News stories from Thursday December 6, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A revolt erupted in Iran. Backers of an Ayatollah who opposed the new constitution, angered by violent demonstrations against him, occupied government buildings in Tabriz, seized the broadcasting station and apparently gained effective control of Azerbaijan Province. It is the center of Iran's largest ethnic minority, the 5 million Azerbaijani Turks. Local military and police units in Tabriz and other towns in the region announced support for the rebels.
Iran moved troops into Kurdistan as ethnic unrest over the new Islamic constitution mounted among tribesmen who have been fighting for autonomy. Six helicopters bombed three villages and an elite commando group sought to surround the main Kurdish city of Sanandaj, the site of previous clashes, according to a spokesman for the Kurdish independents.
[New York Times] - Optimism over a U.S.-Iranian accord was indicated by intermediaries in contact with Teheran. Sources said that these contacts had informed Washington that several members of the ruling Revolutionary Council wanted to resolve the crisis over the American hostages in Teheran and that a negotiated agreement might be reached within several weeks. [New York Times]
- Holding gasoline consumption steady, rather than asking cutbacks by motorists as had been predicted, was called for in a new conservation plan made public by the Carter administration. Also, targets for gasoline consumption in some states, such as New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, seem to be higher than present gasoline consumption in these states. [New York Times]
- A plot to steal government documents about the Church of Scientology resulted in jail sentences for five church leaders on charges of directing the conspiracy. A judge sentenced four leaders to prison terms of four years and to pay fines of $10,000 each and ordered them jailed at once. The fifth leader, who is the wife of the church founder, was sentenced to five years in jail and was also fined $10,000. [New York Times]
- Disqualification of a federal judge was sought by eight members of the House on the ground that, as a Mormon Church official, he could not rule impartially on a legal challenge to the proposed equal rights amendment. The judge's refusal to disqualify himself, they said, takes on added significance in view of the church's excommunication of a feminist who is an outspoken advocate of the amendment. [New York Times]
- A black broadcasting group won a 15-year struggle as an administrative law judge of the Federal Communications Commission approved its control of an NBC television affiliate in Jackson, Miss. A federal appellate court vacated the station's license in 1969 on the ground that the station had failed to serve the needs of blacks. [New York Times]
- Unrest in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow was reported to be serious among some personnel. They are angry and frustrated over the lack of Soviet cooperation in the Iranian crisis and a feeling that Washington has not pressed the Russians hard enough to help in releasing the 50 hostages in the American Embassy in Teheran. [New York Times]
- China banned protesting posters from a wall on Peking's main street. For the last year the wall has been plastered with posters by dissidents and petitioners criticizing China's leaders, demanding more democratic reforms and complaining about bureaucratic injustices. Henceforth, the authorities said, wall posters will be restricted to a remote park. [New York Times]
- The Pope ordered the Jesuits to pay greater attention to "doctrinal orthodoxy" and to oppose "secular tendencies." Pope John Paul II has asked the leader of the prestigious Society of Jesus to monitor his priests around the world and the leader has responded with instructions to all major superiors to remedy their "regrettable shortcomings." The Pope said that the Jesuits and others were "causing confusion" among Roman Catholics and "anxieties" to him for not more faithfully following his leadership. [New York Times]
- The Dutch Parliament voted a motion asking the government to reject the new nuclear weapons at next week's NATO's meeting. [New York Times]
- Food relief delays in Cambodia were reported by an international relief official, who said he believed that 80 to 90 percent of the supplies delivered to the Vietnamese-controlled government remained at warehouses and docks. He attributed the situation to a lack of equipment and manpower. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 835.07 (+6.66, +0.80%)
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* |
| December 5, 1979 | 828.41 | 107.25 | 39.33 |
| December 4, 1979 | 824.91 | 106.79 | 33.53 |
| December 3, 1979 | 819.62 | 105.83 | 29.03 |
| November 30, 1979 | 822.35 | 106.16 | 30.48 |
| November 29, 1979 | 831.74 | 106.81 | 33.56 |
| November 28, 1979 | 830.46 | 106.77 | 39.69 |
| November 27, 1979 | 825.85 | 106.38 | 45.14 |
| November 26, 1979 | 828.75 | 106.80 | 47.94 |
| November 23, 1979 | 811.77 | 104.67 | 23.30 |
| November 21, 1979 | 807.42 | 103.89 | 37.02 |