[?]o French Pacific

Bomb Tests Says Minister

5 recent report by a

lea political newssheet

ming rumours of an atomic in New Caledonia caused sions of another kind in try. newssheet, Avenir Caledonien, bich is directed by the Deputy r New Caledonia, Mr. Maurice mand, reported in December ihere was considerable talk in :al circles about the possibility France could hold atomic tests er South Pacific territories January, p. 20). The article sted that an atom testing d might be established in the 5 Islands, and that Noumea , be the atom stockpile base, .owing publication of the article, jovernor of New Caledonia, *echoux, released a statement i by Mr. Soustelle, Minister in re of Overseas Territories, l strongly denied the rumuors. ; statement said that neither there been any intention of ig a strong military force to Caledonia, as the Noumea iheet had also stated, a letter to the director of the Ir Caledonien, the Governor ed out that there were heavy ties for the spreading of “in ting assertions” of the type just d by the Minister. 3 newssheet picked up the tlet. It retorted that its reports been copied from reputable ;h newspapers, and no threats been made to those papers. It the names of the newspapers, e Avenir Caledonien drew the rnor’s attention to a recent of Le Canard Enchaine, a zh satirical paper dreaded by cians, which claimed that dur his Loyalty Island tour last

year, when visiting the coral waste which is Lifou, Minister Soustelle was supposed to have said, “What a wonderful place for exploding our atom bomb!”

No denial of this story had been made, nor had any attack been made on the Canard, Avenir Caledonian pointed out.

Russian Missiles

Meanwhile, in January, Russia became another power to use the Pacific as a target for missiLs. Ii sent a multi-stage ballistic missile off from Russia, 7,800 miles into the Pacific at a point about 250 miles west of Palmyra Island. It was first of a series (a second was sent a little later) being used as part of space flight experiments.

The missile travelled at about 16,250 mph according to the Russians, and Soviet ships standing by in the target area watched the marker hit less than a mile and a half from its target.

Thus the Pacific has become a busy area for rockets and missiles.

America for years has been running experiments in its US Pacific Trust Territory, Britain has been using Christmas Island and recently both America and Britain have been sharing facilities at the US Navy’s new Pacific range, which extends 5,000 miles south and west of Cape Arguello, California. ( PIM, Jan, p. 61).

Pacific is becoming busy as a target area for the world's missiles. In January the Soviet [?]ing missiles at the point marked in the map. America and Britain are already using a range south and west of Cape Arguello, California.

Hurricanes Not Withstanding. Mr. And Mrs.

Tom Low (she was Joy Frost) of Vila, New Hebrides, were to have been married in the Presbyterian Church at Vila on January 15, but Vila's hurricane destroyed the church. So the two were married at the Presbyterian Manse.

Here they are photographed leaving the Manse just after the ceremony.—Reece Discombe.