European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 a a news briefs the stars and stripes Friday december 14, 1990 Bennett turns Down gop chairmanship Washington apr William Bennett told president Bush on thursday that he would not accept the chairmanship of the Republican National committee citing financial reasons. Bennett who recently resigned As the nations drug policy director told Bush in a letter that taking the Job would conflict with planned outside interests including a Book contract. Therefore Bennett told Bush he was turning Down the offer Quot with the deepest reluctance. The White House released a copy of the letter. Bennett was chosen for the top party Post in november when Bush decided to replace ailing Lee Atwater who is undergoing treatment for a brain Junior. Bennett told reporters that lawyers including White House counsel Boyden Gray had indicated that ethics considerations involved in Finhart rial activities Bennett wanted to conduct presented enough of a a Gray area for him to turn Down the Job. The conflicts he said would preclude him from carrying out a Simon and schuster Book contract As Well As consulting and speaking engagements he wanted to do. Quot i did no to take a vow of poverty a a Bennett said 2 workers contaminated in blast at uranium Plant Frankfurt,.�?TGermany apr two employees were injured and exposed to radioactive contamination in an explosion at a uranium processing Plant outside Frankfurt authorities said. The blast occurred Early wednesday and authorities said they had not immediately deter Nii Ned its cause. The facility in the City of Hanau is owned by the giant German manufacturing concern Siemens a Annette Gros Bongardt spokeswoman for the Hessen environment ministry said one worker was severely injured and another was slightly Hurt. A third was reported treated for Shock. Siemens spokesman Rainer Jend said the two injured workers had been lightly contaminated with radioactive materials but the extent of the exposure was still unclear. Lie said Daviage at the facility which produces nuclear fuel was estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars a earthquake hits Sicily leaves at least 15 dead Syracuse Sicily apr an earthquake struck Sicily a Eastern coast before Dawn thursday killing at least 15 people collapsing buildings and sending panicked residents into the streets. The quake struck about 1 30 . And registered 4.7 on the Richter scale the ministry of civil Protection reported. The . National earthquake information Center in Golden colo., measured it at 5.1. A it the italian news Agency Ansa said 15 bodies had been recovered from the debris the ministry of civil Protection said it could not immediately confirm the figure. At least 200 people were injured the italian news Agency ag1 said. A athe quake caused at least $400 million in damage according to the prefects office in Syracuse . Facilities on Sicily escaped major damage u. Scoffers by Helen Thomas up White House reporter Washington a president Bush declaring that the soviet Union is facing Quot Tough times a a announced wednesday an assistance package to provide up to $1 billion in agriculture Export credits to ease Moscow a food shortage. Bush also announced that he will meet with soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow feb. 11-13 to sign a strategic arms reduction treaty known As Start which will drastically reduce the two superpowers arsenals of Long Range missiles Bush spoke in the Rose Garden with soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze and Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii at his Side. To extend the credits he said he would waive until july 1001, pending further review the 1074 Jackson Vanik act. It bars preferential credit guarantees to the soviets so Long As Moscow maintains restrictive emigration policies on soviet jews and other minorities. Hailing the growing Quot special relationship Between America and the Kremlin Bush also proposed that the world Bank and the International monetary fund provide the soviets Access to their economic expertise. Bush said he has also decided to establish a Public private medical assistance task Force to help Moscow Deal with its a acute immediate shortages of pharmaceutical and Basic medical  asked if the Aid package is a payoff to the soviets Baker told reporters Quot you  consider any of the Steps taken today to be payoff or a payback for the cooperation that we be seen on the Gulf crisis. We Sec that cooperation across a Broad Range of issues Quot it is very much in the National interest of the United states to see the soviet Union succeed in its efforts to Reform politically and to move to a free Market economic  question irritated Shevardnadze who pointedly. Noted that the United states and Moscow were on the Road to improved relations months before the Gulf crisis. Rain by Chuck Roberts staff writer. Slush and dripping water have replaced Snow and ice thursday As much of Western Germany sloshed itself out of its worst snowstorm in five  5 inches of Snow fell on most of Southern Germany on wednesday and Between 2 to 4 inches of huge snowflakes landed in Central Germany. The latest forecast Calls for rain and drizzle throughout most of germ a by for the next several Days. S now could continue in the extreme Southern Region for another couple of Days if the Low pressure