4 oy... a2 Castlégar News Jonvary 10, 1988 Economic growth predictions vary VANCOUVER (CP) — A healthy forest industry, higher metal. prices and renewed construction activity throughout British Columbia created strong growth in the provincial economy in 1987, and the short-term outlook is for more of the same, says a federal economist. But there is no prospect.“in the foreseeable future” that B.C.'s une “ment rate will drop as low as Ontario's 5.3 per cent, saif Roslyn Kunin, regional economist with Employment and Immigration Canada. B.C.'s jobless rate now is roughly double Ontario's, and a senior official with the labor movement blamed the provincial government's policies for keeping it high. Unemployment is high in provinces where governments “practise restraint, cutbacks, privatization and confronta. tion,” said Cliff Andstein, an economist and secretary-treas. urer of the 250,000-member B.C. Federation of Labor. “I think the message is that people will invest and create jobs in provinces where there is stability, and where TWELFTH NIGHT . . . Residents watch Christmas trees go up in smoke at annual Twelfth ht Burn at the Community Complex Wednesday. Burn. was spon- sored by the local Boy Scouts, who also picked up there is not a government intervening to create problems and ilize the y," A said. The province finished 1987 with an unemployment rate of 10.5 per cent, up slightly from November but'down from 13.4 per cent a year earlier. Kunin called that“a very significant improvement.” The national unemployment rate stood at-8.9 per cent, down from 9.6 per cent a year earlier. Since the first quarter of 1987, the economy has been “very strong.” Kunin noted three major factors: e The forest industry is thriving because low interest rates, the low Canadian dollar and high U.S. demand have outweighed any negative effects of higher export prices. e The metal-mining industry is coming back to life because copper prices more than doubled after years in the doldrums, and gold prices also rose. Construction activity saw “a very significant increase spread quite uniformly throughout the province.” Kunin said there were 22,000 more construction jobs in some of the trees from area homes. About 75 resid- ents braved chilly winds to watch fire and enjoy hot chocolate and cookies. CasNews Photo by Ron Norman EAGLES RELEASED .-Bald eagles recuperate after digesting poison NANAIMO, B.C. (CP) — Jan. 2 after gorging on a The drugged birds were vitamins. B.C. at the end of last year than the previous year, most of them in small residential and commercial jobs rather than in major projects, Another encouraging sign was that the unemployment rate among young people fell significantly last year, she said. “For at least the next six months, we're looking at continuing strong growth in British Columbia,” Kunin said. NO BOOM But she said B.C. will not experience an Ontario-style employment boom,. partly because the forest industry, creation, " Andstein said unemployment rates have fallen to 5.3 per cent in Ontario, which ‘has a “left-Liberal" government, and to 7.1 per cent in Manitoba, which is'run by. New Democrats, because those provinces pursue expansionist economic policies. Jim Matkin, president of the Business Council of B.C., took a different view. “I think that things are rather brighter in B.C. right now when you look at employment figures, rather than through automation, has been increasing pi without creating jobs to replace those lost in the recession of the early 1980s. “Starting from 1981 and through the recession, a very large number of jobs were lost, maybe up to about 40 per cent of unionized forest industry jobs,” Kunin said. Andstein laid blame for continui h figures,” Matkin said. Statistics Canada figures showed the number of people employed in B.C. at the end of 1987 was 1,321,000, up from 1,308,000 at the end of November and from 1,248,000 at the end of 1986. But while 1988 should be another good year for the B.C. rates on a lack of provincial policies that encourage job y. Matkin said it will be weaker than 1987 because “we are at the tail end of the growth cycle of the 1980s.” KAMLOOPS, B.C. (CP) — The provincial govern- ment has refused to reimburse Mervin Fuchs, of Langley, B.C., who paid more than $15, to fly his sister to London, Ont., for an emergency liver transplant Nov. 8. “It was a life-or-death situation.” said Fuchs — a Royal Bank manager who formerly described the day he wrote a cheque vain attempt to save his sister Darla The woman, a 20-year-old Kamloops bank teller, was in critical condition from liver failure alter contracting a rare strain of hep: in Mexico with her fiance. “She was ina coma, soa commercial flight was out of the question,” said Fuchs who chartered a pkivate Lear jet from Vancouver. Fuchs said his understanding from the B.C. Transplant Society at the time was that the provincial government would reimburse him later. But he found out this was not the case — as did the society. “I didn't have that kind of money, but I was fortunate enough I worked for the Royal Bank and I told them I was in a bind and they were kind enough to give me an instant loan,” he said. Darla Fuchs died Dec. 15 after two liver transplant operations. Meanwhile, her plight touched the people of Kamloops, who contributed $15,000 in a community-wide fund-raising campaign. Fuchs said his total expenses are near $20,000, leaving him $5,000 short. “I don't mind that — no amount of money will bring Darla back — but the principle of the thing bothers me,” Government balks at air ambulance costs he said. “I was lucky because I could get hold of the money. But most people don't have that kind of money available to them. Doesn't the provincial government care about them? Peter Wearing, ministerial assistant to Health Minister Peter Dueck, said it is government policy to pay for emergency air ambulance service only within B.C. — and in rare instances Alberta, but nowhere else. Dr. Paul Keown, director of the B.C. Transplant Society which will be opening a liver, heart and lung transplant uhit here in April, said he found the government's attitude in the Fuchs case “very dis- turbing.” “I can"t see a family having to meet these kinds of costs,” he said. Keown said it’s not unusual for