A daily pick of news events that happened on this day in history from the pages of Gulf News dated November 9, 1978.
Iranian exodus
Foreign workers, mainly British and American, are pulling out of Iran, amid fears that verbal abuse could shortly turn to violence.
Click here to view a Gulf News page on November 9, 1978(pdf)
Most of the workers are in the oil industry, where strikers have listed among their demands the replacement of foreign experts by Iranian nationals. Reports from Teheran say that foreign contractors are pulling their workers out as fast as possible. One American company is known to have chartered three planes during the past week to evacuate its workers and their families.
Oil industry sources says that the exodus of foreign workers will make it even more difficult for full production to be resumed after the oil strike ends.
Storm of protest over sacking of dirty tricks judge
The South African government's decision to silence a judge who exposed a major scandal involving misuse of secret state funds has touched off a storm of criticism.
"Arrogant and extremely unwise," was how former Judge Kowie Marais described the government's action. "A cynical, petulant act of frightened men," said opposition Progressive Federal Party (PFP) spokesman Kaw Swart. But the judge himself, Anton Mostert, refused to comment beyond appealing to the media to respect his and his family's privacy.
Democrats in firm control
President Carter's Democratic Party kept firm control of the US Congress following national elections that ousted some leading political figures from the US scene.
One of them was the Senate's only black member, Massachusetts Republican Edward Brooke, dogged by public disquiet over his financial affairs. Another was Liberal Democrat Dick Clark, the Senate's leading expert on Africa and a strong opponent of apartheid. His defeat in Iowa also robs the President of an articluate proponent of the planned Srategic Arms Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union. In the Senate - now dominated 62-38 by the Democrats - the Republicans made a net gain of two seats.
Ex-Premier is arrested
Military Authorities arrested Amir Abbas Hoveyda, Iran's Prime Minister for most of the past 13 years.
Hoveyda, 59, was taken from his home in north Teheran just before 7 pm but seemed quite calm, a close friend said. The Shah, who is trying to appease public unrest against his rule, also ordered a probe into the sources of wealth and property of all members of the Royal Family.
