News stories from Sunday March 25, 1979

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

Agreement on the last issue in their treaty negotiations -- when Israel would return Sinai oil fields to Egypt -- appeared to have been reached by Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat in Washington. The first indication of a breakthrough came from Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who told reporters that the oil issue had been resolved. Mr. Begin accepted an invitation from President Sadat to visit Cairo Monday. [New York Times] President Idi Amin of Uganda was trapped at his official residence in Entebbe by Tanzanian tanks, according to a Ugandan government spokesman. The spokesman said the move by the invasion force of Tanzanian troops cut the President off from Kampala, his capital. [New York Times] Half of Quebec's population favors giving the secessionist provincial government a mandate to negotiate the terms of separate sovereignty and an economic association with the rest of Canada, according to a Canadian Broadcasting System poll. [New York Times] The jobs of Ohio miners and the profits of coal operators are at stake in a court test of the constitutionality of a federal law that the Ohio coal industry is seeking to invoke to protect itself from out-of-state competition. The trial will start tomorrow in federal district court in Catlettsburg, Ky. [New York Times] Utility companies and consumers in the South, once known for inexpensive power, are battling over the accelerating cost of electricity. All the South is in the battle, from Arkansas to Florida. Among the most militant participants are outraged customers whose monthly bills sometimes are larger than their mortgage payments. [New York Times] Some physicists oppose publication of the hydrogen bomb article, written for The Progressive magazine, that the government is seeking to suppress. Among them are scientists who are also concerned that, if the case goes to the United States Supreme Court and the government wins a favorable ruling, a precedent would be set for future censorship, on alleged security grounds, of crucial atomic energy issues. [New York Times] A bomb in a suitcase exploded at the T.W.A. terminal at Kennedy International Airport, injuring four employees just minutes before the suitcase was to have been loaded onto a flight to Los Angeles. About two hours later, two bombs exploded in New Jersey, shattering the windows of a Cuban medical supply company in Union City and a Cuban refugee group's storefront in Weehawken. Anonymous calls later claimed responsibility for all three bombs on behalf of Omega 7, an anti-Castro terrorist group. [New York Times] Governor Byrne was pessimistic about the chances of persuading the Army not to transfer its Fort Dix training center to Fort Jackson in South Carolina. At stake in New Jersey is the major portion of a civilian payroll at Fort Dix, which totaled $36 million last year, and a military payroll of $81 million. About 3,300 civilians are employed there. A formal announcement of the transfer is expected from the Defense Department April 1. [New York Times] An overseer religious group would guide the Islamic republic proposed for Iran under a constitution that is being drafted by the Revolutionary Council appointed by Ayatollah Khomeini. It would review, ratify or reject government actions to insure that the government's laws and policies followed Islamic principles. [New York Times] Pressures for John Vorster's resignation as President of South Africa increased following a charge that while Prime Minister he had lied to the country about the secret operations of the Information Ministry, which are alleged to have involved bribery and political manipulation in the United States and other countries. [New York Times] His proposed revision of federal regulations was described by President Carter as "a call to common sense." He said at a meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters in Dallas that "it is time we take control of federal regulations in America" and that his proposals, outlined in an accompanying message to Congress, would provide the first comprehensive rewriting of the regulations in 30 years. [New York Times] Steps to prevent Soviet eavesdropping on the United States telephone system have been taken by the administration. After years of debate that began in the Ford administration, the government has established a bureau, an adjunct of the Commerce Department, called the Special Projects Office. [New York Times] Hopes for reform in East St. Louis, Ill., which some think is hopelessly corrupt, are pinned on Carl Officer, a 26-year-old undertaker with little political experience. Mr. Officer defeated Mayor William Mason, whose administration has been scandal-ridden, by a margin of nearly 3 to 1 in a recent Democratic primary. [New York Times]