European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 24, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes wednesday August 24,1988 news updates France s Oil embargo Paris a France is pre paring to ease its embargo on Oil Trade with Iran to permit barter agreements an official at the prime minister s office said tues Day. The official said that the government has decided to allow bar Ter Trade involving Oil under cer Tain conditions but added that the change has not yet been made offi Cial. The official who is not named under French practice said she could not provide exact details on the timing of the official Annonce ment or on technical details. Death toll revised new York a the death toll in a fire that gutted a basement social club was revised downward from seven to six and officials said the Blaze did not appear to be arson As was originally suspected. We believe at this Point that the fire was accidental but Many important witnesses who were badly injured have yet to be inter viewed by fire marshals fire department spokesman John Mulli Gan said monday. Dozens of patrons who were injured in sunday s fire at the Bronx club known As the Hole remain hospitalized Many severely burned. Eighteen firefighters also were Hurt none seriously. Arson was initially suspected because of the rapid spread of the Blaze at the club which officials said operated illegally because it served liquor without a License and did t have enough exits to comply with building codes. Property sales Kaiserslautern West Germany the Kaiserslautern defense Rutih nation and marketing office will hold an auction sept. 13 and a retail Sale sept. 16. A variety of items Are to be sold Asis at each event including office sup plies Auto parts and household goods. Aca Talog will be available starting sept. 10. All sales at both events will be final and must be in . Dollars. Bidder registration for the auction will begin at 8 30a.m., with the auction starting at 9 . Items Are to be removed no later than five Days after the Sale. The retail Sale will be conducted from8 30 . Until 10 . And customers need to remove items the same Day. The auction is open to the Public but the retail Sale is restricted to . Id card holders. For More information Call ets 483 8692 or 8691. Clarification information in an article yesterday about the armed forces recreation Cen Ter May have confused some readers. The twp Christmas Holiday periods at arc run from dec. 19-26 and dec. 26 through Jan. 2according to arc officials. Dec. 26 is a checkout checking Date Between the two weeks and Jan. 2 is the checkout Date for the second period. Prince concert postponed the Prince concert scheduled for wednesday in Hamburg West Germany has been postponed to aug. 31. Ticket remain valid. Consumer prices hiked 0.4% by High grocery costs in july Washington a the steepest one month Rise in grocery store prices in 4vz years pushed consumer prices up 0.4 percent in july As the effects of the sum me Long drought reached Consumers the Commerce department said tuesday. The gain in grocery store prices 1.4 percent was led by a 9.6 percent jump in egg costs a 7.4 percent boost in Poul try costs and a 4.7 percent gain for fresh fruits and vegetables. July s Overall gain if it persisted for 12 months would amount to a yearly inflation rate of 5.2 percent. The gains in food prices reflect rising input prices at least partially due to the Adverse summer weather the depart ment said. Food costs Overall Rose 1.0 percent for the month As slower advances of 0.5 per cent and 0.4 percent respectively were posted for restaurant meals and alcoholic beverages. Except for food the report showed Only moderate inflation in july. Energy prices were up 0.3 percent largely because of a 0.7 percent increase in gasoline prices. Despite the july in crease gasoline is still slightly cheaper than in december and 28.1 percent under its Peak reached in March 1981. Excluding food and Energy costs con Sumer prices Rose 0.3 percent last month slightly less than the average monthly increase posted in the first half of 1988. Housing costs Rose at a 0.3 percent Pace for the sixth straight month As de Clines in Home heating Oil and electricity costs offset higher charges for natural Gas. Clothing prices dropped 0.6 percent after falling 0.3 percent in june those prices had risen 3.8 percent in the first five months of 1988. The labor department said that larger than usual end of season Price reductions in women s clothing were responsible for most of the declines. Medical care costs jumped 0.7 percent to a level 6.6 percent above where they had been a year ago. Hospital expense were up 1.0 percent while the Cost of prescription and Over the counter drugs gained 0.9 percent. Transportation expenses Rose 0.4 per cent after a 0.2 percent Rise in june. The higher gasoline prices were largely to  car prices were unchanged while automobile financing costs gained 0.2 percent. Used car prices were up 0.5 per cent their second consecutive increase but were still below their level at the end of 1987. Tobacco prices were up 2.7 percent the steepest gain for any major segment of the monthly Price compilation. Despite the food Price increase meat costs Overall declined slightly As pork prices dropped 2.2 percent and beef and veal prices Rose just 0.1 percent As farm ers trimmed herds. Cereal and bakery product Price gained 1.1 percent while