Lebanon was in the news again – so was Secretary Of State Cyrus Vance’s trip to China and news on Jimmy Carter’s upcoming presser – all for August 23, 1977.
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance conferred with Foreign Minister Huang, Hua for A second time today but mentioned only in passing the core issue of his visit, the normalization of Sino-U.S. relations. Vance and luang and their staffs met fur 2½ hours this morning at the Great Hall of the People while Vance’s wife and other aides visited the Great Wall, a 90-minute drive northwest of the city, and the Ming Tombs. The negotiations were to break this afternoon while Vance tours a museum and walched a performance by acrobats tonight. U.S. officials said no meeting has been scheduled with Premier Kua Kuo-feng, though one is expected to take place. Vance spokesman Modding Carter said Vance had mentioned the subject of Sino-U.S. relations in his latest meeting with Huang, but added the “real back and forth” will not take place until Wednesday or Thursday.
Jimmy Carter was scheduled to hold his 14th official Press Conference later on this day. Certain to be brought up was the issues of Budget Director Bert Lance and the looming scandal, as well as China and the Taiwan question. Also, no doubt would be questions regarding a plane flight purported to be arranged for the President by a company Bert Lance was associated with. The flight was never reimbursed, even though it was regarded as a mistake and Carter himself was going to pay for the flight or the funds would come out of his campaign monies. Either way . . .
And Lebanon was appearing in the distance and getting closer – Mounting clashes between Christians and Druze villagers near Beirut and leftists in south Lebanon today threatened to undermine the cease-fire that ended the Lebanese civil war 17 months ago. Arab peace-keeping troops have promised to send reinforcements into the arid Chouf region south of Beirut, where Christian rightists charged Druze killed up to 10 Christians yesterday. In south Lebanon, a journalist said Israeli artillery launched a “savage attack” on a Lebanese border town held by Palestinians, killing 10 persons and wounding 20 on the 14th day of escalating fighting in the area.
And that’s just a little of what happened, August 23, 1977 as reported by The CBS World News Roundup.
