LONDON: Pierre Laval — the man who told the world that he wanted Germany to win the war — is tonight [July 31] a prisoner in Allied hands. After 24 hours of rumours and alarms … a report said that he landed in Italy, and urgent despatch of police squads to every likely airfield in France was sent to arrest him before he was lynched; the former Vichy Premier was officially reported to have been arrested in Austria by the American occupation forces.

Tonight French Press Agency quoted a command of the American occupation forces in Austria for the following announcement “Pierre Laval accompanied by his wife landed at Horsching this morning. He was arrested by the United States Army authorities while the French General Headquarters was advised of his presence in Austria.

[Meanwhile, as reported from Manila,] Gen. MacArthur’s spokesman today [July 30] described as “pure poppycock” the charge made by Miss Freda Kirch Wey, editor of the American Magazine “Nation” that Gen. MacArthur has imposed dictatorship over the Philippines.

“The Commonwealth Government is in complete control of civil affairs in the Philippines and military forces are not interfering in politics,” the spokesman said.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2020