In The Herald: 1968

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday May 6, 2008

Jonathan King

* Four Vietnam War correspondents, including three Australians, were killed when Vietcong ambushed their jeep in Saigon. Another Australian correspondent saved himself by pretending to be dead. The five men were on their way to report on the Vietcong attacks on Saigon when they drove into a Vietcong-controlled area in the Chinese district of Cholon. Those killed were: Michael Birch, 24, from Melbourne, of Australian Associated Press; Bruce Pigott, 23, from Melbourne, and Ronald Laramy, 31, from England, both of Reuters; and John Cantwell, 29, from Sydney, of Time magazine. The journalist who escaped was Frank Palmos, 28, a freelancer from Melbourne.

* Spain announced it would close its land frontier with Gibraltar. The only people who would be allowed to cross the border would be Spanish workers who went to the British colony every day to earn their living.

* For the second time in five months the Melbourne jockey Bruce Jenkins had his car bombed. He awoke to find it engulfed in flames after a Molotov cocktail was thrown onto the front seat. The car was normally used by his wife. It was a write-off, like his other car that was bombed last December.

* The Federal Treasury reported that a recent economic analysis showed the economy was likely to continue to grow. The Treasury report said private investment in particular was showing strong signs of growth.