News stories from Thursday December 28, 1972

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

Arab terrorists seized six hostages at the Israeli embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. Most officials at the embassy were away attending ceremonies for the crown prince at the time of the attack. Four of the terrorists are members of the "Black September" organization. They demanded the release of 36 Palestinians who are currently held prisoner by Israel. Thai troops surrounded the building, and the government offered safe passage to the terrorists in return for the hostages. The Arabs agreed, but the Israeli hostages would be exchanged for the Egyptian ambassador, Thailand's Deputy Foreign Minister Chatichai and Air Marshal Dawee. Then those three would be released upon the terrorists safely reaching Cairo. [CBS] Much of the Arabs' frustration has its source in refugee camps in Israel. Arab refugee camps in the Gaza Strip are squalid and serve as a breeding ground for Arab terrorists. Most of the Gaza Strip's 380,000 Arabs live in such camps. Israel is trying to break up the camps, but the Arabs don't want to go into Israeli-built homes, and this makes the thinning of the camps difficult. [CBS] Harry Truman was buried today in the courtyard of the Truman Memorial Library in Independence, Missouri, after a short funeral service there. [CBS] Reports say that North Vietnam is ready to resume pace talks. If this happens, U.S. bombing will cease. The Pentagon declined to comment, and the White House said that those reports are speculative. [CBS] The U.S. had seven dead, 73 MIA and 29 wounded in Vietnam this past week. South Vietnam had 303 dead and claims to have killed 2,219 enemy troops. [CBS] The U.S. has lost $163 million worth of aircraft during the recent bombings. Each B-52 strike costs $41,000; 500 strikes have been carried out. Other air strikes cost $7 million. The cost of training the pilots who have been lost is $19 million. [CBS] The U.S. lost two more B-52's today. One crew was rescued after their plane crashed in Thailand. A helicopter crashed in Laos after being damaged over North Vietnam; the crew was rescued. Swedish observers claimed that today's raids in North Vietnam were the heaviest so far. The Soviet news agency Tass stated that part of Hanoi has been "erased from the face of the earth". [CBS] The Australian Seamen's Union announced a boycott against all U.S. shipping as a protest against the bombing of North Vietnam. [CBS] The Federation of American Scientists protested President Nixon's massive bombing of North Vietnam. Members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science held a separate news conference and a small protest rally. [CBS] Howard Hughes was forced out of Managua by the recent earthquake, and is now in London. Hughes is secluding himself in London's "Inn on the Park." Hughes arrived in the city without a passport. Member of Parliament John Grant says that Hughes got preferential treatment by getting an instant visa. Grant doesn't like that, and he contrasted it with the treatment Jane Fonda received upon her arrival in England. [CBS] Amtrak is testing new high-speed turbo trains for New York-to-Boston service. The Canadians and French have been using these trains for years. Roger Lewis, the president of Amtrak, said that the new train will soon begin service on the Milwaukee-Chicago-St. Louis route. Two trains have been leased from a French railway manufacturer and two others are being bought from the United Aircraft Corporation. [CBS] Troops are trying to seal off Managua, Nicaragua, which has been declared a contaminated zone after an earthquake destroyed the city last Saturday. The government is not distributing supplies in Managua, in an effort to get people out of the city. Refugee camps have been set up outside the city. The wealthy sleep with guns nearby to protect their possessions. The Agency for International Development is supplying a camp which was set up by the United States and currently shelters 3,000. [CBS] The Associated Press just reported that the Arab terrorists have released the Israeli hostages, given up their weapons and boarded a plane for Cairo. [CBS]