European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 08, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes world saturday. January 8,1994 Christmas comes to Russia Young russians Light candles during a Midnight Christmas eve service at a russian orthodox Church in Moscow on thursday. Although Christmas which is marked Jan. 7, was banned after the bolshevik revolution in 1917, it became an official Holiday in 1991. For russian orthodox faithful Christmas Marks the end of a 40-Day period in which meat and eggs Are not Al Lowed. On the Day before the Holiday by tradition be Lievers can eat Only wheat grains saturated with water until they sight the first Star in the evening sky. Believers celebrate Christmas Day with a traditional 12-dish feast including Goose or Turkey. Lebanese prosecutor to meet suspect in Berlin disco attack Beirut Lebanon a Lebanon s chief prosecutor said thursday that he will interrogate a pales Tinian who is suspected of masterminding the 1986 Ber Lin disco bombing that killed two . Soldiers and triggered american airstrikes on Libya. In View of Germany s request to extradite him i have decided to interrogate Yasser Shreidi on Mon Day in connection with the Berlin bombing chief prosecutor Muneef owe Dat told the associated press. He said Shreidi would be brought to Beirut for the interrogation session from a jail in Saida where he has been standing trial on an unrelated charge of murder ing Mustafa Ashek a lebanese in that port City. Saida is 25 Miles South of Beirut. I have also asked the German authorities to provide the file they have about Shreidi s connection with the bombing owe Dat said. He reaffirmed that if Shreidi were convicted in Saida he would have to serve out whatever sentence begot there before the German extradition request could be considered. Saida s criminal court is scheduled to reconvene feb. 22. To hand Down the verdict owe Dat said. He said the Date was earlier erroneously reported As Jan. 22 in a statement issued by Justice minister Bahij Tabbarah s press office. Owe Dat said Shreidi born in Saida s bin Al Hilweh refugee Camp sept. 9,1959, lived for years in East Berlin. He returned to Lebanon shortly after Ger Many reunited in 1990. Shreidi has been wanted in Germany since 1990 for the bombing of the la Belle disco on april 5,1986. The blast killed the two off duty . Soldiers and a turkish woman. It also injured 229 people. The warrant for Shreidi s arrest was issued Only in 1990 because his alleged involvement was revealed by newly released files of the former East German secret police known unofficially As the Stasi. The Berlin prosecutor s office has said Shreidi was accredited As a Diplomat at the libyan embassy in what was East Berlin at the time of the bombing. Ten Days after the bombing president Reagan or dered the . Bombing raids on Tripoli Libya s Capi Tal and the port of Benghazi. Reagan said he had conclusive evidence that Libya was behind the attack. Azerbaijani troops recapture villages from armenians from wire reports Baku Azerbaijan azerbaijani soldiers have pushed armenian forces out of several villages near Magorno Karabash this week the military said Friday. It was the first significant Advance by Azerbaijan in  defense ministry said azerbaijani troops recaptured three villages and the strategic town of Gorodiz. Retreating armenians left behind eight tanks 12 anti tank guns six heavy trucks seven howitzers and Large amounts of ammunition the ministry  has been fighting an undeclared War for More than six years Over Magorno Karabash an ethnic armenian Region that has declared Independence. The conflict has Cost More than 16,000 lives and created More than a million refugees in the two former soviet republics. N. Korean chief stammers Tokyo aging North korean president Kim in Sung stammered mispronounced words an repeatedly paused irregularly while Reading a 25 minute new year s message a japanese monitoring Agency said  press a private monitoring service said Kim who turns 82 on april 15, made few such blunders Irris new year s addresses until the late 1980s. Such an increase is a matter of interest at a time when president Kim s health draws concern in connection with the Transfer of Power to his son communist party Secretary Kim Jong ii the news service  elder Kim has ruled North Korea since it was divided from South Korea at the end of world War ii. He remains the nation s president and general Secretary of the ruling korean workers party. But Many analysts said they think he has become largely a figurehead As his 51-year-old son has _ consolidated control in the world s Only dynastic transferor Power in a communist nation. Little is known about the younger Kim. Bush fires spark evacuations Sydney Australia thousands of people fled their Homes in Australia s largest City late Friday a summer Bush fires swept out of control through Sydney s Northern  and witnesses said streets in towns farther North of Sydney also were ablaze. Ambulance officers said some people were Rescue from burning houses. Three people were trapped on a Rock ledge in a Bushland Park South of the City More than 130 firestorm were burning out of control across new South Wales the most populous state along its entire 750-mile Eastern Seaboard. Police suspect arsonists set More than half the  new South Wales government has posted a $68,000 Reward for information leading to the arrests of the arsonists and has banned the lighting of fires. Police have called on people to inform on firebug. Israelis free 101 prisoners Jerusalem the israeli army began releasing 101 palestinian prisoners from the Gaza strip and West Bank on Friday As part of a Deal to resume peace negotiations with the Palestine liberation  army said 47 prisoners were from the Gaza strip and 54 from the West Bank. All of them were duet Complete their sentences by the end of january. This release is part of the Progress that we Hope will Lead to an agreement education minister Amnon Rubenstein said on Israel radio. Iraq refused shipboard surrender Saddam says Nicosia Cyprus a . Com Manders in the persian Gulf War asked iraqi officers to sign a cease fire on a . Warship but Iraq demanded and got a desert Border site Saddam Hussein said thursday. In a speech carried by the official iraqi news Agency the iraqi president told offi cers in Baghdad that allowing the warship ceremony would have been a historical  imagine them showing a film in which your military comrades Are shown going to the american ship to negotiate with the americans he said in the speech monitored in Cyprus. Saddam apparently Felt that such a cer Emony would smack of the world War ii surrender signed by japanese command ers aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay on sept. 2,1945. The refurbished Missouri was among ships in the multinational Armada that formed part of the anti Iraq coalition. Saddam did not identify the vessel involved describing it Only As an Ameri can  no immediate reaction to Saddam s account came from participants in the Allied coalition that drove Iraq out of Kuwait. The cease fire ceremony was held in a tent at the Border town of Safwan on March 3, 1991. Attending from Iraq were it. Gen. Sultan Hashem Ahmed Iraq s chief of operations and it. Gen. Salah Abboud Mahmoud commander of Iraq s 3rd army corps. Attending from the . Led coalition were . Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf and saudi it. Gen. Khalid bin Sultan. The coalition s Campaign followed Iraq s August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. After a bombing Campaign a ground offensive drove iraqi troops from Kuwait. President Bush declared an initial cease fire feb. 27. It is still unclear How Many iraqis died in the conflict. Early estimates that up to 100,000 iraqi troops and thou Sands of civilians were killed now Are believed to be exaggerated. In a study released last March John Heidenrich formerly an analyst with the defense intelligence Agency said military fatalities May have been As Low As 1,500 for Iraq with about 3,000 wounded. From 2,000 to 5,000 kuwaitis died during the six month iraqi occupation of the emirate. One Hundred seventy five Western sol Diers including 148 americans and 39 arabs from the coalition Ere killed in the War