|
|
News stories from Sunday September 10, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Syria and Lebanon called a special meeting of United Nations Security Council and demanded that Israel be condemned for making reprisal attacks; the Arabs made no mention of the Palestinian terrorist attack on Israeli Olympic athletes, however. The U.S. proposed a resolution condemning the guerrilla attack and calling on Arab nations to stop supporting terrorists.
At the U.N., Chinese ambassador Huang Hua sat in the president's chair for the first time. Israel was not represented due to the Jewish holiday today. The delegates of Somalia, Guinea and Yugoslavia introduced a resolution calling on the involved parties to cease all military operations. American Ambassador George Bush urged a resolution condemning the killing of Israelis at the Munich Olympics, which dashed any hopes of a Mideast peace settlement. [NBC]
- Five gunshots were heard in the Olympic Village in Munich; no bodies were found. The shots are thought to have been a hoax. [NBC]
- The Israeli chief of staff said that the raids against Syria and Lebanon were not just retaliation for Olympic terrorism, but were also due to the rising wave of attacks against Israel's borders.
Israeli planes patrolled border areas in the Golan Heights today, caught Syrian bombers dropping bombs and attacked them. Israelis on holiday celebrating the Jewish new year caught glimpses of the nearby action. Syrian planes dropped their remaining bombs on a Jordanian border village, killing eight people; Jordan initially blamed Israel for the incident. [NBC]
- West German officials reported that autopsies showed that the nine Israeli Olympic athletes were killed by terrorists' bullets, not by police bullets, during the airport gun battle. [NBC]
- Henry Kissinger arrived in Moscow to confer with Soviet leaders through Wednesday; he may also meet with North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho there. Stopping in Munich, Kissinger met West German Chancellor Willy Brandt at Brandt's villa 20 miles from the Olympic village. They discussed Vietnam and a European security conference that has been proposed by the Soviets. Kissinger delivered a letter from President Nixon expressing his sympathy for the Olympic massacre. Kissinger then left for Moscow, having informed the German leaders of his intentions there. [NBC]
- At the Munich Olympics, the U.S. won the gold medal in the men's 4x100 meter relay with Larry Black, Robert Taylor, Gerald Tinker and Eddie Hart. In the women's 4x400 meters, the team of Mabel Ferguson, Madeline Manning, Cheryl Toussaint and Kathy Hammond won the silver medal. In the classic marathon, Frank Shorter won the first gold medal for America since 1908. The U.S. also won gold medals in archery and boxing. The Soviet Union leads the United States 45 to 32 in gold medals; the Soviets are ahead 92 to 91 in total medals. [NBC]
- Apart from terrorism at the Olympics, the games have been marred by bad officiating and questionable decision-making. Boxing judges had to be replaced; the International Olympic Committee banned two U.S. runners who didn't stand at attention during the Star Spangled Banner. In the basketball final between the U.S. and USSR, confusion prevailed.
With three seconds to play, the U.S. team took the lead by one point. Officials then halted the game due to confusion which used up two seconds, and the game ended with the U.S. winning. But after a protest, three seconds were restored and the Russians scored two points to win. A basketball appeals jury chaired by a Hungarian official ruled that the Russian victory stands. U.S. Olympic Basketball Committee chairman William Summers stated that the U.S. team will not be present to receive the silver medal, because it is entitled to the gold medal. [NBC]
- One person was apparently shot dead and three people wounded in the Olympic Village near the Russian building; the shots were not a hoax as had earlier been reported. Police saw someone fire four shots near the quarters of the Moroccan Olympic team. The West German news agency denied reports of any deaths; one policeman said that three shots were fired near the Soviet quarters. Reports conflict. [NBC]
- A Gallup poll shows that most young voters support President Nixon over Senator George McGovern, 61-36%. The poll was taken after the Republican national convention. [NBC]
- George McGovern visited Rio Arriba, New Mexico, where Senator Joseph Montoya had promised him a crowd of 25,000 for a rally and barbecue; the crowd was large and enthusiastic. McGovern challenged the recent Gallup poll and promised to appoint a Mexican-American to a cabinet post. [NBC]
- South Vietnamese troops are under severe attack in Tien Phouc near Danang. Communists fired on three American air bases, including Bien Hoa, near Saigon. [NBC]
- Two British soldiers were wounded near Belfast, Northern Ireland. [NBC]
- Asian fortune tellers met in Seoul, South Korea. They agreed that the cold war will continue but there won't be another world war; Germany, Korea and Vietnam will be reunited; Taiwan will merge with mainland China; and President Nixon will be re-elected in 1972, but a Democrat will win the White House in '76. [NBC]
|
