Cable Briefs (Press, 24 December 1977)

On 24 December 1977, significant developments were reported across various fronts. The Common Market has initiated plans to negotiate an agreement for purchasing uranium from Australia to support peaceful uses within Europe. This move also accompanies expectations of renewed uranium shipments from Canada in the upcoming New Year. The European Commission, the executive body of the Common Market, has sought guidance from its nine member countries on this initiative. In another development, the Soviet Union issued a warning to the Carter Administration regarding its stance on imprisoned dissident, Anatoly Shcharansky. The Soviet officials cautioned that the U.S. support for Shcharansky, who has been detained for over nine months, could negatively impact Soviet-American relations. The Soviet news agency Tass reiterated claims that Shcharansky had allegedly relayed state secrets to the West, an act classified as treason under Soviet law, which could potentially lead to the death penalty. Meanwhile, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced Ann Whitaker, a 38-year-old physicist and mother, as one of six American finalists for a joint U.S.-European spacelab mission set to launch in 1980. Earlier, the European Space Agency had announced four male finalists from Europe. In diplomatic news, Christophe Oberg, the Swedish Ambassador to Thailand, was reported to have crossed into Cambodia, seemingly on a mediation mission amidst ongoing border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia. Although Oberg's visit was officially described as a "tourist trip" with his wife, sources indicated that he aimed to facilitate dialogue amid recent border clashes. On a more alarming note, Patrick Kearney, a 38-year-old homosexual man from Riverside, California, confessed to being responsible for the murders of 32 individuals, the highest number attributed to a single person in recent history. Kearney, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment, gained notoriety for the killings known as the “trashbag murders,” in which many victims were dismembered and their remains disposed of in plastic garbage bags. In West Germany, the Christian Democratic Opposition party has called for the resignation of Defence Minister Georg Leber amid a burgeoning espionage scandal involving the Defence Ministry. Following revelations that a secretary had transmitted hundreds of confidential documents to East Germany, the parliamentary Defence Committee expressed dissatisfaction with Leber's explanations regarding the matter. Lastly, in Montgomery, Alabama, Cornelia Wallace sought an immediate court hearing for her estranged husband, Governor George Wallace, to provide temporary alimony and support during their divorce proceedings. In her petition, she claimed to be “penniless” and lacking financial means for the Christmas holiday, stating that Governor Wallace had failed to contribute any financial support.

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