system that generated the Snow remains in Corsica Italy said staff sgt. Geri Swanson of the air Force european weather forecast unit in Graben Trarbach Germany. The storm that began on monday produced More Snow Over a longer period of time than any such storm that has hit Western Germany since january 1985, said Harraid Strauss a climatologist with the 2nd weather Wing at Kapaun air station. In Kaiserslautern Ger but the 1985 snowstorm dropped More Snow and lasted nearly the entire month Strauss said. Although both storms did most of their work in Southern Ger Many Strauss said they differed in temperature. Temperatures steadily increased this week but in 1985 the Mercury declined Over the month. But Strauss said those Low temperatures did no to compare to the frigid storm that hit Germany two years later when temperatures plunged to 5 degrees fahrenheit and winds blew As High As 40 Mph for several weeks. V Swanson said the turbulent Low pressure system that has caused the recent Snow is not an unusual weather pattern but this Type of weather system does not occur often in Germany. The Low pressure system added excitement to the Job for the weather forecasters in Trabyn Trarbach but it also made things More hectic As they greatly increased output of their primary Job of issuing weather warnings Swanson said those warnings led to closures and delays for schools businesses and military installations. Traffic jams Ofsei a eral Miles left motorists stranded for hours on autobahn in Southern Germany two areas hit the hardest were Schwabish Hal and Neuhauser both cities reported approximately 10 inches of show on the ground wednesday morning after they had received More than 3 inches of Snow the previous night Swanson said. A from Page 1 Quested permission for families to be granted Environ mental morale leave a Type of leave often Given to families jiving in Remote areas. Saint said he thought environmental morale leave was More Likely to be approved than space available Tiave which had always been turned Down for dependents travelling without a military sponsor. The morale leave program is intended to allow families to return to the United states for Holiday visits during Normal school Breaks the . Army in Europe is encouraging families to remain in Europe until developments in saudi Arabia become clearer officials said. From Paget 7,. 7 / palestinians fight for a Homeland in territories occupied by Israel. 777-����7, a 7 a the Bush administration has suggested that if the multinational forces move to liberate Kuwait they May also destroy iraqis stockpiles of chemical weapons and facilities that May one Day give it the ability to build nuclear weapons Quot ,. A 7 7 .7 a. Meanwhile the five remaining . Diplomats left occupied Kuwait in route to Freedom thursday aboard a .-chartered iraqi jetliner leaving the . Embassy in the emirate unmanned for the first time since iraqi tanks rolled into Kuwait four months ago Baghdad radio reported. A a a a a a a a a a v. A 7 a Quot a the flight carrying the five . Diplomats including ambassador Nathaniel How Elji arrived in Frankfurt Germany on thursday evening after a Stop in Baghdad an iraqi airways spokesman told Baghdad radio. The evacuation of the americans leaves the British embassy the Only Mission in Kuwait still staffed. British officials will stay until the weekend to make sure there Are no More britons who wanted to leave the occupied  a a a a  a a ,. A a a a the British and l1.s. Embassies were among dozens of missions in Kuwait to Challenge an iraqi order to close and move to Baghdad after Saddam annexed the the tiny Oil Rich emirate which it invaded aug. 2. Iraq Cut electricity and water to foreign embassies still operating and prevented them from stocking up with  diplomats to eat Rice and canned fish and to boil drinking water from swimming pools. British and . Officials in the Middle East have said their missions now will be temporarily closed until the restoration of the legitimate kuwaiti government and the end of the iraqi occupation. Also thursday soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze flew to Ankara Turkey for talks expected to focus on 4he Gulf crisis. Shevardnadze was to meet with president Turgut Zal after three Days of talks in the United states. Turkey a non Arab moslem nation is the in Ltd 6 f Plato to Border both Iraq and the soviet meanwhile Iraq ordered special civil defense exercises to begin the Day its troops must be out of Kuwait. State owned iraqi television said special civil defense exercises will begin Jan. 15, the . Deadline for Saddam to withdraw Bis forces from Kuwait or face a possible military confrontation with the .-led multinational Force arrayed against him. The broadcast said the exercises were designed to a prepare the iraqi people for War and train them in How to c05euw chemical weapons explosions air raids fires and the evacuation of  the iraqis were shown How to use Gas masks in Case of Poison Gas attack although the equipment has not yet . The television warned iraqis to be prepared for any eventuality including bombing raids and even a nuclear strike the broadcast monitored in Amman Jordan was seen As a further display of resolve by Saddam who a Day ear a placed his aging defense minister Gem Abdul Jabar Shanshan with the younger Gen. A Aadi Toyamma Abbas a hero of the eight year Iran Iraq War. /