BALKANS.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 January 1916, Page 5

BALKANS.

>*■ i ■ '•, REPORTED CAPTURE OF SCUTARI. £ NO RELIABLE INFORMATION, ,; : Received Jan. 25, 5.5 p.m. London, Jan. 24. It is reported that the Austrians have occupied Scutari. In the House of Commons, Lord Robert Cecil said that telegraphic communication fr«m, Scutari was interrupted, and there was no information available about the Montenegrin situation. AUSTRO-BULGAR ADVANCE. ' THE ENEMY'S OBJECTIVES. .. '" .Received Jan. 25, 5.5 p.m. Salonika, Jan. 24. The Austro-Bulgarians have occupied Berat. The Bulgarians' objective is iValona, and the Austrians' is Durazzo, where Essad Pasha is organising his forces, FALL OF MT. LOVTCHEN. A HOPELESS POSITION. Received Jan. 25, 5.5 p.m. London, Jan. 25. A French correspondent M. Nandeau telegraphs to his journal from Petrograd, denying that the Montenegrin army at Lovtehen numbered thirty-five thousand, or that thirty thousand Serbs helped to defend Lovtchen. Only 5800 Montenegrins occupied the mountain. They had four old twelve-inch guns, recently purchased from Italy, and six old Russian guns which were without shells. The Montenegrins were unable to obtain help from any quarter. Antivari was open to bombardment, and the Austrian battleships were able to bombard Lovtchen. The garrison could not wait for help any longer, an one-eighth of the population had died of famine. The correspondent adds: "We had 'thirty-three field guns, with only thirty shells apiece. Our rifles were out of lepair, and we had only 120 rounds each. The men had worn out their boots and clothes, "Of seventy thousand men available at the outset of the campaign only fifteen thousand are left, and they are half starved ai;d fighting against twenty to one odds." A "PEACE JOKE." MOxVTENEGRO FOOLING THE AUSTRIANS. . " Received Jan. 25, 5.5 p.m. Rome, Jan. 24. Montenegrin Ministers are making light of the peace negotiations, describing them, as a "peace joke." Austria's anger is expected, but invaluable time has been gained. ' BOMBARDMENT OF BULGARIAN COAST. ■•-*. . Received Jan. 25, 5.5 p.m. Athens, Jan. 24. Thirty-'three naval vessels took part in the bembardment of Dedeagateh, aeroplanes directing the fire. A VALUABLE FIND. n Received Jan. 25, 8.30 p.m. Paris, Jan. 24. , Le Petit Parisien's Salonika correspondent says that the French discovered a secret depot containing fifteen thousand litres of petrol, buried in iron easel,. General Sairail ordered its seizure^ HUNS' IRON HEEL< FELT IN SERBIA. Time 9 and Sydney Sun Services. London, January 24. The Germans have prohibited night traffic in Serbian towns, with, the penalty of death. They are rigorously inflicting public corporal chastisement, without regard to age or sex, for the slightest infringement of the regulations.