NEWS IN BRIEF

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22584, 12 March 1948, Page 5

NEWS IN BRIEF

SOVIET DIPLOMAT.—M. Alexander Lavritchef, the new Russian Ambassador to Turkey, has arrived at Ankara to fill the post which has been vacant for two years.

GOLD COAST LOOTING- The Colonial Under-Secretary, Mr. Rees Williams, told the House of Commons that goods worth about £1,000,000 were looted from commercial buildings in Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast, during the recent riots. A commission would soon be appointed to inquire into the cause of the rioting.

CONDUCT OF A.I.F. TROOPS.—The Australian Minister for the Army, Mr. Chambers, has refused to order a public inquiry into charges of immorality and black marketing among Australian troops in Japan. He said he would hold an inquiry but not a public one and would then ask the Chaplains-General to visit _ Japan with complete freedom to inquire into every aspect of the conduct of the troops raised in the allegations.

INFANT MORTALITY—The latest infant mortality figures for South Australia are believed to be the lowest in the world, according to a statement by Dr. Helen Mayo, chief medical officer of the Mothers and Babies Health Association. Last year the infant mortality rate in South Australia was 24.27 per 1000. New Zealand which, in the past, has often excelled the South Australian figures, had a rate of 24.94 for the first nine months of last year.

U.S. THIRD FREE PORT.—San Fran cisco today became the United States third free port and overseas traders will soon be allowed to land goods at San Francisco for re-export without customs formalities or duties. San Francisco port officials plan to open the zone within 90 days and hope to make the port a vital trade centre for Far Eastern and Latin American business. Free zones are used for storing, grading, assembling and repacking merchandise, but if goods are transferred from the zone into United States territory all customs requirements must be met. The other two free zones in the United States are New York and New Orleans.