cooking Oil pos Ted a 1.0 percent Price increase. The july increases brought the con Sumer Price Index to 118.5, meaning that a hypothetical selection of goods costing$100 in 1982 would have Cost $118.50 last month 50 cents More than in june and $4.70 More than a year ago. Congress urges More cons deaf on for Volunteer service in hiring practices by William j. Bartman Washington Bureau Washington Congress has voted to encourage state local and Pri vate employers to consider Volunteer service when making hiring decisions just As the Federal government does. The vote earlier this month was applauded by Pentagon family support officials monday because thousands of Mili tary spouses and youngsters return to the United states each year with nothing but Volunteer experience. While the congressional Resolution snot Law it should Start something said an aide to rep. Augustus Hawkins d-calif., author of the measure. Because resolutions that Are passed like these with a specific idea often do gain More  we Tell volunteers to take credit for that experience said an official in the Pentagon s family support office. Employers Don t like to give credit for it because they think about what limits you instead of what is possible. But some of the Best experience is  family support officials Tell the Story of a 50-year-old woman who never worked for pay but had her years of volunteering counted. She landed a govern ment Job at the gs-13 level with a salary in the $30,000 Range. The Resolution encourages applicants to list Volunteer work on application forms and for that information to retaken into account by employers said Hawkins aide. The Pentagon is testing another Way of helping military family members find jobs through a one year experimental Job placement service just begun in the Norfolk va., area. The placement serv ice is for All military services and offers private sector As Well As government openings. The service could be expanded per haps to overseas posts depending on the reaction of users and employers said Kathleen o Beirne of the defense department s family policy office. There is no recourse currently Avail Able for those who feel their Volunteer experience has been overlooked in state local or private sector hiring decisions but they can file a grievance on the Feder Al level. The key of course is to relate the Volunteer experience to the Job being sought said the family support  do that she recommended use of the Federal personnel manual number x-118, on qualification standards for Feder Al jobs. You use the Buzz words. Related to that Job she said. The manual is Avail Able in local and Federal libraries and in Federal personnel centers. Earthquake Rescue efforts continuing Bira Nagar Nepal a res Cue workers coped with aftershocks an heavy rain tuesday in an Effort to reach Remote regions of the Himalayas to help victims of an earthquake whose official death toll neared 700. Rumours predicting another Large quake sent thousands of panic stricken people fleeing their Homes in India and Nepal. Sunday s pre Dawn quake registered 6.5on the Richter scale and claimed at least 497 lives in Nepal and 200 in India government officials said. Officials in both countries said they expected the death toll to climb when reports arrived from regions difficult to reach even in Good weather. The quake injured at least 2,000 Epplein India and 1,000 in Nepal officials said. In Bira Nagar a City near the Indian Bor Der 150 Miles East of the nepalese capital Katmandu residents poured into the streets before Dawn tuesday As men ran from houses to House shouting that a Mes Sage came from Katmandu that a new quake was expected before Dawn. Police in the City of 300,000 people said they received no such message. Anonymous Telephone Calls with similar rumours roused hundreds of people in Kat Mandu also before Dawn. Sunday s quake was Felt in the capital but no deaths or serious damage were reported in the City. In Patna India thousands of people huddled in the rain in open courtyards monday As rumours swept the City that an other quake was imminent. Patna is the capital of Bihar state the worst hit area in India. A quake registering 5.1 on the Richter scale Shook Eastern Nepal late monday afternoon but there were no immediate re ports of new casualties or damage. In general however the intensity of aftershocks has lessened. Andrew flies to rejoin ship at Hong Kong London a Prince Andrew slipped out of Britain and flew to Hong Kong to rejoin his Royal Navy ship after two weeks of leave for the birth of his first child Princess Beatrice of York Buckingham Palace said tuesday. The 28-year-old Royal Navy Lieuten ant left Gatwick Airport on monday night hours after the Palace had announced the baby s name and released the first official pictures of her some of which the Prince had taken. Andrew who is based on the destroyer Edinburgh flew to London from Singa pore on aug. 7 to await the baby s birth. His wife Sarah went into the Hospital the following Day and Princess Beatrice was Bora on aug. 8, 1988 at 8 18 p.m., considered one of the Luckiest moments of the Century by chinese astrologers. After the Duchess and her daughter left Portland Hospital the family flew to Queen Elizabeth is summer residence at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Andrew left his wife and daughter at Balmoral on monday and flew to Lon Don to catch his plane to Hong Kong