November 25, 1974

former Ethiopian Premiers Akilou Abde Wold and Endalkachew Makonnen and former Emperor Haile Selassie's grandson Navy Admr Iskandar Desta are among 60 aristocrats and former govt officials executed by mil govt; Lt Gen Aman Michael Andom, chmn of mil Govt until week ago, was also among executed; Aman sought peaceful solutions to country's problems with Eritrean Liberation Front; Aman's death apparently estab Maj Mengistu Haile Miriam as new Ethiopian Govt head; it is also reptd that another close relative of former Emperor Haile Selassie, Prince Asrate Kassa, head of disbanded crown council, was also executed; sources rept that executions were by machine gun at midnight; say sporadic shooting was heard in several sections of Addis Ababa; it is not clear if execution took place at prison or whether rival mil factions were firing at each other; 2-hr gun battle among soldiers reptdly took place at Gen Aman's home, where sources speculated that he resisted arrest and was killed; day after executions all seems calm in Addis Ababa; sources say armed forces are on alert and heavily armed soldiers cordoned off Akaki civil prison and adjacent hq of Orgn of African Unity; list of executed; ; Lt Gen Aman M Andom por (L)

Cornelius Ryan, whose popular histories of World War II drew millions of readers, died at the age of 54. He was the author of “The Longest Day.” Page 34.

Nov 25: Tunisia agrees on Nov 25 to grant asylum to 11 Palestinian extremists holding Brit Airways VC-10 airliner for 4th day; Tunisian spokesman says negotiations are continuing to determine necessary arrangements; earlier, 4 Palestinian guerrillas who hijacked airliner freed their remaining hostages, except for 3 crewmen; hijackers threatened to blow up plane if Arab nations refused them sanctuary; gunmen were joined by 7 guerrillas who were released from confinement in Cairo and Netherlands and brought to Tunis in exch for freedom of 40 passengers and crew members aboard plane, which was hijacked Nov 21; Tunisian information dir Abdelkim Moussa says guerrillas, who identified themselves as members of Martyr Abou Mahmoud Squad, asked that they be allowed to disembark in Tunis with guarantees against prosecution and that they not be turned over to Palestine Liberation Orgn (PLO); PLO has denounced hijacking; Palestinian press agency says PLO intends to expose group that committed this crime'; among passengers released are 2 Amers, Daniel Birch and Linda Lee Baarslag; 3 crewmen still aboard plane are identified as Capt James Futcher, Frank Sharpies and Michael Wood; all are Brit nationals; hijacking has led number of Arab nations to urge PLO leadership to crack down on its dissident elements; Iraq denounced hijacking and sent message to Tunisian Premier Hedi Nouira disclaiming any involvement in it; Libya had also denounced hijacking; 5 men turned over to hijackers by Egypt were under house arrest for firebombing of Pan Am 707 jetliner at Rome airport on Dec 17, '73, killing 32 people; 2 men released by Netherlands were being held for hijacking in Mar of another Brit Airways jet, which they set on fire at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport; 2 are Adnan Ahmed Nuri and Sami Houssin Tamimah; illus of hostages walking away from plane (M)

US and USSR apparently decided to avoid publicizing their differences over Middle East and issued instead statement in Vladivostok on Nov 24 that recapitulates what they have already agreed in past; wording of communique seems loose enough to allow Sec Kissinger to continue his step-by-step approach for settlement, if he can find backing for this in Egypt and Israel; with Pres Ford and Soviet party leader Brezhnev spending most of their time discussing other issues, little time was left for Middle East; US officials says they are struck by Brezhnev's willingness to agree to old language on Middle East, even though just 3 days ago USSR joined in UN vote reaffirming 'inalienable rights' of Palestinian people, including self-determination; statement, in language of Middle East diplomacy, is reaffirmation of Israel's integrity (M)

The Jets upset the Miami Dolphins, 17‐14, at Shea Stadium yesterday as Joe Namath threw a 45‐yard touchdown pass to Rich Caster with 5 minutes left, The Giants lost to the Cardinals, 23‐21, at New Haven when Jim Bakken kicked a St. Louis field goal with three seconds left. Details on Page 41.