News stories from Wednesday November 21, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- "All hostages will be destroyed" if Washington mounts any military action in Iran, students holding 49 Americans in the United States Embassy in Teheran warned, and they added that the embassy compound would be "blown up." Millions marched through the capital, chanting faith in the Iranian revolution, proclaiming defiance of America and shouting "Death to Carter!"
Americans were seized in Pakistan. A throng, apparently inflamed by inaccurate broadcasts, stormed and partly burned the United States Embassy in Islamabad, killing a Marine guard and trapping 100 people for five hours in a vault. They were rescued by Pakistani troops. Other Moslem crowds burned American cultural centers in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
[New York Times] - Gunmen who seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca Tuesday were holding out with hostages in the shrine. A Saudi leader said a decision to storm the mosque had been withheld "out of concern for the hostages," but the government reportedly expected to order its forces to seize the mosque soon. Uncertainty continued over the identities of the gunmen and the numbers of hostages and casualties.
The attack on the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam, was led by a man who had been wandering about the Saudi city for several days claiming to be the Mahdi, or Messiah, of the Shiite branch of Islam, according to a pilgrim returning to Iran who witnessed the raid.
[New York Times] - Washington warned Iran that the movement of American naval ships toward that country should be taken seriously and that Iran would be held "accountable" if the 49 American hostages in Teheran were harmed. Administration officials described the psychological state of the hostages in grim terms, and one official said, "We are not going to sit on our hands and watch our people being slaughtered." [New York Times]
- Iran was offered forums by United Nations officials to detail its charges against the deposed Shah and against Washington, provided that American hostages were freed beforehand. The plan calls for Secretary General Waldheim to appoint a group of legal experts to examine charges that the Shah was a tyrant who stole from his people, and the Security Council would grant Iran a meeting to publicize its claim that the Shah was Washington's agent. [New York Times]
- Sharply less use of heating oil is reported by dealers in New England and the North Central states, the nation's two coldest regions, amid concern by customers over prices and fears of a shortage. Many early season deliveries in the regions are down by more than 50 percent, consumption is lower even in areas where the weather has been
colder than usual and dealers project a season-long cut of 15 to 25 percent below last year's consumption.
A record November blizzard sweeping across the West with winds up to 70 miles an hour virtually paralyzed parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska and stranded many Thanksgiving holiday travelers in snowdrifts up to eight feet deep. The storm killed at least eight people and forced the closing of many major highways.
[New York Times] - Opposition to world radio policies of Washington has been expressed at an international conference. The United States has been set back in efforts to expand its share of global broadcast frequencies for governmental and scientific use and to make use of growing communications technologies. Poorer countries fear losing all future claims to the airwaves to the industrialized nations. [New York Times]
- Football has given Houston unity, a community focus that the sprawling city of mostly transplanted residents long lacked. The Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys are vying Thursday near Dallas for the professional championship of Texas, and the game epitomizes the deep intrastate rivalry between the fifth and seventh largest cities in the country. [New York Times]
- The Concorde is an economic success on its routes between Europe and New York. At the same time, the supersonic jetliner is no longer considered a noise threat by its former critics in the metropolitan area who say subsonic planes create more noise. [New York Times]
- Anthony Blunt hurt Britain severely, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said in opening a House of Commons debate on the case of the noted art historian who was a Soviet agent during World War II.
The British book on espionage that caused the unmasking of Anthony Blunt as a former Soviet spy was based on many documents obtained from intelligence sources in Washington under the Freedom of Information Act, according to the author, Andrew Boyle. An American editor played a key role in the book's preparation.
[New York Times] - Pierre Trudeau is resigning as leader of Canada's Liberal Party. Many Liberals were restive about the former Prime Minister's leadership and pessimistic about the party's chances of regaining power as long as he remained at its helm. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 807.42 (-1.80, -0.22%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| November 20, 1979 | 809.22 | 103.69 | 35.01 |
| November 19, 1979 | 815.27 | 104.23 | 33.09 |
| November 16, 1979 | 815.70 | 103.79 | 30.06 |
| November 15, 1979 | 821.33 | 104.13 | 32.37 |
| November 14, 1979 | 816.55 | 103.39 | 30.95 |
| November 13, 1979 | 814.08 | 102.94 | 29.24 |
| November 12, 1979 | 821.93 | 103.51 | 26.66 |
| November 9, 1979 | 806.48 | 101.51 | 30.06 |
| November 8, 1979 | 797.61 | 100.30 | 26.27 |
| November 7, 1979 | 796.67 | 99.87 | 30.83 |