European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes saturday novembers 1988 news updates 1 Day bbl strike London Atli. Ion journalist at the Brit and casting corp. Voted Wei. Uay to join a one Day strike protesting a govt Mienl ban on broadcasting interviews with members of the Irish Republican  planned nov. 10 stoppage by he National Union of Jour Nal Isle 250-tnember Branch Al bbl television Center could Lack out hourly news bulletins Anil current affairs  oct. 20, prime minister Margaret Thatcher s government imposed an immediate ban on broadcast interviews with Mem Ben of the outlawed Ira and 10 other militant groups in Northern Ireland and their sympathizers embezzled funds Lausanne Switzerland a the Swiss supreme court or dered that . Organized crime investigators be Given the name of the owner of a numbered account which was allegedly the final Desti nation of 5500,000 embezzle from two american unions. But the court called the Federal tribunal ruled in a decision wednesday 1hat the Ide Lily of in owner a French businessman must not be revealed to third Par lies unless he is indicted on Crimi Nal charges,. Authorities bad asked Switzerland in 1986 for judicial assistance in a Case involving the Dis appearance of $20 million held torte International brotherhood of teamsters and the Sheet metalworkers Union by a new York brokerage firm first United fund limited. Echoes of Bhopal new Delhi India a victims of the Bhopal Gas leak pro tested wednesday As India s supreme court heard Union car bide s arguments against a lower court order that it must pay si92 million in interim  dec. 3, 1984, disaster his tory s worst Industrial Accident killed More than 3,100 people and injured at least 20,000 when toxic Methyl is Cyanate Gas linked from a pesticide Plant in the Central in Dian City of Bhopal. The Plant belonged loan India subsidiary of Union Carbide a multinational company headquartered in the United states. In 19s6, the Indian government hied a s3 billion civil suit against Union Carbide claiming the leak was caused by negligence. Union Carbide said the disaster resulted from sabotage by a disgruntled employee. A District court bearing the suit last year ordered Union Carbide Topay �269 million to victims of the disaster As interim Relief. The com Pany appealed to the High court or Madonya Pravesh state which lowered the payment to si92 Mil lion. Bah protested Johannesburg. South Afri Ca a a pro govt Mienl newspaper and a right Wing lobby ing group joined Liberal and left Wing organizations wednesday i denouncing a one month govern ment ban on a leading anti apart Heid newspaper. Western governments International news organizations and a Broad spectrum of South Africa shave criticized he ban imposed tuesday by Home affairs minister Stoffel a Thaon the weekly Matt Reagan nostalgia hits soviets As .s.r. Prepares for Bush Moscow a the soviets have Clear favorite in next week s . Presidential election. Unfortunately for them his name is Ronald Reagan and the Constitution won t let him run  George Bush and Michael Dukakis make their last Campaign swings before tuesday s election soviets Are waning nostalgic about the outgoing right Yea tenant in the White House who once called their country an evil Empire an joked about bombing it into oblivion. They Are also looking ahead to a bus Victory although without apparent Rel  be quite Frank i can t say i be personally been carried away by the statements of either Bush or Dukakis when they spoke of soviet american re lations Nikolai v. Shishlian a spokes Man for the communist party Centra committee told a news briefing thurs Day. I think it s president Reagan who gave the Best statement a few Days  Reagan once caricatured by the part daily newspaper pravda As a missile Tot ing Cowboy now n portrayed As a Relia ble bargaining partner who sat Down with president Mikhail s. Gorbachev and negotiated a nuclear missile treaty and instigated negotiations in Geneva for a so percent Cut in strategic arms. But such expressions of respect Don mean soviet officials have fallen wholeheartedly for Reagan. Shishlian made Point of rejecting outright his most re cent pronouncement that the diplomatic warming Between Moscow and washing ton was due to the Reagan administration policy of negotiating from a Posi Tion of  watchers have been hard put to find a preference in soviet news accounts or official statements for either the Republican vice president or the democratic Massachusetts governor. We prefer the Winner foreign ministry spokesman Gennady i. Gerasimow said thursday when asked which Candi Date the soviets wanted to see in the White  said the soviets would like a prompt Summit with the next president of the United Stales whoever he May be. Officials acknowledge their cautious non partisanship is motivated try fears that showing a preference for one Man could Brand him the Kremlin s Candi Date and doom his chances for  candidates will allegedly Lake advantage of our kind words and try to discredit the opponent who merited the praise1 of the soviet press wrote commentator Mylor slur a. Does anyone seriously believe that the soviet Pressman make or break . Presidents that is to put it mildly  s article published in the weekly Moscow news blasted soviet mediator Overly cautious coverage of the . Race and included this unusual endorse ment personally i prefer Dukakis