WAR NEWS IN BRIEF

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 March 1945, Page 4

WAR NEWS IN BRIEF

• SWITZERLAND AND GERMANY WASHINGTON, March 19. The White House economic expert, Mr Lauchlin Currie, who has returned from Switzerland, has announced the complete success of his mission. The agreement made includes: (1) The Swiss have frozen all German assets in Switzerland, including those held through Swiss nationals, which are fairly substantial; (2) Switzerland aas ceased exporting, importing, and dealing in foreign currencies, so as to provide greater control over enemy capital fleeing to Switzerland; (3) the Swiss National Bank has undertaken not to purchase any more gold from Germany, with certain minor exceptions. .. BRITAIN’S HOUSES. RUGBY, March 20. United Kingdom housing policy was set out in a white paper published to-day. It states that Jhe Government’s first objective is to afford a separate dwelling for every family which desires one. Fos this purpose, it is estimated that some three-quart-ers of a million dAvellings are needed. The second objective was to provide for the rapid completion of the slum clearance and overcrowding programmes already in course of execution before the war. To remove

houses already condemned as unfit and abate overcrowding, a further half-million houses were needed. The long term objective is to secure progressive improvement in respect both of standards of accommodation and equipment, and to attain the objective by a continuous programme of new buildings, the Government hopes to increase the labour force in the building industry to 800,000 by the end of the first year after the end. of the German war, and thereafter increase it up to and beyond the prewar total. AXIS REFUGEES. . ! LONDON, March 21. •The “Daily Express” stated: The majority of forty thousand German and Australian refugees in Britain are here under temporary permits, which will come up for review at the end of the war. The Government is at present discussing a plan for refugees under which one-third would settle in Britain, finally to become British subjects. One-third would return to the Continent, and one-third would, emigrate to the British- Empire. Many refugees want to stay in Britain because they have built up businesses here. The permission of the Dominions and Colonies will have to be’sought before refugees will be able to be sent to them. ♦< Thirteen thousand refugees during the war, have gone from Britain to the United States*. ’ ’ . _ .