A daily pick of news events that happened on this day from the pages of Gulf News dated December 3, 1978.
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Saudi troops kill 30 in 3 days of riots
At least 30 people were killed and 120 wounded in the three days of fighting between Nigerian Muslims and Saudi police backed by helicopter-borne troops carrying automatic weapons.
Sources said violence flared when Saudi police rounded up Nigerians in a crackdown on illegal immigrants prior to the annual pilgrimage to Islam's holy city of Makkah. According to the sources, the fighting initially pitted Nigerians armed with staves and knives against the Saudi police. But when the clashes spread, pistols and rifles were used and Saudi troops were rushed by helicopter to the area.
Pakistan moves on Islamic law
General Zia-Ul-Haq, President of Pakistan, said he was setting up new courts empowered to strike out any law contravening the teachings of Islam.
General Zia also ordered all government officers to make immediate arrangements for civil servants to pray during working hours. But he did not announce any progress towards introduction of an Islamic economic system into this nation of 73 million Muslims.
Troops fire on rioters
Troops opened fire on anti-Shah rioters in Tehran, leaving at least seven dead.
However, unconfirmed reports said 70 were killed in the market and that an undetermined amber of others died in clashes in Isfahan. Combat-ready troops chased rioters through the narrow alleys of the Tehran bazaar with automatic weapons blazing.
Be a good comrade
The Soviet Union introduced a new law on citizenship, obliging all its 260 million subjects to be loyal to the state.
The new law, passed by the Supreme Soviet (Parliament) spelt out for the first time the actions for which citizenship could be taken away, a penalty sometimes used against dissidents. From July 1 next year, when the law comes into force Soviet citizens will be bound to observe the constitution and laws of the Soviet Union and "be worthy bearers of the high title of a Soviet citizen."
140 die after refugee boat is turned away
More than 140 Vietnamese refugees were feared drowned after their boat, which had been refused permission to land in Malaysia, was pounded to bits by heavy seas. There were 147 survivors.
A police spokesman said the boat, which was believed to have left Vietnam last Sunday, had been carrying 87 men, 47 women and 156 children. He said 143 people, including many children, were feared dead.
With China going Pinyin you order Beijing duck
The Official New China News Agency said it would adopt the country's Pinyin phonetic alphabet from January 1 when Peking would become Beijing and the agency itself Xinhua instead of Hsinhua.
The change to Pinyin, which has been developed over the past 20 years, was announced. The Pinyin for China would be Zhongguo. The switch to Pinyin would end confusion in the Romanisation of names of people and places as a result of several systems now being used. It also said the hyphen would be dropped from the given Chinese names.
Chemical warfare poison killed Bulgarian defector
British government pathologists have determined that the poison used by the assassin of Bulgarian defector Georgi Markov in London was a rare and highly toxic vegetable substance once studied by chemical warfare experts.
Sources said Markov, a broadcaster and outspoken critic of the Bulgarian administration, was injected with the poison Ricin four days before his death in London on September 11.
