European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 05, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday february 1993 world the stars and stripes Page 11 Man thai tanks from . Found to develop cracks from wire report Bangkok Thailand almost half of More than 100 Stingray Battle tanks bought by the thai army from the United states three years ago have developed faults an army spokesman said . Palan Kura Klah Arn said that of the 106 tanks bought for $164 million from .-Basedcadillac Gage text Ron 44 have developed cracks. Six of the 44 tanks with problems Are under repair and we Are checking the details on the rest to Sec How the cracks occurred Palan Kura said. He said Cadillac Gage has offered to repair the vehicles without  senior army officer told the Bangkok Post newspaper that the army had been warned before the purchases that the stingrays could develop technical  Model is a prototype which has never been used in combat he said. The manufacturer use dour army As its testing ground for its product he charged. Drugs instead of pants Rotterdam Netherlands a woman fishing for Blu jeans that blew off her clothesline and into a canal snared a sack of cocaine instead police said wednesday. Rotterdam police spokesman Ger de Jong said the woman was trying to retrieve her Wash monday from the canal behind her apartment Block when she hooked a Brown Canvas school bag. The unidentified housewife took the bag to the nearest police station. The watertight package contained a set of Scales a Small bottle of ammonia two Grams of amphetamines and 2.9 pounds of cocaine Worth the equivalent of about $170,000, de Jong said. It s not what you expect to find floating in the canal he said. And she never got her jeans Back  i Oil contaminates Salmon Edinburgh Scotland the Oil spill from the Tanker Brach in the Shetland islands contaminated More than two million Salmon Worth $11 million the scottish office agriculture and fisheries department said  spokeswoman katrina mag acc said tests Are continuing to determine contamination Levels. If some fish scheduled for harvesting next year show Low Levels of contamination they might still be eaten safely she said. Mag acc said the contaminated Salmon represents a Quarter of Shetland Farmed Salmon. She said the remaining 75 percent of fish farms Are not contaminated. Ban on communists ends Moscow the parliament of Belarus on wednesday lifted a ban on the Republic s communist party imposed after the failed 1991soviet coup although legislators voted to keep confiscated party  Belarus legislature decided that the ban on the Belarus Branch of the soviet communist party imposed aug. 25,1991, after a Short lived coup against then soviet Leader Mikhail s. Gorbachev had expired the russian news Agency inter fax said. Police mum on vandalism Amsterdam Netherlands a right win group has claimed responsibility for vandalizing the Auschwitz holocaust memorial but police Are saying Little More about the incident. We Don t want to give this Bunch any publicity police spokesman Kees Rameau said wednesday refusing even to disclose the group s  attack prompted fears that an epidemic of racist violence in neighbouring Germany was spreading to the Netherlands. An annual memorial ceremony was held sunday despite the  nazis decimated the dutch jewish population during their occupation of the Netherlands in world War ii. 5 injured in train crash Glasgow Scotland one passenger train Lowed into another at a rail station during wednesday s evening Rush hour slightly hurting five people and disrupting services rail officials said. Two passengers two Drivers and a guard we retreated for minor injuries said a spokesman or Scot rail which runs Scotland s railways. Rains slow Rescue efforts at death dealing Volcano Legazpi Philippines a heavy Rains thurs Day drenched the area threatened by the Mayon Volca no slowing Rescue operations and raising fears of new deadly landslides like those that occurred in an eruption two Days ago. Twenty five people were hospitalized at a provincial clinic with critical Burns suffered tuesday when the Volcano erupted sending Rivers of steaming debris Cas Cading Down the slopes. In Manila the government health Secretary said most of the 25 had Little Chance of survival. Early thursday the Crater of the 8,077-foot Volcan glowed a deep red before Dawn indicating that magma had reached the surface according to the philippine Institute of volcanology and seismology. Mayon emitted Small amounts of steam and Ash thursday in Wake of nine volcanic quakes one of them fairly Strong that Shook the area late wednesday Volcan Logist Agnes Aguilar said the continued activity could Point to a new Cru lion of Mayon historically the most Active of the Philippines 21 live Volca noes. Raymundo Punongbayan chief of the volcanology Institute warned that a major eruption could occur with in Days. That prompted the government to order a evacuation of villages within six Miles of the slopes. Mayor Imelda rocks said she expected about 20,000people to seek emergency shelter. But Many Farmers left their families in the evacuation centers thursday to work their Fields in the danger zone and return to the evacuation centers at night. " government agencies gave conflicting death toll from tuesday s eruption with the highest put at 45. They included five Burn victims who died after being airlifted to Manila. Simon Perry shows off the tibetan cheese said to be 200 years old in London on wednesday. The British cheese collector is wearing the false Teeth he uses As Host of a children s to show. $ 1,500 cheese nothing to sniff at London a a British collector coughed up More than $1,500 on wednesday for a handful of smelly Brown tibetan cheese that is said to be 200years old. I have had a Quick sniff of it though and i would t be surprised if it is even older than 200 years said Simon Perry who will add the hardened ounce of cheese to a collection of several thousand cheeses he keeps in the cellar of his House. John Nurden a spokesman for Perry describe the cheese As  it s dark Brown. It looks like a dried Chestnut All shrivelled and shrunken Nurden said. Perry Host of. A children s television show paid1,058 pounds about $1,555 to outbid Pierre Bruno of Signy cheeses of Normandy for an Assort ment of tibetan artefacts that included a prayer wheel and the cheese. Bruno wanted the cheese forthe company s museum rotheby s auctioneers said. Rotheby s said it had not authenticated the age of the cheese though it came with a Label saying tibetan cheese Over 100 years  rotheby s said the Label is about 100 years old As Well. I have always loved cheese Ever since i was a kid and started eating cheese triangles soft cheese wrapped in Triangle shaped foil packets said Perry. But i won t be eating this. I imagine it would taste rather unpleasant and anyway it s too value  the cheese was brought to Britain at the turn of the Century by Henry Martyn stumbles who spent three years in Tibet with the tibetan pioneers mis Sion rotheby s said. It was sold by stumbles son the auctioneers said. Rotheby s spokesman Chris Proudlove said it waste first time that the company had sold a piece of food. Smog prompts traffic ban in Prague Prague czech Republic a police banned car traffic in downtown Prague for the first time in his tory thursday after smog Levels went beyond accepted standards. On wednesday Sulphur dioxide in downtown Prague exceeded the permitted Content of 350 milligrams per cubic meter leading officials to the unusual action. Main roads leading into downtown Prague were blocked by police thursday permitting Only taxis City traffic disabled Drivers and cars using unleaded Gas into  Large majority of cars in spite of the recent Boom in purchasing Western cars still do not use catalyse is needed for unleaded Gas. According to mayor Milan Kondur the ban should have a psychological effect on the population urging people not to use cars at times of bad weather conditions