing.
There were 4 inches of snow on the ground and the temperature was 10 degrees above zero, but the outdoor pool at Camp David is heated, so President Ford went for an early morning swim. Mr. Ford has had to give up regular swimming since moving into the White House six months ago and evidently did not intend to let the elements get in the way of a chance to take a dip.
The White House announced that John Dunlop, a Harvard economist and a former director of the Cost of Living Council, will be nominated as Secretary of Labor. At first, he reportedly refused President Ford’s offer to succeed Peter Brennan, who has resigned, but changed his mind following repeated appeals.
Meeting privately with a small group of Washington reporters, Attorney General Edward H. Levi was asked what his first act as the nation’s chief law enforcement might be. The first advice I’d give to the President is that he should not appoint me,” he replied. But, Levi said that “No matter how foolish the President was in asking me to do this,” it was an offer that was hard to refuse. The exchange actually took place a few weeks ago, but had to be withheld from publication because Levi stipulated that it be considered off the record until he was confirmed by the Senate.
Rep. Wilbur D. Mills (D-Arkansas) said he was “in every respect… materially improved” and hoped to return to his congressional duties by the week of February 17. He has been recuperating at his suburban Washington apartment since he was released from Bethesda Naval Hospital after treatment for alcoholism.
The immediate release from prison of Otto Kerner, former governor of Illinois and former U.S. judge, and Theodore J. Isaacs, former Illinoisstate director of revenue, was recommended by James R. Thompson, the U.S. attorney who directed their prosecution. Thompson cited the “executive compassion” implicit in the release of Charles W. Colson and other Watergate figures from prison “before the completion of their previously designated punishment, for the same reasons we found persuasive in these two cases’ Kerner and Isaacs were convicted of bribery, conspiracy, mail fraud, perjury, and income tax evasion in 1973 in a racetrack stock bribery case, sentenced to three years and fined $50,000. Their prison terms began on July 28, 1974.
A battered but restorable painting by the 18th century British artist Thomas Gainsborough was returned to the museum from which it had been stolen after authorities agreed not to prosecute a suspect in the theft. In exchange for his freedom, the suspect arranged for the recovery of the $100,000 work, “Woody Landscape, stolen from the Wadsworth Athaneum in Hartford, Connecticut, on Thursday. Policemen found the painting wrapped in a bedspread next to a telephone booth Saturday after receiving instructions from an unidentified caller. The suspect. Spencer Wolff of Hartford, arrested after a tip, was freed when the painting was returned.
Senator Joseph M. Montoya (D-New Mexico), chairman of a Treasury appropriations subcommittee, has asked the Administration to explain what he called “serious allegations about Interpol and U.S. participation in the international police organization. The allegations to which he referred were made by a group called the National Commission on Law Enforcement and Social Justice, an arm of the Church of Scientology. It charged that Interpol had “knowingly falsified its history and functions to members of Congress in order to gain access to FBI files and maintain increased U.S. financial support.
The Central Intelligence Agency has the right, at least temporarily, to suppress information in a book about the agency’s secret activities. The appellate court in Washington overturned a ruling by U.S. District Judge Albert V. Ryan in favor of Victor L Marchetti and John D. Marks, authors of “The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence. The court ordered that the case be retried. The authors, both former CIA agents, had contended that the agency improperly forced them to make 168 deletions in their manuscript before the book could be published.
He tried without success to turn back part of his pay to the federal government, so freshman Rep. Larry Pressler (R-South Dakota) is giving it to South Dakota instead. Pressler has made a campaign promise to set an anti-inflationary example by returning 10% of his pay. But the House sergeant-at-arms refused his offer, citing a 1925 decision by the controller general that stated: “Members of Congress may not, in the absence of statutory authority, waive any portion of their statutory salaries.” Pressler said: “Incredibly, our government, with a projected deficit of $51.9 billion, is unable to accept money voluntarily refunded by members of Congress.” He hasn’t given up, though. He has introduced a bill that would allow voluntary salary refunds by members of Congress or any federal employee. In the meantime, Pressler is giving the 10% to his home state in $354 monthly payments. South Dakota will appreciate it, he said, and can find ways to use it.
Pessimism about business conditions now and in the next six months was expressed by a majority of Americans interviewed by the Gallup Poll. Conditions in their communities were described as “not too good” by 39% of those interviewed and as “bad” by 17%, a total of 56% with a negative appraisal Conditions were described as “good” by 37% and “very good” by 4%, a total of 41% with a positive appraisal,
An investigation has been ordered into a Milwaukee policemen’s party last year at which a 21-year-old woman reportedly danced nude and performed sexual acts with some officers. The woman lived at a halfway house and was said to have an emotional problem. She reportedly had been escorted to the party by two policemen who told the halfway house supervisor they wanted to question the woman in connection with an investigation.
College tuition costs — especially at private campuses — will rise more sharply than ever next fall. Most colleges report tuition increases of more than 10 percent, the highest single-year increase so far, according to a nationwide sampling by The New York Times. Many college officials said that the rise in tuition can be expected to continue for the rest of the decade.
Economics teaching at Harvard University has come under attack. Charges from within are flying at the economics department, long regarded as a source of strength and direction for much of modern economics. Prof. Wassily W. Leontief, who had been one of three Nobel prize-winning economists at Harvard, recently resigned at the age of 68 to join the faculty at New York University. He left Harvard with a criticism of the department, where he had been a member for 44 years.
Two major subsidiaries of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company are coming under wide federal scrutiny following allegations that they used corporate funds for secret political contributions, and that one of the companies engaged in illegal wiretapping. Both companies, the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and Southern Bell Telephone Company, have been the subjects of local investigations for several months.
Singer Wayne Newton was released from a Las Vegas hospital and returned home for a further rest after a 10-day stay for treatment of a respiratory problem.
Martyn Green, the British actor and singer who set the standard in Gilbert and Sullivan interpretation for a half a century, died in Hollywood of a blood infection. He was 75 years old. He had been working steadily up to death. His last appearance was in the British play “The Sea,” whose Chicago run ended December 22.
Pete Maravich scores 47 points as the New Orleans Jazz end a 28 game NBA road losing streak with a 106-102 win over the Hawks in Atlanta.
Born:
André Roy, NHL left wing and right wing (NHL Champions, Stanley Cup-Lightning, 2004; Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames), in Port Chester, New York.
Jim Parque, MLB pitcher (Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays), in Norwalk, California.
Tony Mounce, MLB pitcher (Texas Rangers), in Sacramento, California.
Damon Denson, NFL guard (New England Patriots), in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Joshua Morrow, American actor (Nicholas Newman-“Young & Restless”), in Juneau, Alaska
Died:
Robert Robinson, 88, British chemist and 1947 Nobel Prize laureate.
John H. Secondari, 55, American author and newscaster (“Open Hearing”).
Martyn Green, 75, British actor (“Gilbert & Sullivan”, “Iceman Cometh”).
History Diaries 