NEWS IN BRIEF.

Wairarapa Age, 9 March 1927, Page 5

NEWS IN BRIEF.

The “Petit Parisien” says that the Pope is preparing a vigorous protest against the Soviet’s continued persecution. of Roman Catholic clergy. A New York message states that at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, for the first time in the history of the United States, four men were hanged for murder on one day. They attempted to rob banks and a mail truck, and secure £20,000, their leader shooting a policeman while evading arrest. Four times in three years the Roman Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, has been bombed. After the last occasion pn January 9, detectives set an elaborate trap, including perpetual lookouts. The officers watching were at last rewarded when on Monday a bomber sneaked up with a dynamite 'package, lighted a fuse and fled. The officers shot him dead as he ran. They cut the fuse and averted an explosion.

Eleven are known to be dead as the result of record-breaking floods and torrential rains in Northern Argentina. It is feared that the death roll will increase. A considerable number of livestock were destroyed. Appalling destruction was caused by a cyclone on the east coast of Madagascar. It is reported that many lives were lost. A steamer, schooner, and all small craft in Port Louis harbour (Mauritius) were sunk and the town of Port Louis completely devastated. The cyclone was accompanied by a tidal wave which raged for nine hours. All the buildings, except the Post Office and the Treasury, were demolished. The Governor reports that the population is calm and that provisions are adequate. A Las Palmas message states that Major tV Uruguayan aviator, and his companions are being held for ransom, which the Spanish Government has ordered to be paid immediately.