World’s News in a Nutshell.

Northland Age, Volume 2, Issue 25, 24 March 1933, Page 5

World’s News in a Nutshell.

Britain is stirred by the arrest of employees of the Vickers Electrical Company in Russia. The British Ambassador at Moscow has conferred with the Soviet Foreign Minister and informed him of the British Government’s view that there was no justification for the charges of sabotage preferred against the arrested men. It is stated that unless they are released both trade and diplomatic relations with Russia will be broken off. > ' i

London recently heard a novel analysis of modern street ti’affic problems by Sir Raymond Unwin. The president of the Royal Institute of British Architects says street purposes have entirely changed. We run what are practically locomotives at locomotive speed on highways meant for horses and pedestrians. A complete new planning must come. It will expedite traffic through streets on which are no shops, and will assure safety of adults and children on foot —The pedestrians will move leisurely in parallel streets which will have shops but no motor traffic.

India sees a firmer peace and sounder finances coming upon it. The facts are disclosed in a speech by the Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, in opening the Legislative Assembly. The work of the Government against political disorder and for a better basis for Indian finances is now bearing substantial fruit. Still largely an ox and pony country, India has seen the benefits of railroads, and co-ordinated road and railway building are being sponsored. Short term debts are being converted into long term to give greater freedom —India is being prepared for Indian rule.

is kept well in the news by the Soviet Government’s arrest of six Britishers, employees of the Vickers Electrical Company, on a charge of participating in sabotage and plotting to wreck power stations. Officials state that the arrests are part of measures adopted only in the face of serious causes and in the interests of the State’s property. If a trial is held, it will be in public.

United States is going to desert the water waggon. The House of Representatives, by 316 votes to 97, passes the Cullen 3.2 percent Beer bill after a three hours’ debate in which the prohibitionists make a desperate but futile stand. The Senate amended the bill to lower the alcoholic content from 3.2 to 3.05 percent, but the House rejected the amendment, and a conference is to be held to compose the difference. The prohibitionists intend to carry the fight against the bill to the Supreme Court, asking for an injunction and to have the measure declared unconstitutional.

Seven farm organisations have joined in a statement demanding the immediate enactment of the President’s farm aid programme, and warning Congress that delay will be fatal.

Italy takes a lead in a project to give Europe a long period of peace. The project was submitted by Signor Mussolini to Mr. MacDonald and Sir John Simon on their visit to Rome. All the existing treaties), including Locarno, are recognised in the proposal. The proposed political and armaments truce would last five years. The situation for which Italy is striving is one in which the four Powers, Britain, Italy, Germany and France, would be loosely linked instead of being divided into groups, thus perpetuating the Peace Treaty status. * * * * Germany is maintaining unaltered its attitude towards disarmament. She expects others to disarm and herself to be given full equality. The German press has given a cool reception to Mr. MacDonald’s disarmament convention, pointing out that other nations by it would be permitted tanks and military aircraft, but not Germany, whose navy must remain small. Its army under the convention is fixed at 200,000 while that of the encircling nations, all leagued to France, would with France’s total 775,000. * * * * Austria has decided to reconstruct the country’s banking system by means of a central institution which

will absorb frozen credits and make it possible for the bank to provide new funds to enable Austrian industries to compete with foreign manufactures. * * * * Ethiopia confers with those who wish to store the waters of Lake Tana in order to irrigate the Sudan and Egypt. Five years ago King Haile Selassie, suspicious of British planning, gave a dam concession to the J. G. White Engineering Corporation of New York. Now representatives of four countries confer at Addis Abeba on starting actual work. Raising Tana even six feet would give 8,000,000,000 cubic feet of water to the Sudan and Egypt when needed most. Cautiously a great project unfolds—Fields may presently bloom “out of season” 2500 miles from Lake Tana.

Chile proposes and argues for a United States of Latin America. Gustavo Ross, Finance Minister of the Alessandri Government, favourably sounds out Argentina, Brazil and Peru. President Alessandri is thus encouraged to open informal negotiations. with diplomats accredited to Santiago. The Ross scheme involves the linking in a customs union of all countries south of Panama. After exhausting home possibilities, markets abroad would be sought for grain, meat, nitrate, sugar, cotton and metals.

Colombia, South America, plans the immediate development of a merchant marine. In spite of the Republic’s difficulties, Manizales Chamber of Commerce and leading industrialists launch a plan for acquisition of ships for both foreign and coastal commerce. Capital is not easy to raisie, but the low price of good ships makes the effort worth while. Colombia, second in coffee production and high in gold, platinum and oil resources, is in a unique position—lt is the only South American country fronting both Pacific and Atlantic.