MIDDLE EAST .O~. Damascus today announced that ii has broken off relations with Amman. Damascus adding that it has also banned all Jordanian aircraft - from flying ln Syrian air space. And so still a,rother setback to the cause of peace in that troubled part of the world. So in the Middle East it's Arab versus Arab - again. Earlier reports from Damascus told of a major tank battle across the• Syrian-Jordania,r frontier; secoatl s u ch c la s II in t 111 o d a · y s - ..., o" l y 111 or e this ti m e - we are told. HOUSTON At the U S Manned Space Center in Houston - th . e men of Apollo F'fteen held today their first press conference since returning J:a from the Moon. Astronauts Scott, ~ lr11Jin and Worden - calling the lunar _ . Stlrface a "gold mine" of scientific infoYmation; adding that America's longest, costliest and most rewarding space mission - has clearly 11Jarranted an expansion of our••• present lunar exf>loratton program. Mission commander Scott also disclosed tltat - he and his crew mates - had left behind a memorial on the Moon's dusty surface; a silver plaque - &iiti- ~ . . . th l"t~ figure of a "fallen astronaut'' .J.. ~A e scu r ;:1' ) ~ dedicated to all their fellolD space men - both Russian and A mer i can w ho di e d helping l o m a k e th e i r ,,., · s s ion possible. PARIS At the peace table in Paris - another exercise today in marking time; with the Communist side se,adi,ag in its second string - pending the arrival of new U S C h, e f p ea c e de leg at e Willi am Port e,,. • SAIGON FOLLOW PARIS Meanwtile, the fighting continues. Including a series of enemy attacks today - against five South Vietnamese bunkers -, near the D M Z; according to U S int el U gen c e - - per It a p s t It e first st e p in a long expected enemy thrust in that area. Back in Saigo,a - another weekly casualty report; .,, ti, the number of U S com bat deatlts fo'r the past a,eek - set at eighteen; a figure sfaallS tllree -ltostile less - - tl,a,a the number resulting from 110•-~•.., causes; but> • I f ~ - of cou'rse - eiglttee,a too ma,sy. VANCOUVER The parched timberlands of B-ritish Columbia - ct,. in Canada - scene today of more than Jive hundred raging forest Ji-res. These sending forth a dense cloud of black smoke - now covering hundYeds of thousands of square miles; includittg vast areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan •• & ••• , ... - as well as ~ C'\V\--•;-~ ~~ ~ ) - Montana attd North Dakota~••*• -IN tAi IZ ■ca, ]urtheY spreading south and east - at a Yapld rate.- IISft .s 1i e Cr n ad i an Forest Service s a Y,J.:_•t•t a•; •-=:tt■l!IIS:::RIIIS•l!ltflc.:- t he situation Yemahas cYitica l. BERLIN In the divided city of Berlin - three day of marathon talks; will, tile v arious big four amba sadors - attempting to hammer out a solution lo Ille long standing Berlin l'••IJI ,r problem; and-4 w--0'P 1 ) near a compromise - we are told - when the meeting was finally recessed till Monday. Western officials later explaini,ag - tomorro• is the te,ath an,aiversary of the co,astructio,a of ti,~ N}IPDiA •• B er Un w a ll ; a,. occasion t Ii e Comm u ,a is t side •ill observe - •ith a so-called "victory ~ cele bratio,a" .,,., le tlae Wes tern side ~ hold,.. a memorial service - for tlaose who have died trying to cross the wall. All of which apparently cont•inced the negotiato~better 1:11 wait and try again next week. FRANKURT On the we I German money market - Frankfurt, the value of the U S dolla,- fell today to a new twenty-two year low. This latest d,-op - appa,-ently IYiggeYed by an article appeaYing in a DusseldoYf financial newspaperr;,,hicll said .._., the GeYman maYk lf10uld be re- pegged eventually - at t hYee.-point- lhYee to the dollar ~••P ■t •¢I•* instead of lite p,-evio•s four to one. In any event - the West GeYman Ce•tral Bad fir,ally step/)~ 1'7 baying u/) /arty-million American dollars ~ ta prevent any /urtller .,;;f:r,:~~ ":1•••, leii!pe ►&Af:,, LAKE OF THE OZARKS Al Lake of lhe Ozarks, Missouri - lhe formal r,nveiling of Chry ler eo.-pov••~o••• new line of cars something of a surpri e - in lhat Chrysler is••,-« reversing ~ a recent trend in /he auto :l ■ ~••x1 industry~ cutting back its number of models " from a hundredand-thirty .... ~ nine to a mere~hundred-an• four. This - according to Chrysler President) Joltn Riccardo - a move to "reduce the costly proliferation of trim• afld compot1ents - to ,, JI; si•J>lify tlae ma•ufacturing process;'~ thereby saving time and mo•ey - for all concerned. HONOLUL U F ~ J1/flel•e11:!:i' 11==&:•Bii:E :!• A. I he Hon o lulu Zoo ; a slalus report - -4? on /he rebeautificalion of Fifi,.llaQl 11111·•at \Vho she? ~ ' IA.. / ~ W ; a•• ;f a gorilla .-•-•· s enl awe, from the Seattle ,tfR Zoo last month - i~ hopes ~ she might mate with :E~ Honolulu's two male gorillas, ■ 553 -!J it was soon discovered the fair Fifi to put it bluntly, was just too darn fat. Anyway, Fifi has been dieting ••••IP ever si•ce; passing up the starches and sweets in favor of tropical fruit, cabba~es, and ba•ana leaves; to tl1e poi•t where she now measures - a svelte forty-five, seventy-two, twenty one; in tlte eyes of her two suitors at least - a real k•ockout~ ~~. BIRDS FOLLOW SHARKS new encyclopedia o f bird nam e s has just been published - including among its entries - the great racket -tailed Drongo - the yellow-bellied wax fJlll - the black-spotted bare- eye; also, the red whiskered Bulbul - the ••P Rufous-browed pepper d,:'1 shrike - and the blue faced Boohy. h-~= 1k ~ o-w-\ C"F:S A n'!A •••• u R a Uhl +-IC: fot ,. honey throated thrush - ea, ••• Warren Moran. SHARKS Appropos lhe season- this is a word to swimmers, skin divers and so on. Yes, sharks do go fter people. They normally attack some three hundred persons each year. Not many you say? Not enough to 111orry about. How about if one of the three hundred , . . , , happens to be you? The Natio11al Geographic tell sus 110111 tlae shark's teeth are razor sharp, and can bite off a,a arm or a leg or a ten pou,ad section of you. Also its fi,as and tails ca,a cut like s111ords. Moral -- ",aever trust a shark" - no matter ho111 small, how friendly, or ho111 stupid it may appear to be.