Three wars dominated the headlines. In Vietnam , US troops were struggling to halt the advance of Vietcong guerrillas, reinforced by North Vietnamese regular troops. In Nigeria, the breakaway state of Biafra battled for its life against the federal army. The new nation, a homeland for the Ibo people of the southeast led by Emeka Ojukwu , won a good deal of international sympathy but little diplomatic recognition. The shortest war of the period was the one most fraught with consequence.
Historians still argue over who and what sparked the war, but the outcome was clear and stark.
Having simultaneously defeated Syria, Jordan and Egypt, Israel was the dominant power of the Middle East, with the USA as its guarantor. As a poignant counterpoint in that strategic relationship, the only American casualties of the war were the seamen of the USS Liberty , sunk by the Israelis. South Africa's fascist leader, Hendrik Verwoerd , was assassinated by a disaffected white who thought the prime minister was too soft on the black majority. Also in South Africa, surgeon Christiann Barnard created a worldwide sensation by transplanting a human heart . His patent, Louis Washkansky, survived only 18 days, but Barnard's pioneering technique has since been so refined that some 50,000 patients have received new heats, and new leases on life.