European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes wednesday june 26, 1991 by Michael Parks los Angeles times. Moscow a. The soviet foreign ministry apologizing for the widespread piracy of films and videos Here asked u a motion picture producers monday to reconsider their Boycott of the Moscow film festival next month arguing that the action would Only punish Cinema lovers Vladimir Petrovsky a senior Deputy. Foreign minister acknowledged in a letter to Jack Valenti president of the motion picture association of America that piracy remains Rife Here despite repeated promises by the soviet govern Niento to halt illegal film and video copying and distribution. Copyright Protection remains inadequate although the soviet foreign ministry and other bodies have sought to introduce much tougher legislation that would meet International criteria Petrovsky said in the letter released by the foreign ministry. Blit lie said the proposed Boycott announced earlier this month by the association and the Allied motion picture Export association of America to not participate in the festival a a is hardly justified because it will a punish not individuals or organizations guilty of audiovisual piracy but soviet film lovers and festival organizers who pursue humanitarian Aims a two weeks ago the . Producers announced they would not Supply films for the festival As a Way of protesting illegal copying and the soviet Union s Lack of response to the  could not immediately be reached for comment regarding Petrovsky s letter. Petrovsky urged Valentin a group to relent dropping its Boycott not Only of the festival but of broader film distribution Here. He pledged that the soviet government would cooperate in resolving the problems on the basis of a Emu. Tally profitable terms accepted in the civilized  the biennial festival scheduled to open july 8 and run for 11 Days has been a fixture on the International Cinema circuit for More than three decades. In 1989, there were two american films the accidental tourist and Iron Weed among 20 pictures entered in the Competition from 17 countries. The top prize that year went to italian director Maurizio Nichetta for the icicle thief. A a a a. A. World cholera outbreak hits mexican Village 1 dead from wire reports Mexico City cholera has struck a Village in the mountains South of Mexico City the Federal health department revealed monday a week after the disease was detected. A newspaper m Toluca the capital of. Mexico state said one Man had died of the disease. Doctors at first thought Bartolo Estrada. 40, had typhoid Tever then determined he was sul terms from cholera Al sol tie 1 Toluca reported. A health department spokesman in Mexico City said 19 people had been diagnosed since the outbreak began june 17 m san Miguel de to Maloyo about 30 Miles from Toluca. The spokesman said he believed everyone had recovered. Health officials do not know How cholera reached Mexico. More than 2,000 people have died in South America in a  that began on the peruvian coast in late  train crashes Iok a a commuter train smashed into a truck and derailed i tuesday near the ancient capital of Kyoto injuring 309 people police and news reports said. I he Japan railways train packed with about 450 students and others at the Peak of the morning Rush hour rammed a truck at 8 15 . In the Fuk Uchiyama town near Kyoto 240 Miles South of Tokyo said police and news reports. Police said the truck was apparently stuck at a crossing when the train hit it the Kyodo news service re ported. About 80 percent of the people on the train were High school students the news service said cosmonauts repair Antenna Moscow a two soviet cosmonauts spent nearly five hours outside the orbiting Mir space station tuesday to repair a damaged Antenna the official Tass news Agency reported. Anatoly arts Barsky and Sergei Kri Kalev replaced part of a broken Antenna used in Docking space capsules and cargo ships to an astrophysics Laboratory attached to Mir. A the two cosmonauts arrived at Mir in May with Britain a first astronaut Helen Sharman. She spent a week on Board helping with medical and scientific experiments before returning to Earth. The cosmonauts Are scheduled to spend five months on Mir making repairs to the 5-Ycar-old space station. The. Station has problems with its computers and electrical Power. A a czech Man gets his heard Cut monday to celebrate the soviet withdrawal from Czechoslovakia.30 czech men celebrate end of occupation with close shave. Prague Czechoslovakia a the Iron curtain fell soviet troops went Home. Finally Engelbert prokes and 29 other men could shave off the beards they grew for 23 years to protest the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. A a in be always believed this Day would come a prokes 63, said monday As he waited to have his Waist length whiskers Cut off. A Brief summer Shower doused the makeshift Barber shop set up on Wenceslas Square where the men snipped away at beards mostly tinged with More than a Little Gray. No one complained about the rain. A a what a a Little Shower compared to. 23 years of occupation Quot said Ivana Sih Kulova a Saleswoman watching the ceremony. A. Other czechoslovak held a giant Rock concert and laser show and set off fireworks to celebrate the departure of the last 917 soviet soldiers and their families who left last week. Gen. Eduard Vorobyev the red army commander in Czechoslovakia leaves for Home on july 27, capping the pullout of his 73,500 troops. Prokes began growing his Beard on aug. 21, 196s, when soviet tanks rolled into Prague to crush a Reform government. Then he took his Defiance a step further. He toppled a Monument to an Anonymous soviet Soldier in the Border town of Kari Ovy vary prokes said and w As jailed for five years. A Quot the Monument had no. Business standing there in the first  he said. Hong Kong Jim several International air carriers have a banned cargo consignments of plastic watches powered by Lithium batteries made in China and South Korea after a possible link Between the batteries and in air explosions was uncovered. The airlines including British airways Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa announced the action after it was revealed that a Lauda air Boeing 767 that crashed Over Northern Thailand in May killing All 223 people on Board was carrying about 55 pounds of the watches in its cargo hold. Officials said a South african airways Boeing 747, which ignited and plunged into the Indian Ocean in 1087. Killing All 159 people aboard and a Cathay Pacific Tri Star which had a fire in its cargo hold during a 1987 flight were also carrying hundreds of the watches. Lithium can spontaneously combust if exposed to humidity higher than 4 percent. Investigators believe the watch Bat teries could have been insufficiently sealed and caused the fires. A we re not certain that the watches Are to  said David Bell of Cathay Pacific which was the first airline to initiate the ban Quot it is just the vuly common denominator we can think of in three separate incidents and w e need to   carriers remain sceptical of the theory. United airlines Federal express and United parcel service said tuesday they had declined to join the ban. Quot Bell said Cathay on june 11 began refusing to carry consignments of plastic watches with Lithium batteries made in China or South Korea. The airline has also alerted the International air transportation association which it says is investigating the matter. The ban does not extend to Metal watches or plastic watches with batteries made outside South Korea or China. It also does not cover any watch worn by individual passengers