News stories from Saturday April 12, 1975

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

There is widespread fear among American officials in Saigon that in an evacuation, many Americans and almost all the South Vietnamese who have worked for Americans will be trapped. Diplomats familiar with the embassy's planning say the estimated 6,000 or more Americans still in Saigon could be taken out safely only if Saigon government soldiers and police remained friendly. Few of them believe that if fighting did spread to the capital, the South Vietnamese could be counted to refrain from disorder or violence against the remaining foreigners. [New York Times] The Saigon government said that its forces had fought off the Communists at Xuan Loc, 38 miles northeast of Saigon and on a key road 21 miles southwest of the capital. But it appeared that some Communist units had bypassed Xuan Loc on both the northern and southern flanks of Route 1, moving westward toward Bien Hoa and Saigon. Indications were growing, however, that an attack on Saigon, regarded by military analysts as imminent, might come from within the city. Many Communist demolition units are believed to be already there, awaiting a signal to begin the kind of attacks that characterized the Communists' 1968 Tet offensive. [New York Times] Arson is said to be the country's fastest growing major crime. Nationwide, known losses from arson are expected to total more than $1 billion this year for the first time, and are estimated to be increasing 10 to 15 percent annually. Arson investigators believe that the recession is a principal factor in the increase. [New York Times] A simply prepared drink in which sugar and salt are among the constituents has proved so successful in the treatment of severe diarrhea that it promises to eliminate cholera as a major killer and perhaps mitigate the effects for tourists and babies of other such disorders, according to a specialist in the diseases of the intestinal tract. The assessment was presented by Dr. Eugene Gangerosa of the Center for Disease Control of the United States Public Health Service in Atlanta. However, another physician says that the mixture could not be patented and thus might not promise sufficient profits to interest drug companies. [New York Times] Premier Long Boret of Cambodia announced today that a "summit committee" dominated by generals had been formed to run the government and continue the fight against the insurgents. The radio announcement was made several hours after the American Embassy in Phnom Penh had been closed and Ambassador John Gunther Dean and the last remaining staff members were evacuated by helicopter. [New York Times] Prince Norodom Sihanouk said in Peking that the United States had informed him that "everyone in Phnom Penh" wanted him to return there to head a new government and help work out a cease-fire with the Communist forces that have encircled the capital. He said, in a statement that he made public, that he declined the offer which he said had been made in a letter Friday night from George Bush, chief of the American liaison office in Peking. [New York Times] President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, who was interviewed outside Cairo, said, in effect, that American mediation in the Middle East is no longer enough and that the administration must state clearly that it wants Israel to withdraw to its borders of 1967. He said that Israeli behavior during Secretary of State Kissinger's mission last month "has humiliated the United States in the area." He vowed that in spite of the increased danger of war, he will continue his policy of economic and political liberalization at home. "This policy is irreversible," he said. [New York Times] Josephine Baker, the American dancer and singer who became one of France's most famous music hall stars, died in Paris at the age of 68. She suffered a stroke Thursday, four days after opening a new revue celebrating her 50 years as an entertainer. [New York Times]