European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 11, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 b the stars and stripes saturday january 11. 1992 Ira bomb explodes near major s office London apr a bomb exploded about 300 Yards from prime minister John majors Downing Street office during Rush hour Friday morning and the outlawed Irish Republican  claimed responsibility. The blast which comes during a stepped up Ira bombing Campaign in England Shook buildings in the government District but no injuries were reported. A caller claiming to be from the Ira telephoned a warning to the London office of the lbs television network about 30 minutes before the blast. Lbs informed Scotland Yard and police sealed off the area. In february 1991, the Ira launched a missile into the Garden of majors no. 10 Downing St. Residence from a car parked a Block from the scene of fridays bombing. Fridays blast on Whitehall place appeared much less potentially dangerous to majors residence and office because Many buildings stand in Between. Major left for a meeting about 10 minutes before the blast occurred said conservative lawmaker Robin Squire who was on Downing Street at the time of the  Ira stepped up its bombing Campaign in Northern Ireland and in Britain before Christmas planting scores of firebombs that disrupted shopping and transportation in the London area. The attacks Are part of its Campaign to drive Britain out of Northern Ireland and unite it with the Republic of Ireland. Fridays blast occurred at 9 10 a.m., the height of Rush hour and Shook buildings and shattered windows in the Whitehall area where Many government offices Are located. Cmdr. George Churchill Coleman head of Scotland Yards anti terrorist squad said the device was discovered in a briefcase Between two cars and exploded before it could be defused. Witnesses said earlier it was a car bomb. The device contained about 5 pounds of a plastic Type explosive Churchill Coleman said. He warned the Public to be vigilant but added a we should t overreact to this. That is precisely what the terrorists want us to  Northern Ireland was hit by More than a dozen bomb alerts at the time of fridays explosion in London police said. Several streets in Belfast were sealed off and a Large shopping Complex in the City Center was evacuated but nothing was found. Major spoke to reporters before returning to Downing Street after the explosion. A i think the terrorists should have Learned now that neither in Belfast nor in London nor anywhere else in the United kingdom will they be Able to bomb people out of their Normal activities their Homes their schools or anything else a he said. A bomb damaged car stands in ruins at London a Whitehall place. Whitehall government Belga. Sven i 11 a Viire ii Downing St.1. A 1/4 mite a Quot Quot i in r 0.4 pm 1 houses of parliament ap/s4s a if they want to reinforce our determination to make sure we defeat them this is the Way to do it. Its utterly  the iras military Campaign supported by a minority of roman catholics in Northern Ireland grew out of the Catholic civil rights protests and violent clashes of the 1960s. The Ira has attacked police and  units in its Effort to end British Rule in the province and it has killed people it claims were protestant paramilitaries informers or collaborators with British Rule. World 3 officers slain by group trying to escape from Cuba from wire reports Mexico City a a group of cubans who tried to steal a boat to flee the Island nation shot three police officers to death the mexican government news Agency reported. No Timex in a dispatch thursday from Havana said the shootings occurred wednesday at the Tarary naval base near the cuban capital. It attributed the report to the cuban Interior ministry but gave no further details. The attempt to flee apparently failed. No Timex said the cubans had not been identified. Cubans by the dozen have been trying to flee abroad in recent months As living conditions deteriorate under president Fidel Castro a government one of the worlds few remaining communist regimes. Libya says airspace violated Rome a Libya has accused the . Military of violating its airspace but the Navy Fleet in the Region denied the charge Friday. Libyans civil aviation authorities protested to the International air transport association accusing the . 6th Fleet of violating the a Aerial zone of Tripoli a libyans official news Agency said Friday. The Agency a report monitored in Rome did not say when the alleged violation occurred or give any other details. It. Greg Smith spokesman for the 6th Fleet based in Gaeta Italy said the Only . Military Craft in the area is the aircraft Carrier America. It a is conducting routine flight operations in International airspace in the Central Mediterranean a Smith said. A no violation of any nations airspace has occurred a Smith said. He said the Carrier which is based in Norfolk va., has been in the Central Mediterranean on routine deployment since Early december. German drug deaths climb Bonn Germany a the number of drug deaths in Germany Rose dramatically in 1991 to a record of 2,026 people Federal police said thursday. The figure represents a 37.7 percent increase from the 1,491 drug deaths in 1990. It was the first year in which drugs claimed More than 2,000 lives in Germany. Only two of the deaths were registered in Eastern Germany where the Market is largely dominated by so called a a soft drugs the statement said. 24 killed in ferry explosion Moscow a an explosion and fire aboard a Caspian sea ferry killed two dozen people and injured dozens More As the vessel was Docking at Baku Azerbaijan news agencies said thursday. The cause of the explosion on the Ovetskaya Kalmy Kiya ferry was unknown. But the inter fax news Agency and the newspaper Izvestia citing unidentified sources reported that an explosive Detonator had been found. The ferry was crossing the Caspian sea from Krasno Godsk Turkmenistan to the azerbaijani capital Tass  group denies founder defended Hitler Rome apr the head of a roman Catholic organization has sent a letter to jewish leaders denying allegations that its founder soon to be beatified defended Adolf Hitler. The letter was made Public by one of the leaders italian Tullia Zevi on thursday. At the Center of the controversy is Josemaria Escriva a Spanish priest who founded the conservative opus Dei organization in 1928. He died in 1975, and Pope John Paul ii declared last year that there was proof of a Miracle through Escriva a intercession. Beatification the last formal step before canonization is set for May. Newsweek in an article questioning Escriva a fitness for sainthood quoted Vladimir Feltzman a former opus Dei member As saying Escriva a told me that Hitler had been unjustly accused of killing 6 million jews. In fact he had killed Only 4  Feltzman now is an aide to British Cardinal Basil Hume. Opus Deil a members most of whom Are Lay people take vows of chastity and obedience. Among their most prominent members is Joaquin Navarro a spaniard who is the Popes spokesman. Opus Deil a vicar monsignor Javier Echevarria wrote to Zevi the head of the Union of italian jewish communities a i can assure you in no Uncertain terms that our founder loved the jewish Community and manifested it publicly on very Many  a your founder condemned in the most precise Way the terrifying holocaust a Echevarria wrote terming the Media reports a a pure , Radical group foil to reach concert Deal Johannesburg South Africa apr hours of meetings thursday Between Paul Simon and a Radical Black group failed to defuse threats of violence at the musicians upcoming concerts. Simon and the president of the tiny Azania youth organization gave differing views of their talks to a crowded news conference two Days before the Start of Simon a two week six show tour. The youth organization a Wing of the Small Black nationalist Azania Peoples organization has threat ened violence to try to Stop Simon s a ubom at the right time tour in South Africa. The tour would be the first by a major american artist since leading Black groups endorsed the lifting of cultural sanctions last year after the government began dismantling its apartheid regime. The african National Congress and inkatha Freedom party the two main Black opposition groups and the White led government have endorsed the concerts. But the Azania organizations want sanctions and Boycotts against South Africa to remain in place until the Black majority rules the country. In his version of the talks with the Black grou Simon said a the last statement we All made is that in body wanted to see any violence at the concerts. They do not intend to provoke violence at the concert. But Thami Mierwa president of the youth organic Tion gave a different account. A there is no guarantee that my organization a Given to Paul Simon about violence a Mierwa Sai Ltd we have always pointed out that should his show g on there is the potential for