February 18, 1975

Ethiopia, fighting Eritrean guerrillas, has requested an emergency airlift of arms, ammunition and equipment from the United States. The State Department said it was studying the request, but officials indicated there was some reluctance to comply. Page 10.

Cambodian troops attempting to establish beachheads on Mekong River and push Communist‐led insurgents off riverbanks are reptd making no progress; repts suggest that unless there is dramatic turnaround it could be some time before Amers can run another supply convoy from South Vietnam; repts say Govt troops have been unable to establish any new beachheads and are being forced to abandon river positions they held when operation began; casualty toll is reptd high; some boats have been sunk as they tried to reach wounded on river; sr gens meeting with Pres Lon Nol recently told him that only way to save Govt was to pull troops out of some of province capitals, perhaps losing one or more, and use them to open Mekong and defend Phnom Penh and its airport; main reason for lack of troops in Mekong operation is heavy toll taken by insurgents' current offensive; Govt has suffered casualties of at least 10,000 killed and wounded in combat force of about 50,000; Phnom Penh is said to be under no immediate threat; map (M)

Kissinger and Gromyko, in Geneva talks, discuss new proposals made by Kissinger on SALT negotiations to complete Vladivostok arms limitation agreement; US discerns Soviet flexibility on extending agreed 150‐kiloton limit on nuclear explosions to peaceful applications (S)

Chrysler Corp repts net loss of $73‐5‐million for ′74 4th qr, which is biggest loss for qr in co's history; co earned $74.4‐million in ′73 4th qr; repts $52‐million net loss for all of ′74, compared with earnings of $255‐million in ′73; ‘74 loss is highest for any yr in co's history; chmn Lynn Townsend and pres John Riccardo say ‘succession of difficult problems’ beginning with energy crisis and ending with recession led to losses; (M)

Thieves on Feb 17 break into Milan Munic Museum and make off with 28 paintings, valued at about $5‐million; paintings stolen include works by Cezanne, Gaugin, Renoir and Van Gogh; Ital Cultural Min Giovanni Spadolini denouces ‘wave of crime and organized violence submerging the nation's artistic and cultural treasures’; says Govt is considering emergency measures to protect country's cultural treasure; stolen works were part of private collection that widow of Carlo Grassi had given city in ′56; 28 stolen paintings listed; illus (M)