News stories from Sunday February 25, 1973

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

In Phase III of President Nixon's economic program, the government is expected to reaffirm the 5.5% wage increase guideline, but the guidelines are flexible in certain cases. Wage increases will be triggered by increases in food prices. The new administration policy stresses flexibility. Pay and price policy director John Dunlop feels that each demand for wage increases should be dealt with on its own merits. Labor leaders are pleased because they believe that the administration is actually abandoning the 5.5% guideline without saying so outright. The AFL-CIO claims that corporate profits are soaring, and companies should have to pay an excess profits tax. [NBC] The devaluation of the dollar will make foreign products more expensive. Volkswagen announced that its prices will rise 7.2%. [NBC] The next group of American POWs will be freed on Tuesday. So far North Vietnam has not given the United States a list of prisoners who are to be released. [NBC] South Vietnamese civilians attacked North Vietnamese members of the Joint Military Commission with bottles and stones; seven were injured. Tomorrow in Paris an international conference on Vietnam opens. Delegates from 11 nations, the Viet Cong and United Nations representatives will participate in the conference. The attendees will try to agree on a way to supervise the cease-fire.Canadian Foreign Minister Mitchell Sharp suggested that the four nations now supervising the cease-fire rotate as chairman of the conference. This would be Sharp, Adam Malik of Indonesia, Yanosh Peter of Hungary and Stephan Alskovski of Poland. Secretary of State Rogers said that the U.S. would accept this plan. Rogers and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko agreed to meet privately this week; Rogers has already met with Chinese Foreign Minister Chi Peng-fei. [NBC] Henry Kissinger talked about the Vietnam cease-fire in an interview with Barbara Walters. Kissinger says he is not concerned about cease-fire violations in South Vietnam leading to the resumption of American involvement. [NBC] Heavy fighting was reported in Cambodia; American B-52's bombed targets. [NBC] North Vietnam is accusing the U.S. of stalling on its promise to clear American mines from North Vietnamese waters. [NBC] Thirteen thousand American servicemen remain in Vietnam; they are to be out in eight weeks. NBC takes a look back at the Vietnam war:The town of Ben Tre was occupied by the Viet Cong during the 1968 Tet offensive, so the U.S. and South Vietnam attacked. A U.S. officer was quoted as saying that the town had to be destroyed in order to save it. Ben Tre has been rebuilt now, but that officer's remark could be an epitaph the of entire American war effort. Much of South Vietnam was destroyed in order to be saved for the South Vietnamese government. Whole towns such as Quang Tri, An Loc, parts of Hue and others are totally razed. The U.S. dropped more than 15 billion pounds of bombs on Vietnam, leaving more than 21 million bomb craters. Farm land has been ruined and forests are destroyed. The ecology may be permanently damaged, where the countryside was once serene and lovely. Saigon is now overpopulated with refugees from its own country and others. Many in South Vietnam made a fortune off the war; the culture has been debased and the social structure disrupted. Six million refugees were created by the war. Over 400,000 civilians were killed during the war and one million were wounded. Many people, including children, were maimed by napalm. Of all results of the war, orphaned children are the most pathetic. American servicemen are fathers of at least 10,000 orphans. Half-American children are treated as outcasts. The U.S. says that American involvement has resulted in the chance for South Vietnam to determine its own future without interference from North Vietnam. Whether this goal was worth the price remains in question. [NBC] The Israeli government will offer money to the families of the people who were killed aboard the Libyan plane which was shot down by Israel. [NBC] The volcano on Heimaey Island near Iceland continues to erupt. The rim of the volcano has collapsed, sending lava towards the only town on the island. Rescue efforts continue for machinery and other valuables on the island. People have already been evacuated. [NBC] A 10-year-old boy was killed by a mine which had been planted by the Irish Republican Army in Londonderry. [NBC] Major league baseball clubs and the Players Association reached agreement on a three-year contract. [NBC] The "Terry and the Pirates" comic strip ended today. In the final strip, Col. Terry Lee dies in an heroic attempt to stop drug smuggling from Latin America into the United States. The series which was created by Milton Caniff was taken over 26 years ago by George Wunder. Wunder said he is sad about ending the comic strip, but he feels that American tastes are changing and having a fighter pilot as a hero is no longer popular. [NBC]