but 1 think Bush will  Candor is rare but an indication of the new latitude permitted for Media that make no pretence of speaking with the voice of the. Party or  Telephone Call thursday to Trie offi Cial news Agency Tass for a copy of it most recent commentary on the . Presidential Campaign brought this reply from an editor. We have bad no commentary Why should we we Don t Mantlo interfere in another country s  that talk of sensitivity to interfering in the internal  Power is a marked departure from pre Vious practice in the soviet Media s coverage of the race for the White  showing Bush and Dukakis slumping Are frequent fare on soviet television news programs and recent re ports have prepared soviets for a bus Victory by telling them that the Dukakis Campaign is in  soviets have just had their own presidential elections which again nigh lighted the contrasting political systems of the  practically no warning the supreme soviet or parliament elected Gorbachev president a oct. 1, naming him to replace the retiring chief of slate Andrei a. Gromyko. The vote was 1,500-0 in Gorbachev favor and the communist party chief never had to Wear a funny hat or eat Ablitz. Spanish prison holding american Man on drug charges gets re ease notice Washington a Spanish embassy officials say a formal notice of re lease was delivered wednesday to the Spanish prison where a photographer from Virginia is scheduled to be release Dlo the . Government. Conan Owen 24, of Annandale va.,has been imprisoned since March 1987 on cocaine trafficking charges . Officials say Owen was set up by drug smugglers and Spanish officials announce Friday that Owen would be transferred to the United states to Complete his six year  formal notice of agreement of the Spanish government was Given a few hours ago to the jail in Barcelona by the Spanish ministry of Justice Spanish embassy spokeswoman Helga Solo said wednesday evening. She said she did not know the exact Date of Owen s release. I think it is a Fasi process but i Don know when it will take place Solo said. . Officials have the authority to parole Owen As soon As he arrives. You Pray thai it was yesterday Hope it will be tomorrow and expect the end of the month said Ernest Owen Conan father after learning of the Transfer of papers. This is probably the first of a number of administrative Steps. The hurdle was the agreement by the Spanish govern ment to release him until Lytal been cleared.". He said he had not been notified bythe embassy of any official action. The Owen family has waged an unflagging Campaign to convince . Authorities thai their son had been duped int acting As a drug courier their efforts eventually led to the agreement by a . Prosecutor in Alex Andria a a drug enforcement administration agent in Madrid Dea administrator John c. Lawn and ultimately then attorney general Edwin Mcnese Iii that Owen was innocent of the Traffick ing charges.-. ,./ an Alexandria resident George Bara Hona. Admitted in february that be and others without Owen s knowledge hid 4 pounds of cocaine in a false Bottom of a suitcase that they then asked Owen to take to Barcelona. Owen had been hired to do free Lance photography work for Barahona a  the time a Justice department spokesman said  was confident that the court papers including i poly graph lest passed by Owen would con Vince Spanish authorities to drop the charges.  april 987, however a court in Barcelona found Owen guilty of drug trafficking sentencing him to six Yean and a Day in prison and imposing an118,000 inc. In a written opinion the judges said they rejected Barahona s confession because it was obtained As part of a plea bargain which is illegal in Spain Owen became eligible to return to the United slates under an International treaty governing exchanges of sentenced prisoners. To become eligible for return under the trealy Owen had to drop i Appeal of his conviction in Spanish Courti. 29 die in bus crash on Road to Istanbul Sakaryan Turkey a a bus collided with a truck on a fog bound stretch of the Istanbul Ankara Highway thursday killing 29 passengers including a japanese and 10 iranians authorities  18 other victims were turks and two iranians and eight. Turks were injured said Sakaryan prosecutor Perciv Autumay who is in charge of the Case the sem official Anatolia news Agency earlier had put the death loll Al 26, say ing most of the victims were japanese and iranian. -. Tumay said in a Telephone interview that the Accident occurred about 6  two trucks were trying to pass on in Highway. -.-,-, the by was headed for Istanbul the trip began wednesday in the Eastern Cit of Erzurum near the iranian Border Tuma said. -. Thousands protest a Apan Tokyo a about 2,000 people demonstrated thursday outside a Mili tary training site in Northern Japan against a joint ,-Japan exer Cise a police official said there were no reports of clashes. He said 1,600 people some carrying. Banners. Reading Stop military exercises look pan in the rally which was sponsored by an organization affiliated with the Japan socialist party the coun try s biggest opposition party about 400 other people joined a protest backed by the Japan communist party. A defense official speaking on Condi Tion of anonymity said Riboul ,800 Jap anese and 1,800 american soldiers retaking part to three Day Man Euver involving 27 tanks and 30 helicopters. The exercise began wednesday