News stories from Sunday September 28, 1980

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

Iraq's President said he would welcome a cease-fire with Iran and was prepared to hold direct negotiations with Teheran, but he again demanded territorial concessions that Iran has repeatedly rejected. "We announce before you and the whole world that Iraq is ready to stop the fighting if the other side abides by this sincere appeal," President Saddam Hussein said in a radio broadcast. An end to the Iranian-Iraqi conflict was urged by the United Nations Security Council, which also called on the two sides to accept mediation. [New York Times] Hundreds of foreign laborers fled Iran and Iraq when the fighting broke out and have been camping in a desert area in Abdali, Kuwait, for nearly a week without protection from the fierce sun. Most of them are Pakistanis, Indians and Bangladeshis who came to work in the oilfields and on the huge oil construction projects. [New York Times] Iraq was told by the United States that it "could not condone" the seizure of Iran's oil-producing province of Khuzistan. Warren Christopher, the Deputy Secretary of State, expressed concern that the Iran-Iraq conflict was spreading beyond original estimates. He indicated in a television interview that United States neutrality did not mean that Washington would countenance any drastic change in the situation brought about by the Iraqi moves into Iran. [New York Times] Only six aircraft carriers in the Navy's fleet of 13 were rated ready for combat this month, according to a fleet readiness report dated Sept. 15. In addition, only 94 of the Navy's 155 air squadrons were rated combat-ready. According to the report, 21 of the 82 tactical fighter, attack and electronic warfare squadrons were unfit for combat. [New York Times] A nationwide teacher shortage is developing when many school districts are undergoing declining enrollments and fiscal constraints that are forcing layoffs. The shortage also reflects a decline in enrollment at teacher colleges for almost a decade because of reports of a teacher surplus. [New York Times] Poverty is declining throughout the United States except in the large central cities that have been losing population, and it is increasing in those areas. The growing disparity between the old inner cities and the rest of American society has been traced in a study of the United States population by the Department of Housing and Urban Renewal. The study, The President's National Urban Policy Report, was mandated by Congress. [New York Times] Two top Teamsters' union officials have strong connections with organized crime, according to court documents and legislative hearings. The documents, which also indicate continuing underworld influence on Teamster pension funds, name Jackie Presser of Cleveland and Roy Williams of Kansas City, Mo. Both are often mentioned as successors to Frank Fitzsimmons, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. [New York Times] West Germany arrested six members of a neo-Nazi paramilitary group following the bombing at the Munich Oktoberfest Friday night that killed 12 persons. An official said that a member of the banned group was believed to have placed the bomb. [New York Times] China's Communist Party questions in its newspaper the "autocratic" way that Hua Guofeng was appointed party chairman four years ago, casting doubt on Mr. Hua's future. Mr. Hua recently resigned as Prime Minister, and some Chinese officials and foreign diplomats believe that Deng Xiaoping, China's real leader, wants Mr. Hua removed from his party post as well. [New York Times]