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Continuing its program of manned space exploration, NASA also made ingenious use of castoff Apollo hardware to create Skylab. Despite a troubled beginning and now its embarrassing demise, the giant space station represented another great leap. In 1973, three teams of astronauts occupied the station in rapid succession, one remaining aloft for 84 days. That record was not beaten by the Russians until 1978. More important, it proved to all doubters-and there were many-that humans could live and work together in space for long periods, conquering both isolation and the physical effects of weightlessness, such as weakening...
Drawing back from last year's ambitious plans for rapid industrialization, Peking's leaders have endorsed a more prudent policy of slow but steady growth, with more stress on consumer goods. Last week the Fifth National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp parliament, unveiled both the new approach and its key man, Chen Yun. Named a Vice Premier and head of the newly revived State Finance and Economic Commission, Vice Premier Chen Chen, 79, in effect becomes China's principal economic technocrat and a powerful figure in his own right. Chen had been purged...
...frail health, which may involve blood cancer.* The vast majority of Syrians are Sunni Muslims; Assad and most of his top officials are Alawites, who make up only 11% of the population. The Islamic revival that has swept through Iran has had its effect in Syria. Baffled by rapid change and denied the outlet of free political expression, Syria's youth has displayed a renewed interest in traditional religion; the new mood has served to strengthen the Sunni community. It has also drawn increased attention to corruption among Alawite military leaders, most notably Assad's brother Rifaat, whose...
Allocation formulas failed to allow for the rapid population growth in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth, and so even oil-producing Texas was afflicted with panic buying. Governor William P. Clements Jr. imposed mandatory rules on gas sales in the counties embracing those three cities, including odd-even sale days...
...Falk's gravel-toned bass. Together these actors form the funniest comic team since Zero Mostel met Gene Wilder in Brooks' The Producers. Not only should the in-laws reunite as soon as possible, but they should also bring Co-Star Libertini back for another ride. His rapid-fire portrayal of the martinet, General Garcia, is at once a deranged Seňor Wences routine and a one-man revival of The Mouse That Roared...