European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 a the stars and stripes Friday september 13, 1991rioting youths set fires in British City Newcastle upon Tyne England a about 300 youths started More than 20 fires in an area of Newcastle upon Tyne and hurled gasoline bombs at police and firemen police reported. Britain a fourth Urban riot in nine Days began wednesday night and continued into thursday morning. It entered in the Elswick area a depressed Square mile of housing projects and Light Industry in the West of this port in northeastern England. The area is known for its High unemployment and High crime rates. At a pre Dawn news conference sir Stanley Bailey chief Constable of Northumbria police condemned the rioters As ignorant and stupid. He blamed the violence on a Small group of troublemakers who had encouraged others to join in. Property set afire included a Public Library a deserted pub and other unoccupied buildings most of them abandoned. Several autos were also set ablaze police said. Some of the youths told reporters the riot was to protest police involvement in last weeks death of two men. The men aged 17 and 21, died after the stolen Auto in which they were driving crashed at North Shields five Miles Northeast of Newcastle with police in Pursuit. Rioting sparked by the deaths erupted monday in the Meadow Well housing project at North Shields. Police had branded the dead men As joyrides a thieves who steal High performance cars and race them for thrills. Auto theft by bored and mostly unemployed youngsters is a growing problem in the Northeast and some other parts of Britain. Describing the violence at Elswick divisional fire officer Ken Horn said two fire trucks were initially sent when the pub was set ablaze. He said a Hail of stones bricks and gasoline bombs thrown by the rioters forced the firefighters to Retreat and leave the building to bum. Later As the number of fires grew authorities sent a total of 35 fire trucks to the area with police in riot gear moving in to break up the gangs. A policeman carrying a riot shield walks near a blazing pub in Newcastle upon Tyne after youths rampage. Boat people swamp Hong Kong despite voluntary repatriations Hong Kong apr the largest Ever group of vietnamese boat people returned voluntarily to their communist led Homeland wednesday. But Many More vietnamese Are still flocking to Hong Kong than Are going Home. A Cathay Pacific airline charter took 265 boat people from Hong Kong to Hanoi on wednesday. Catherine Bertrand the acting chief of the . High commissioner for refugees in Hong Kong hailed their departure. Bertrand said �?o1 am pleased to see that the momentum for returning to Vietnam is  since the voluntary repatriation program began in october 1989, she said 9,626 vietnamese boat people have opted to return Home. In Thailand on wednesday a group of 89 vietnamese voluntarily returned Home. But Hong Kong government statistics show that the number of people heading Home is still being outstripped by the number of vietnamese converging on Hong Kong to escape hardship under communist party Rule. So far this year for example 17,749 vietnamese have fled to Hong Kong from Vietnam. Only several thousand have returned Home. Hong Kong a total boat people population has ballooned from about 50,000 last year to 63,176 As of tuesday Hong Kong government figures said. The exodus began after the  South vietnamese government fell in 1975, marking the end of the Vietnam War. The failure of the . Agency to encourage More vietnamese to return Home voluntarily has spurred Calls in this British Colony for forced repatriation. British colonial officials have also warned that they could reconsider their policy of a first  this policy lets the boat people land their rickety vessels in the territory. The Colony a government claims that most of the vietnamese now languishing in squalid Camps did not flee political persecution in Vietnam but rather left Vietnam because they were poor. It is these a economic migrants that the government says should be forced Back. The government has instituted a screening process under the auspices of the . Agency which is designed to separate the a economic migrants from political refugees. Political refugees will be allowed to stay in Hong Kong until a third country in most cases the United states or Canada finds room for them. So far about 10 percent of the 21,349 boat people screened have been granted refugee status. The rest should be forced Home the government says. British Soldier sentenced for desertion London apr a British Soldier who left his unit rather than fight in the persian Gulf War has been convicted of desertion and sentenced to 14 months in jail. A court martial on wednesday also found gunner Victor Williams 28, guilty of conduct a to the prejudice of Good order and military  it dismissed him a with disgrace from the army. His defense counsel Helena Kennedy said he was a motivated by his conscience and nothing  Williams who denied the charges was accused of going absent without leave from his unit in Dort Mund Germany on dec. 28, 1990, on the eve of his departure for the Gulf. He went to Britain where he gave himself up March 9. While absent he spoke at a peace rally in London a Hyde Park and gave a television interview. When the court of five army officers announced its verdict after a three Day hearing and 70 minutes of deliberation Brig. Alistair Clark asked Williams whether he had anything to say. A i would just like to state that i have a Clear conscience sir a Williams said. World gunfire kills 4 on bus in new s. Africa violence from wire reports Johannesburg South Africa attackers sprayed a commuter bus with automatic gunfire thursday morning killing four people. The attack in vol torus a suburban township Southeast of Johannesburg brought the death toll during five Days of Black township violence to More than 120. The surge in violence threatens to cripple a new peace treaty even before it is signed saturday. Representatives of the National party of president . De Klerk along with the warring african National Congress and inkatha Freedom party Are to approve the Accord. Previous pacts have collapsed in bloodshed but this one would be the first signed by All of South africans three major political players. For that reason it has been billed As an important step in ending violence that has killed thousands of Blacks and stalled talks toward ending White  returns stolen books Kuwait City a Iraq has returned the first of about 120,000 manuscripts and books it looted from Kuwait a National Library during the persian Gulf War. Fuad Al Farhan the Library a administrative director said that 20,000 books reached the capital wednesday and that he expected All the volumes to be in Kuwait by the end of next week. The Transfer is taking place at Arar on the saudi Side of the saudi arabian iraqi Border under the supervision of the United nations. . Spokesman Fred Eckhard said tuesday that Iraq soon will begin turning Over property looted from the kuwaiti news Agency a Transfer that will be finished in two  Canada plans cuts Montreal a air Canada announced wednesday that it will dismiss 650 people and temporarily Lay off an additional 226 employees Over the next  months. The airline lost 130 million Canadian dollars or about $110 million in the first half of this year. It had already reduced its work Force by More than 3,000 Over the past year