Andrè Gromyko - A thorn in just about every Western side. But they liked him anyway.
Andrè Gromyko – A thorn in just about every Western side. But they liked him anyway.

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Two important events for this July 3rd in 1989.

First, the passing of longtime symbol of the Cold War and face of the Soviet Union, Andrè Gromyko was announced in Moscow that morning. Gromyko, who was two weeks short of his 80th birthday, died from complications after vascular surgery.

Gromyko’s career spanned the Stalin and Gorbachev eras. He devoted his life to Soviet Foreign Policy and played a major role in just about every major U.S.-Soviet confrontation all through the Cold War period. He became famously known as “Mister Nyet” for his many no votes and walkouts during UN session. He was once asked by an exasperated American negotiator if he happened to know the word for “Yes” in Russian.

With his passing, the most enduring symbol of the old Cold War approach to East-West relations had finally left the scene.

Meanwhile over at SCOTUS, a ruling on the latest challenge to Roe V. Wade reached a verdict while the broadcast was on the air. The bottom line was; the landmark decision on Abortion was not overturned.

And U.S.- China relations remained chilly as the U.S. Embassy in Beijing lodged a 2nd protest on a Chinese army shoot up of a diplomatic housing compound. The embassy report stated the incidents were premeditated and that certain apartments seemed to have been targeted; specifically those of Foreign Defense attachès. The attacks came one day after U.S. authorities announced Chinese dissident Feng li Jiang and his wife were holed up at the U.S. Embassy. No comment from the Chinese over this latest diplomatic protest. However, the Chinese claimed they were firing at a sniper, who was hiding in the compound. The U.S. answer to the claim said an alleged arrest of a sniper appeared to be staged.

And that’s a small slice of what went on this July 3rd in 1989, as reported by The CBS World News Roundup.