CABLE BREVITIES TEN INCHES OF RAIN RECORDED AT NEWCASTLE

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 April 1946, Page 6

CABLE BREVITIES TEN INCHES OF RAIN RECORDED AT NEWCASTLE

Ten inches of rain fell at Newcastle during the 24 hours ending at 10 p.m. yesterday. Shops and roads were flooded and wash-outs have delayed trains. The total rainfall for four days exceeded 1826 points, isolating coal fields and interfering with all forms of traffic. Campers were flooded out and are being provided with accommodation by the local authorities. Last night hundreds of people were stranded at Sydney’s central station because of the cancellation of the train to the. north coast, and hundreds spent the night on the platforms. To-day the weather is fine with intermittent sunshine, and early buses and trains are crowded as holidaymakers start belatedly for Easter resorts. —Sydney, April 19.

Earthquake in France. An earthquake lasting five seconds occurred in the Hautes Pyrenees department of France. —Paris, April 18. Full U.S. Recognition. The United States has agreed to accord full diplomatic recognition to the Broz Tito Government of Jugoslavia. Assurances have been received from Jugoslavia that it accepts the existing treaties between the two countries.—Washington, April 18.

Surgical Cure for Insanity Hope for curing the hitherto insane by a delicate frontal skull operation is held out by an official of the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Grafton Love. He said the operation was not included on the medical conference agenda because it was felt that it might create too much sensation at present. He described the operation as delicate, but not difficult for a trained neuro-surgeon. He did not know why it cured insanity. Cured cases included dementia praecox, involution, melancholia, and suicidal tendencies. —Los Angeles, April 18.

Refuse to Sail Without Comrade Some members of Australia’s Victory March contingent refused to beard H.M.A.S. Shropshire for England until they were assured that Sergeant Albert Curtin, M.M., would be allowed to sail with them. He was informed the previous day that he could not go, because his marching and drill were bqlow standard. Sergeant Curtin said he served in the'Medical Corps and had not had much practice in marching during the war, but he had practised drilling since his selection. After some delay, he went aboard with several of his mates assisting with his luggage.—Melbourne, April. 19.

Inquiry into Indian Navy Mutiny Sympathy for the Japanesesponsored Indian National Army of Subhas Bose was one of the main causes of unrest in the Royal Indian Navy, which culminated in the mutinies at Bombay, Karachi, and other centres in February, said Lieutenant-Colonel Malik Haq Nawas, of the Moral Directorate at G.H.Q., giving evidence before the Government commission investigating Die origin of the mutinies. Other causes were political propaganda, uncertainty about demobilisation, and the officers’ lack of leadership. The commission, which began work at New Delhi, will transfer its sittings after four days to Karachi and Bombay.—New Delhi, April 18.

Contact by Radio Telephone. Radio telephone officials of the Sydney General Post Office yesterday made contact with a man in New Zealand within 20 minutes, without being told where to locate him. The call was booked by Mr. A. W. Coles, chairman of the Australian National Airlines Commission, who urgently wanted to speak to Air Commodore A. de T. Nevill. Vice-Chief of the New Zealand Air Staff. Air .Commodore Nevill was a passenger in the Dakota aeroplanes which were forced to turn back to New Zealand on Wednesday and yesterday, and is corning to Australia to represent the New Zealand Government at a conference with the Australian Commission and representatives of the British Overseas Airways Corporation. —Sydney, April 19. Italian Air Traffic.

Following British representations, the Italian Government has suspended an agreement which it had provisionally made for the formation ol an Italian-American civil air service. This is reported by a Daily Telegraph correspondent at Rome. The correspondent says: “New negotiations are now progressing to organise civil aviation in Italy with a joint participation of Italian, British and American capital. The British have claimed that the proposed Italian-American Corporation was a breach of an agreement made recently at Bermuda providing for equality of opportunity for Britain and America in such a case The correspondent adds that the British aim is to secure an equal voice in deciding the type of airfield installations needed for routes to the East. —London, April 17. Foodstuffs sent to Canada.

Senator A. N. McLean said he was amazed at the amount of foodstuffs being landed from Europe at Boston, New York, and other Atlantic ports which he bad just visited. “There is certainly something wrong,” he said. “For example, ships leaving American. ports with fish products meet ships from Europe in mid-Atlantic carrying similar products. Why should Spain and Portugal, which supplied food to Hitler during the war, be allowed to ship similar products to America when other parts of Europe are hungry?” Senator McLean added that fish products were being exported from Norway, Iceland, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom to get United States dollars. They should be obliged to keep the goods in Europe and accept British or other European currency until the scarcity was over.— Ottawa, April 17.

Turkey Seeks £125.000,000 Loan. I “Turkey, with her foreign trade .almost at a standstill, must obtain a £125.000,000 loan from the United States or imperil her entire economic programme,” says the Ankara correspondent of the Daily Mail. “Turkey has reached a decisive stage in her negotiations with the United States. Turkey is engaged in a big programme of industrialisation. New electric power plants, steel plants, and chemical factories are under construction oi' planned. To buy the necessary equipment, Turkey must have foreign exchange, but cannot obtain it because she cannot sell her products abroad because of high internal prices. Her best market, formerly Germany, is now lost. Turkey if she gets a loan, intends to buy ships, building machinery, railway rolling stock, material, and additional industrial plant.”—London, April 17.