European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 31, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 news briefs the stars and stripes sunday july 31,1988 team puts out last fire on North Atlantic Oil Rig Aberdeen Scotland a the firefight ing Crew of Texas troubleshooter Paul red Adair extinguished the last Blaze Friday at the Piper Alpha Petroleum platform that was demolished three weeks ago by an explosion and fire that killed 167  spokeswoman for Occidental Petroleum the operator and main owner of the platform said the Crew poured Concrete Down the last of the Oil Wells at the site 120 Miles East of Scot land in the North Atlantic Ocean. She added that there is much work to Bedone yet on the burned out platform which exploded in a fireball the night of july 6 in the world s worst Oil Rig disaster. Occidental says it suspects a Gas leak was responsible. Reagan informs Congress of plan to sell jets to Israel Washington a president Reagan s administration has notified Congress it intends to sell Israel five f-15d fighters to cover losses expected to the current israeli Fleet of 51 f-15s,the defense department announced Friday. The Sale will go through unless Congress votes against it within 30 Days. The main contractor is Mcdonnell Douglas corp., which will Send up to five representatives to Israel for up to two years to handle the Deal the announcement said. The United states sold Israel 25 earlier ver Sions of the f-15 in february 1976, 15 in july1978, and 11 in june 1982, said a Pentagon spokesman air Force it. Col. Jim Janette. Two of those planes Are no longer in service he said. Troops from Page 1 Baghdad regime and their hypocritical  Iran s armed forces were chasing the troops Bac toward Sare pole Zahab 24 Miles from the Iran Iraq Border Iran  press reports monitored in Nicosia said thousands of invaders were wounded and More than1,000 iraqi tanks and personnel carriers were either destroyed or seized  operation destroyed the. Cancer that could have caused problems for iranians a Sfanjani told the prayer congregation in Tehran in an apparent reference to the  rebel group in a communique released in Bagh dad said its fighters returned to their bases Friday after killing or wounding 40,000 iranian revolution Ary guards in three Days of fighting Wii bomb defused in Italy Naples Italy a demolition experts on sat urday defused a Soo Pound world War ii bomb that had forced the evacuation of about 5,000 people from a Naples  bomb was discovered late Friday afternoon Dur ing excavation for a water line in the suburb of Bosco  news sources said experts determined that the device was English and had an intact fuse. Shopping Center blast in s. Africa kills woman Johannesburg South Africa a a bomb exploded at a crowded shopping Center in a White suburb of Johannesburg saturday killing a woman and injuring 56 other people eight of them critically police said. Authorities said most of the victims were White. The blast occurred one Day after cry Freedom the film about Black activist Steven Biko was banned by the government just seven hours after Heaters began showing it. The noon explosion at the main shopping Center in Benoni 12 Miles East of Johannesburg was the fifth in two Days in South Africa. Police spokesman it. Willem Meyer said the Benoni blast critically injured eight people. Meyer said two other victims were in serious condition. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Adriaan Vlok the minister of Law and order blamed the african National Congress the main guerrilla group fight ing the White led government. The explosion occurred inside a fast-f9od restaurant which was extensively damaged Meyer said. Other shops suffered less damage and windows were shattered throughout the two Story Plaza of Small shops and cafes Meyer said. The Plaza was packed with shoppers most of them White witnesses and police said. Authorities have blamed the Anc for virtually All of the More than 90 bombings in South Africa during a state theordes of emergency imposed 25 months ago to quell , based in Lusaka Zambia Seldom confirms 01 Nies any involvement in the attacks. It is fighting to end the government s policy of apart Heid under which the Black majority has no voice in National  s blast came less than 24 hours after the government banned cry Freedom on grounds it contributed to the revolutionary climate in South Africa. The movie tells the Story of Biko who died in police detention in 1977, and Donald Woods a White journalist who be friended  censors approved the movie Friday morning and it immediately began playing at 30 Heaters nationwide. However police on Friday evening seized the film from the  cry Freedom endangers the safety of the Public the maintenance of Public order and will delay the Termi nation of the state of emergency said Gen. Hendrik de Witt commissioner of  in Pretoria discovered an explosive device sat urday at the metro theater Complex where cry free Dom was shown Friday. Police cordoned off the area and bomb experts defused the