NEWS BY RADIO

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 January 1940, Page 6

NEWS BY RADIO

I AIR RAIDS ON BRITISH EAST COAST ENEMY PLANES DRIVEN OFF. NO BOMBS DROPPED ON LAND. The following Daventry reports have been rebroadcast by the New Zealand stations: — Widespread air activities by German plans from Scotland to the Thames Estuary are reported, but no bombs were dropped on land and only slight damage was done. The Air Ministry reports considerable enemy activity on the east coast of England and Scotland, including Newcastle-on-Tyne, Firth of Forth, Firth of Humber and Firth of Tay. The German planes were driven off by anti-aircraft fire and by fighter planes. A bombing attack was made cn a merchant vessel but on the arrival of British fighters the planes made off. Foreign planes flew over Belgium at a number of points and were fired on by Belgian anti-aircraft guns. Two more German planes have been shot down on the French lines. French planes were out on a reconnaissance flight, supported by fighters, when they encountered German planes, two of which were shot down. WAR SERVICE FOR UNEMPLOYED. Switzerland’s 22,000 unemployed are to be put into the army. The new national defence law provides similar pay and allowances as for the regular, troops, but if any able-bodied unemployed refuse to, do national defence work they will lose their unemployed benefits. LOST GERMAN SHIP. Sixty-two members of the crew or a German steamer of 9000 tons have been picked up. The ship had presumably sunk folowing a collision with an iceberg near Iceland. The ship left Rio de Janeiro just before Christmas.

The two Danish ships, vessels of 1000 and 2300 tons, which were attacked by German planes in the North Sea, have arrived safely in a British port.