Pacific News-Review

Notes And Comment On

International Affairs

From Dec. 14 To Jan. 14

jj ec i 4 The Communist-controlled

Ironworkers’ Union has agreed to apply to the New South Wales Industrial Com mission for re-registration, thus sur rendering the main issue preventing the end of the strike that has caused in dustrial chaos in NSW. It is believed that the NSW miners will resume worK on Monday but, as they will have only five working days before their 16 days holiday commences on December 22, it is doubtful if there will be much relief from gas and power rationing which has tied up industry throughout the State.

Dec 17. —Prince Konoye, former Pre mier of Japan, committed suicide with poison early yesterday, before he was due to surrender himself as a war —New South Wales miners, after ’ voting to return to work by a narrow margin of 53 votes, resumed operations in all but five mines yester day. They are expected to hew about 200 000 tons of coal before their holi days begin. Gas and power restrictions and train cancellations remain. Sydney still has a 9 p.m. curfew.

Dec. 22.—1 t is believed that the United States has made proposals for reciprocity of landing rights in a trans-Pacific air service with Australia and New Zealand.

In return for permission to land in Aus tralia and New Zealand, Australasian air-services would land in Honolulu and San Francisco.

Dec 22—Russia has increased her de mands upon Turkey. Originally seeking the restoration of those areas taken by Turkey in 1921 when the British and White Russians withdrew from the Batum zone, the Soviet now wants the “ancient Georgian lands seized previ ously” and by which she will gam an important strategical strip on the Black >E)o£t Dec. 22.—General George (“Blood and Guts”) Patton, of the US Army, died in Germany. He was severely injured in a road accident on December 10. In July, 1944 he landed in France in command of the US Third Army. It was he who exploited the Normandy break-through, which led to the German rout in Nor thern France, and he successfully fol lowed similar tactics when the Rhine front began to crack.

Dec 26.—The Indonesians have agreed to hand over all Allied prisoners-of-war and internees and Japanese prisoners-of war in Java to the Allies.

Dec. 26.—France has reduced the in ternational exchange value of the franc by more than half, to assist her export trade. The new rate is 480 francs to the £ sterling (previously 200 to the £) and just over 119 to the dollar. The new exchange, however, does not apply to the French Pacific colonies, where rates re main unchanged.

Dec. 27.—The Foreign Ministers’ Con ference in Moscow ended to-day. A communique issued simultaneously in Moscow, Washington and London, an nounced Big-Three policy on many out standing questions, including the control of atomic energy, and a new Far-Eastern policy. A Commission has been formed to formulate policy towards Japan and to help the Supreme Commander adminis ter that policy.

Dec. 30. —General MacArthur does not approve of the new method of governing Japan, decided upon at the Foreign Ministers’ Conference in Moscow. He says he was not consulted before the plan was made, but he will “try to make it work.”

Jan. 2—Britain has opened its big new

overseas airport at Hounslow, Middle sex 15 miles from London. Named Heathrow, it cost £20,000,000 and is de scribed as the finest in the world. First plane to take off from one of the new runways was a Lancastrian airliner bound for Buenos Aires.

Jan. 3.—William Joyce (“Lord Haw Haw”), who broadcast for the Nazis dur ing the war and was convicted of high treason at a trial in England, was execu ted at Wandswoth Prison this morning.

Jan. 4.—Mass meetings of all striking steelworkers at Wollongong and New castle, New South Wales, accepted the decision of the NSW Industrial Commis sion and will return to work. The Com mission stood-over the application of the Ironworkers’ Union for re-registration because the Union failed to give an undertaking about its future conduct but it ordered Australian Iron & Steel, Ltd., to re-employ Donald Parker (about whom the dispute originally started), although it refused to make his reinstatement re trospective to the day of his dismissal in September.

Jan. 7.—Coalminers and steelworkers resumed work to-day in New South Wales and gas and power restrictions, which threw half a million people out of work, have been lifted.

Jan. 7—Delegates from most of the 51 participating States have arrived in Lon don for the first session of the General Assembly of the United Nations Or ganisation which begins on January 10. j a n. 9. —Neither UNRRA nor the Al lied Control Council is able to cope with the mass exodus of Jews from Poland.

This panic migration is flowing west ward and into Italy by unorthodox means. Lieut.-General Sir Frederick Morgan, UNRRA chief in Europe, whose public statement last week about a “highly organised Jewish infiltration into Germany.” roused a storm of pro test in America, has been recalled to London, but he is still carrying on his work in Germany and has not obeyed the summons.

Jan. 10.—Prime Minister Attlee wel comed delegates from 51 nations at the first UNO conference which opened in London today. He reaffirmed the pledge made by King George VI on January 9, that the British Commowealth and Em nire would be solidly behind UNO in its attempt to ensure world peace.

Jan. 14—Australia has been elected to fill one of the six non-permanent seats on the Security Council of UNO for two years.

Jan. 14. —United States, at UNO, dramatically admitted her error in with drawing from control of international affairs 25 years ago, and gave a solemn pledge to co-operate with other nations in maintaining world peace. The an nouncement evoked a spontaneous and remarkable ovation.