CABLED BRIEFS

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32210, 31 January 1970, Page 11

CABLED BRIEFS

Snow Hits Poland Traffic in many parts of Poland was disrupted by six feet deep drifts after snowstorms last night. Nearly 1000 miles of roads were blocked, and nearly 1500 bus routes were shortened or suspended. Some trains arrived in Warsaw six hours late.—Warsaw, January 30. Viet Cong Move

The Viet Cong's provisional revolutionary Government, which has a Cabinet of 27 members, will be enlarged this year, according to the guerrillas’ clandestine radio, whose announcer said that the aim was to make the body more representative. The Government was formed on June B.—Saigon, January 30. Devastating Blaze Fire, fanned by gusting winds, swept through the Can-adian-American border town of Swanton, Vermont, during the night, destroying most of its business section. The residential area was saved by. the breadth of the River Missisquoi, which divides the town. No casualties have been reported.—Swanton, January 30. Vietnam War Toll American battle deaths in Vietnam dropped to 75 last week, the seventh successive week in which the figure has been less than 100, but the number of men wounded increased by IQI-to 815, and South Vietnamese deaths went up to 342, compared with 197, and file number of wounded to 986.—Saigon, January 30. - Dublin Death A- long-serving Republic of Ireland politician, Mr Gerard Sweetman, has been killed in a Dublin road accident. Mr Sweetman, who was 62, had been a member of the Irish Parliament for more than 25 years, serving from 1954 to 1957 as Minister of Finance, and the last 12 years as Opposition spokesman on external affairs.—Dublin, January 30. Aust. Drug Problem The illegal use of drugs has increased sharply in Australia in the last year, according to a Senate select committee investigating drug trafficking and abuse. The number of drug offenders charged in 1969, compared with 1968, -was 87 per cent higher in New South Wales and 67 per cent higher in Victoria. Sixty-six per cent of the offenders were semiskilled or unskilled workers, and only 8 per cent were students.—Canberra, Jan. 30. Student Clash About 30 demonstrators and two policemen were injured today when fighting flared between rival bands of Left and Right-wing students over the occupation of Rome University’s law department The Left-wing students had begun a sit-in to protest against the system of teaching and the number of obligatory subjects on the programme, and clashes broke out when extreme Right-wing students objected to the takeover.—Rome, January 30. U.S. Price Rises The United States whole-sale-price index, for all commodities rose by 0.7 per cent this month; the largest increase since last May, the Labour Department reported. This compares with a rise of only 0.3 per cent in December and showed the largest increases in food products, mainly processed foods. A . rise in the wholesale-price ini dex is usually reflected about i a month later in. the cost of I living and purchases by the ; housewife. Washington, January 30. Double-edged Inquiry 1 Britain's Automobile Asso- ; elation is investigating, with ; the aid of. computers, car ; wear and weaknesses. The ; double aim of the investiga- : tion, the first in Britain and , possibly the world, is to help ; motorists to decide how t money can best be spent on : preventative maintenance, , and to help car manufacturers to remove faults. The inquiry, ’ which has already covered , more than 3000 cars, should yield its first results within ’ a few months. —London, Jan- [ uary 30. Brooklyn Haul

A security guard was arrested last night in New York after the police had raided his Brooklyn flat and found it crammed with boxes of stolen goods, including jewellery, travellers’ cheques, guns and ammunition estimated to be worth about slm. The police raided the flat after a patrolman had spotted children entering and leaving the building with guns. For the last four days, the police said, Ernest Nelson, aged 58, an Express Agency guard for 23 years, had been-staying in the apartment, living on milk and biscuits, in an attempt to prevent the children from stealing more guns.—Brooklyn, January 30. Hoess, Not Hess

The commandant of Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp in Poland, was Rudolf Hoess, not Rudolf Hess, who is the former Nazi leader held at Spandau. Hoess’s name appeared as Hess in yesterday’s issue In the article about Auschwitz being liberated 25 years ago;