News stories from Sunday December 5, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- India-Pakistan fighting now involves air, tank and sea battles. The Taj Mahal has been camouflaged to prevent a nearby Indian air base from being located. India claims to have captured Akhaura in East Pakistan; Karachi, West Pakistan, is under fire. The U.S. State Department blames India for the outbreak of war; Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi charged Pakistan with launching the war. A U.S. 747 evacuated 405 Americans from Karachi. [NBC]
- The United Nations Security Council met in an emergency session to consider the India-Pakistan situation. A U.S. resolution for a cease-fire was vetoed by the Soviets, who back India; India is believed to want war with Pakistan. China blamed India for the war and wants a cease-fire and withdrawal of troops. The Soviet Union wants an independent East Pakistan. [NBC]
- There is a history of bitterness between Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India. Religious hostility is both political and military; there were wars in 1947 and 1965. [NBC]
- In Belfast, Northern Ireland, a bomb exploded in a pub in the Catholic district, killing 16. [NBC]
- South Vietnam's military operation in eastern Cambodia is expanding. A new force is on Highway 1 linking Saigon and Phnom Penh. A U.S. government study shows that the major reason for rising civilian casualties and refugees in Cambodia is U.S. bombing. The study was made by the General Accounting Office at the request of Senator Edward Kennedy. [NBC]
- A researcher at Columbia University found genes in human breast cancer similar to a virus known to cause breast cancer in mice. Viruses have been linked to cancers including leukemia, bone cancer, muscle cancer and fibrous tissue cancer. Two research teams reported similar findings. [NBC]
- 25 million young Americans will vote for the first time in the 1972 election. In Chicago, a conference of young voters met at Loyola University; 3,000 delegates attended. The goal of the group is to defeat President Nixon. Youth conference chairman Dwayne Draper defined the purpose of conference as moving America in a new direction. Rep. Bella Abzug urged youth to organize to defeat Nixon. Black delegates and Chicanos walked out when their demands were not met. [NBC]
- Citizens of Washington, DC complain that they are the victims of Congress' seniority system. Congress, which runs Washington, must vote to authorize freeways and subways to relieve commuter congestion in the capital, but funds are being held up due to a dispute. Rep. William Natcher, the chairman of House committee which controls money for DC, opposes freeways and subways. The White House is applying pressure to defeat Natcher. [NBC]
- On NBC's "Meet the Press", Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said that Israel will accept no prior conditions before beginning Mideast peace talks. On CBS's "Face the Nation", Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad insisted that Israel must withdraw from Arab soil prior to any negotiations with Egypt. [NBC]
- Chinese Premier Chou En-lai said that the future of Taiwan is a crucial issue to be discussed during President Nixon's visit to Peking. [NBC]