September 11, 1980, Forty Years Ago: Strife in Moradabad

The leaders of Libya and Syria announced the merger of their physically distant nations and agreed to meet within a month to form a unified government. The proclamation was read on Damascus radio after President Assad returned from two days of meetings in Tripoli with the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. A “revolutionary Congress” will assume legislative powers in the unified state which will be a single international entity, the communique said.

US Strictures Loom

Both the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee said that no more fuel will be sent to Tarapur. The two houses now have till October 1 to consider the recommendation and overturn President Jimmy Carter’s decision to make the two pending shipments. The administration thinks it can win in the Senate though it expects to be defeated in the lower house.

Sanjay Crash Probe

Sabotage has now been completely ruled out in the plane crash which killed Sanjay Gandhi. The investigation has established that there was no explosion on board the plane, neither had the engine or any of the controls been tampered with. The investigation was conducted in secrecy by the Director of Air Safety, H B Singh.