device police said. In other developments seven Blacks were killed in five separate attacks in Natal province and the Soweto town ship outside Johannesburg police said in their daily unrest report. Ortega hails . Activist Convoy bringing food Medicine clothing Managua Nicaragua a a Convoy of 44 . Activists delivered three tons of food Medicine and clothing to the leftist sandinista government Fri Day and president Daniel Ortega praised them at a Public ceremony. These people Are representatives of the american people who Don t want War but want peace Ortega said to about 200 people who gathered in Luis Alfonso Velazquez Park. Wounded nicaraguan soldiers watched the ceremony and children mobilized by the sandinista part chanted let s go to War Cany the bullets the Convoy sponsored by the Washington based veterans for peace journeyed across Mexico and Cen trial America for two weeks after a dispute with the . Customs service. Customs officials said the group which include Many veterans would violate a 1985 economic Embar go it they donated their vehicles As they plan to  Aid is allowed under the embargo. While Reagan sends arms to the rebel contras to murder our children he tried also to obstruct this Cara Van Ortega said. He said they carried goods that threatened the Security of the United  Ortega had a child bring him a Box of the goods an took out a baby bottle. R look at the weapons they brought he said holding it up. This is what Reagan did not want to  he unscrewed the top from the bottle. The weapons ready to fire he announced. All it needs is  Convoy member Raul Valdez spoke out against .funding for the rebels who have been trying to Over Ortega displays one of the Relief items a baby bottle. Throw Nicaragua s government for nearly seven years. This Money that is sent to cause death Here is being taken away from our children he said. Our taxes should t be used to kill nicaraguans. It s unjust in  activists were Given military to shirts and Sandi nista army hats. The ceremony ended with the Sandi nista Anthem which proclaims we fight against the Yankees enemies of  in june . Customs officials prevented the Origi Nal Convoy of 38 vehicles from crossing into  100 Convoy participants drove to Washington to demonstrate against the decision circling around the White House and in front of the state department for three Days. F-16s from Page 1 time f110-100 factory engine. At that time be engineers had located a crack in one of the High pressure compressor Blades at one of the dovetails where the Blade fits together into the disk Saidrick Kennedy a spokesman for be s aircraft engine division in Cincinnati. Kennedy said the company notified the air Force at that time. The feeling by the air Force and be was that this was a High time engine that Well exceeded the life of the planes in the  he said the service and the company agreed that they would continue monitoring the situation but the engine wit the cracks had reached such a High time Cycle. That it was nowhere near the time limit for the engines in the  in late May Kennedy said his firm ran additional tests in conjunction with Safe officials at Ramstein a West Germany. Two out of service High time engines were subjected to the testing an both Power units showed the same Type of cracks in the Blade and again at the same location. At that Point it was decided to replace All engines with 550 hours of flight  said 550 hours was the number established whereby they can minimize any kind of risk As a consequence of a first stage compressor Blade crack. The 550-hour limit is Well before when any of the engines had developed a problem Kennedy said modifying the $3 Mil lion engines involves a process for strengthening the Blade. You modify it at the spot where they were finding the crack and it is modified and Lowers the  fifteen Safe f-16s have been destroyed in accidents since january 1985. Not counting the three most recent crashes in june for which reports Are not yet available five of the crashes have been attributed to engine failure Accord ing to command officials. Of the 31 f-16 engines removed for modification in May none showed any cracks in the Blades Kennedy said. Re ports on two More engines Are pending. Kennedy said maintenance teams at . Air bases around the world with be powered f-16s Are checking every engine that has reached 550 hours engine  since its introduction in late 1986, approximately 650 be f110 engines have been shipped to the . And other air forces around the world. The majority off-16s Are powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. For be it s a two stage process Kennedy said. We have to look for what s causing the cracks. And the Short term solution is just to Cut Down any potential risk. Kennedy said be has set the end of the year As its goal for solving the Blade problem. Current testing involves thef110 used in f-16s and cfm56 engines jointly manufactured by be an France s Snelma and used on military transport aircraft. A variant of the Al 10 is used on the b 1b supersonic bomber