European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 8, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday augusts 1988 the stars and stripes Page 9 soviets set to withdraw More troops Kabul Afghanistan Orpi soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze left Kabul sunday on the eve of the first withdrawal of soviet soldiers stationed in the heavily defended capital officials said Shevardnadze completed a four Day sur prise visit to Kabul during which he assured president Najibullah that Moscow would take Steps to end alleged violations by Pakistan of the april 14 Geneva accor charting a pullout of soviet occupation forces a soviet embassy official said. A soviet foreign ministry statement re leased following Shevardnadze s departure said Afghanistan and the soviet Union in Light of Pakistan s violations of the Geneva agreements cannot but take a certain stand concerning these violations and the situation surrounding  the foreign minister s aircraft ascended with helicopter escorts in a tight Corkscrew above Kabul spewing scores of flares to thwart possible anti aircraft missile attacks by moslem rebels fighting the soviet backed regime. Soviet sources and Western Diplomat said the main purpose of the visit was to reassure afghan leaders that Moscow would continue supporting the govern ment against the guerrillas backed by the United states China and Iran. The pullout must be completed by feb. 15 under the terms of the Accord signed by Afghanistan and Pakistan with Moscow and Washington As co guarantors. Maj. Gen. Liv Serebro a senior soviet commander in Afghanistan told re porters visiting Kabul air base that Convoy of an unspecified size would leave the capital monday in the first reduction of soviet troops in the tightly guarded City that has been frequently hit by rebel  have fulfilled their International is duty and like All other units they Willnow go Home the Khaki Clad officer said. More than 20,000 soviet troops mus leave Afghanistan within the next eight Days to comply with the Accord s dead line for a pullout of half the soviet forces that invaded the mountainous islamic nation in december 1979 to Rescue a tottering communist government. Western diplomats private analysts and soviet sources have reported a Complete pullout from Southern Afghanistan and partial withdrawals from Western and Cen trial areas As the deadline approaches. Hundreds of elite soviet troops and afghan soldiers gathered sunday at a Dusty football Field to watch combat exhibition by 18 men who attacked each other with bats fists bayonets rifles shovels and Jap anese num Chuka fighting Sticks to the sound of soviet disco  afghan soldiers also Sou Nouy Defeated the soviets in various athletic exhibitions before a crowd of soldiers and report  see said a beaming soviet offi Cial who introduced himself As a propagandist. They beat us in everything. They Are so , the victorious afghan ath letes departed on a bus whose Back win Dow was plastered with an advertising poster for the movie rambo Iii i which actor Sylvester Stallone Battles and wins against soviet troops in Afghanistan. Abrams building elevators offer a strangely uplifting experience by Janet Howells Tierney stuff writer Frankfurt West Germany hesitation is Normal. Open doorways appear slowly but before your feet react the Opportunity passes and thee trance disappears into the ceiling. You watch others some deep i conversation walk right up hop aboard the next available platform without a pause and ascend to parts unknown. Feeling like a child preparing to jump into a moving jump rope you take the plunge and leap into the continuously moving closet. Gently you Are lifted past Light filled openings on other floors. Seconds later you step off onto your floor feeling silly that the contraption intimidated you. That s the Way newcomers to Frank Furt s seven Story Abrams building which houses v corps Headquarters often feel at first sight of the building sold fashioned lifts. Because of the jokes about people saying their prayers before hopping aboard the elevator s nickname throughout Germany is Paternoster which Means our father in latin and is the Start of the lord s prayer. It s such a simple uncomplicated device said Connie s. Gibson v corps safety manager. They Are very efficient and there is no waiting. They re used continuously. If you Wanton uprising on your hands turn them off. It s not much fun if you have to walk to the third or fourth  Gibson laughed As she explained the common fear of new passengers Riding to the top floor and turning Over with the car. But the fear is groundless Ashe cars never turn upside Down. I d never seen these before i came Here said capt Brian r. Joesten wit the 22nd signal in on the building s third floor. My curiosity got me and just like a kid i took the ride All the Way around. During the Loop it takes inthe basement everything gets dark but you can see the wheel and then you re on the Way up again. The Speed is such that there is no worry about getting on or off he said. I m amazed we Don t have them inthe states. They Don t take As much space As conventional elevators and Are much  for some the Paternoster have be come routine. They were fun at first said staff set. Henry d. Pedrina with the 5th signal det for four years. It took one or two Days to get the timing Down but i Don t think about it anymore. I just jump on and  often if one of the building s eight Paternoster in t working it s because someone pushed one of the emergency Stop buttons outside each entryway thinking of the Way conventional elevators operate. But a recent development May Bringa More permanent halt to the Long moving lifts. Paternoster will be banned by Ger Man Law after sept. 1, 1995, a govern ment official said because of accidents and complaints from users in other West German cities. Is Lynda w. Sparks spec. Kendrick Lopez and sgt. Brenda Witherspoon ride the Paternoster. However the Well used lifts in the Abrams building May be saved be cause special permission to keep the elevators will be Given to buildings with historical importance. When opened in 1930 As the  chemical company Headquarters the building was the largest in Europe. American bomber pilots were told to avoid it during world War i air raids because commanders Felt it would be useful later. The american military moved into the Structure s More than 500 room soon after the War ended. In 1952 it be came the Gen. Creighton w. Abram building and Headquarters for v corps. The history of this building is significant Gibson said. Since i know of no True safety Hazard connected with the Paternoster i would like to see them  one regular Paternoster rider who was once in Between floors when the lift stopped feels the  was helped out and it was no big Deal said Pat h. Nelson of the regional affairs office on the fourth floor. I think they Are a unique part of this , safety manager for about five years does recall some minor Acci dents when users did t follow the rules and tried to carry or push heavy items onto the lift. It would be difficult to be injured unless someone was doing something wrong Gibson said. The rules Are clearly posted As no freight no Chil Dren no smoking no handicapped Anda limit of two people in  others Don t feel As confident about the Ever moving lifts. I be been Riding them three or fou times a Day for 2 a years and it s still scary said sgt. Brenda j. Witherspoon of the 102nd signal in. If you miss the step you could break your  soviet scientists find thin Ozone layer Over cities Moscow a soviet scientists have discovered More than 50 cases of reductions of the Ozone layer Over mos cow Kiev and other major cities a news paper said sunday. Sovie Skaya Rossiya the newspaper of the russian Republic said scientists work ing under the direction of geographer e. Bas Manov used computers to measure the Ozone layer in the atmosphere. The paper suggested a lessening of the Ozone layer could be the reason for mos cow s unusually hot summer. It called on the soviet state committee for Environ mental Protection to begin a severe Strug Gle against violators of ecological  it should be pointed out to be fair that the Ozone layer was not destroyed. Some time later its thickness returned to Normal. However the very fact of the thinning of the Ozone layer is extremely alarming the report said. It did not say when the measurements were taken or How big the reductions were. Reductions in the Ozone layer leads to increases in solar heating rapid move ment of air masses and increases in temperature it said. Scientists have pinpointed the escape of freon into the atmosphere from Industrial processes and aerosol cans As one of the main threats to the Ozone layer it said