Cable Briefs (Press, 2 July 1980)

On 2 July 1980, several significant news events were reported. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces demolished the home of Bassam Mohammed Habash in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. Habash was killed in a gunfight with Israeli forces the previous week after being accused of being involved in the murder of an Israeli secret-service agent two days prior. The demolitions extended to two additional buildings, and occupants were ordered to evacuate with their furniture before the destruction took place. In the United States, the Supreme Court denied the State of Georgia's request to carry out the execution of convicted murderer Jack Potts, who was sentenced to death for the 1975 murder of Michael Priest. The court's decision followed a stay of execution previously granted to permit a hearing for Potts, who had attempted to appeal his sentence but had changed his mind on two occasions. Internationally, South Africa informed the United Nations Security Council that it had withdrawn all troops from Angola, although Angolan representatives disputed this claim, alleging the continued presence of South African soldiers in the country. In Thailand, a series of bomb explosions in Bangkok injured at least 41 people. Police attributed the blasts to a sabotage plot by a Thai Muslim secessionist group, with a fourth bomb discovered and defused at a cinema just before it was scheduled to detonate. Back in Australia, General Motors-Holden announced the closure of its assembly plant in Pagewood, New South Wales, set for 29 August, resulting in the loss of 1,200 jobs. The managing director stated that the company would focus on expanding and modernising other plants located in Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria. In the United States, a judge barred mass murderer John Gacy from profiting from sales of his life story rights through books or films. Gacy, convicted in March for the brutal murder of 33 young men and boys, is currently awaiting the resolution of an appeal, and the judge has frozen any potential earnings due to a $10 million lawsuit filed by the parents of one of his victims. Lastly, Colonel Harlan Sanders, the 89-year-old founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, was reported to be in serious condition in a Louisville hospital due to pneumonia. Sanders was diagnosed with leukemia in June while being treated for the pneumonia affecting his left lung.

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