Russian satellite
takes a great fall
YELLOWKNIFE, Canada (AP) — A nuclear
powered Soviet spy satellite fell from orbit into the
atmosphere above this remote region of northwest
Canada Tuesday, streaking vividly and soundlessly
across the pre-dawn sky and raising some fears of
radioactive contamination.
Canadian and U.S. officials said there was
probably no serious danger. But five American mili
tary airplanes, to be joined later by four Canadian
planes, flew to the scene, 850 miles north of the U.S.
border, to check for radioactivity and possible re
mnants of the fallen spacacraft.
"When it came overhead and we could get a
good look at it, I could see dozens and dozens of
parts,” said Yellowknife resident Marie Ruman.
“Each part had long, bright tail.... As it was disappear
ing the main piece turned bright red. It was just fan
tastic."
In Moscow, the official Soviet news agency said
the Cosmos 954 satellite had been designed to self
destruct in the event of such a fall. It has “ceased to
exist,” the agency said.
Canadian officials said any pieces of the satellite
..jLild have slammed into the earth in a sparsely
settled area 60 miles east of Yellowknife, a frontier
town of 8,000 on Great Slave Lake.
Canadian Defense Minister Barney Danson
said he was “98 percent or more” certain the satel
lite, carrying 100 pounds of highly radioactive en
riched uranium 235, had burned up in the atmos
phere.
“I don't think there is any cause for hysteria," he
said at an Ottawa news conference.
World at a glance
From Associated Press reports
Police demand proof of kidnap
PARIS — Police demanded Tuesday that the kidnappers of
Belgian industrialist Baron Edouard-Jean Empain deliver any of
his personal possessions “to prove they are indeed holding him
hostage."
The message was issued following anonymous telephone
calls claiming leftist groups were responsible for the abduction of
the 40-year-old nobleman.
One caller demanded release of two imprisoned members of
the notorious Baader-Meinhof gang in what was believed to be
the first information linking the abduction to the West German
terrorists.
Mitchell goes under knife
WASHINGTON — John Mitchell had surgery Tuesday for
repair of an artery in his abdomen and his doctor said the
64-year-old former attorney general came through the operation
in good shape.
Mitchell was reported resting “relatively comfortably” in the
surgical intensive care unit at Georgetown University Hospital.
In the three-hour operation, Dr. Charles Hufnagel removed a
large abdominal aortic aneurism extending from below the navel
to the breastbone.
Army moves deadly chemicals
BANGOR, Wash. — Nearly two quarts of deadly chemicals
once used in military training exercises will be transported Thurs
day from locai installations to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in
Denver, a Navy spokesman says.
The Army says the packages contain sets of various chemi
cals, usually in vials of 3Vi ounces each. In addition to lethal nerve
gas, there are chemicals that cause death by blistering, choking
or affecting the victim s bloodstream.
V.
/
Carter
orders
shake-up
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pres.
Carter ordered a major reorgani
zation of the U S. intelligence
community Tuesday, terming his
action a “major step forward" in
safeguarding both the national in
terest and civil liberties.
At a White House ceremony
Carter signed a bulky executive
order designed not only to stream
line the intelligence set-up but
also to put strict new curbs on
covert activities that drew fire from
congressional investigators. The
restrictions include an outright
ban on attempted political assas
sinations.
The president took the occasion
to express his “sincere and com
plete confidence" in Adm. Stans
field Turner, an Annapolis class
mate he named as director of the
Central Intelligence Agency.
Turner emerges from the reor
ganization with enhanced author
ity, particularly over the prepara
tion of budgets not only for Cl A but
also for the Pentagon's National
Security Agency and Defense In
telligence Agency. However, ad
ministration officials acknow
ledged Turner did not get all the
expanded powers he sought.
Economy Sadat’s biggest foe
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Most
Egyptians blame Israel rather
than Anwar Sadat for the abrupt
halt in peace negotiations and
analysts say the limping
economy, rather than the Mideast
crisis, continues to be the
president’s chief problem at
home.
“I believe Sadat can rule Egypt
as long as he wants. There is no
organized opposition in Egypt and
Egyptians tend to worship their
leader,” a leading leftist politics
professor said Tuesday.
"He would not be toppled by the
handling of the negotiations with
Israel but by the economy.”
As long as Sadat continues to
receive the support of the Egyp
tian army, analysts say, and as
long as the economy continues to
make "dramatic improvement," in
the words of World Bank Presi
Exxon reports profit loss
NEW YORK (AP) — Exxon Corp.,
the world’s largest industrial firm,
reported Tuesday its second de
cline in annual earnings in the past
10 years. The firm cited the recent
weakness of the U.S. dollar as a
prime reason.
Exxon, with operations in more
than 100 countries, said its esti
mated net income for 1977 was
$2.41 billion, or $5.38 a share,
down 8.7 percent.
Among other oil companies re
porting earnings Tuesday:
• Standard Oil Co. Indiana, the
nation’s sixth-largest oil firm, re
ported net earnings for 1977 of
$1,011 billion, or $6.90 a share,
compared to $88.2 million, or
$6.05 per share, in 1976.
dent Robert McNamara, Sadat
seems assured of maintaining a
free negotiating hand.
The Egyptian public greeted
with jubilation Sadat’s Nov. 19-21
fence-mending visit to Jerusalem
and his subsequent declaration of
“No more war." Many saw it as a
solution to Egypt’s economic de
pression and hoped more money
could be diverted from defense
spending into social programs
aimed at improving the standard
of living.
The relentless rise in Egypt’s
cost of living has been blamed for
the bloody riots of January 1977
when nearly 1,000 persons were
killed or injured in violence that
Sadat claimed was Soviet
inspired.
The steady increase in popula
tion puts pressure on housing and
job markets, but economists say
significant progress has been
made recently.
SUPER
KITCHEN
BUYS