B.C. residents to leave the province for emergency transplant surgery. About 50 are on the waiting list now bch Liver transplant operations are available only at University Hospital in London and two American hospitals — which means patients have no choice but to leave the province, he said. o January 10, 1988 c ‘astlégar C.N. Ghent, head of the transplant unit) at University Hospital in London, also blasted the govern- ment’s stand. In a letter to Keown — a copy of which went to Premier Bill Vander Zalm — Ghent argued families should not be “financially devastated” by emergency medical transportation costs, and said the Fuchs family “deserve reimbursement and an apology.” FROM HOSPITAL Nineteen bald eagles were released Saturday following their recovery from the ef fects of barbiturate poisoning and exposure that left them drugged and dying As 50 people watched, the eagles were let go one by one from the back of a ‘pickup poisoned cow mistakenly left out as feed by farmer Fred Bexton, 78. Five died but an additional 24 were rescued by ~volunteers who combed brush and farmland. The release took place at Bexton's farm and he stood back from the crowd as the unable to control their body temperatures “and were slowly dying of “exposire wheh rescue efforts began. The last of the birdswas found Tuesday¥- The stricken eagles were nursed back to health by a team of veterinarians using heart “They all appear to be doing very well,” said vet érinarian Dr. Ken Langelier Bexton said. the veter. inarian wh@-admifilstered the tranquillizer sodium pento barbitol to euthanize the cow had told him the drug was not a poison truck in a farmer's field 15 eagles flew away kilometres north of this Van. “As soon as gone and it’s quiet, they'll be back here,” said Bexton who had been feeding meat to the birds for 14 years without incident everyone's couver Island city The release capped a week long effort to save the birds who shakily flapped their wings at first before gaining enough altitude to glide through a steady rain to a stand of fir trees 100 metres away “I feel relieved because it was doubtful to start with how many would survive. 'm the last person on the face of this earth who would want to harm those birds.” Drugged eagles began dropping from their perches stimulants and jugs filled with hot water to warm them. Some were uncon scious for a few hours but others were comatose for up to four days. Four eagles were held back from release. One was let go earlier this week. The birds were given activated char coal to absorb any further traces of the drug in their “More good will come out of this than bad because any veterinarian will now be warning people whether an animal they put down can be used for feed or ‘destroyed,” Bexton said Langelier said publicity from the mishap can almost guarantee that a similar inci bodies plus antibiotics and dent won't happen again. Police file Castlegar RCMP checked a total of 1,368 vehicles in 41 hours of roadblocks during the provincewide Christmas CounterAttack campaign Dec. 8 - Jan. 3 Police laid only one charge of impaired driving in the campaign, while six 24-hour driver's license suspensions were handed out. Thirty eight traffic-related charges were laid and 119 written warnings issued. No fatal collisions or traffic fatalities occurred over this period. Six people were in jured in five separate injury accidents. Fifteen property damage accidents were also reported Although four accidents were alcohol-related only one resulted in impaired driving charges. “Overall, the local program is deemed a success Arson has not-been ruled out Foster chil VANCOUVER (CP) — Two months after she suf. fered serious injuries in a foster home, Kristi McClain has been discharged from hospital — but her family still doesn't know what caused her injuries. “I still want to find out, but nobody is telling us any. thing.” Louise Stinson of Burnaby, the grandmother of the three-year-old child, said in an interview. Confessed killer found not guilty VANCOUVER (CP) — Gary Thomson, 34, was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity Saturday after a British Columbia Su preme Court jury deliberated for more than 15 hours. Thomson had been charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing Dec. 19, 1986, of Ron Pankowski, a lone picket in a labor dispute ski but medical testimony re. vealed Thomson had a his- tory of cocaine and alcohol abuse and suffered from acute paranoia at the time of the attack. Thomson told the court he believed Pankowski was guarding a warehouse full of illegal drugs and that he had intended to capture Pan. kowski in an effort to im d released | “After all this time, why the mystery? What are they trying to hide?” Stinson said the Ministry of Social Services and Hous- ing, which had temporary custody of Kristi at the time she was injured, has given her no infprmation. A police investigation into the incident is still in pro- gress, but Surrey RCMP are referring questions to the ministry. Ministry spokes man Art Scott said no’ infor. mation will be released until the police investigation is completed. The only ‘explanation for the delay in release of infor- mation was made in Novem. ber by Social Services Minis- ter Claude Richmond who said there are conflicting stories over what caused the injuries. Kristi underwent two emergency operations in Children's Hospital and was in the intensive care unit for two weeks for internal in. juries received in the foster home. She was released Thurs. day back into the custody of the ministry and now is in another foster home in Sur. rey, along with her two-year. old sister Jaclyn. Births & Funerals and the RCMP express their appreciation to the motoring public for their support,” Staff Sgt. Jack Keddy said Domestic disputes con tinge high on the complaint seale with nine complaints sinee Dec. 30. Police also re. sponded to one shoplifting complaint, two thefts, two break-ins, two Liquor Act offences, two drug offences, three traffic complaints, three hit and run accidents and five property damage motor vehicle accidents. Police are continuing their investigation into the New Years’ Eve house fire at 762 10th Ave. Damage to the home was extensive and the fire is believed to have started in the garage area. HORSWILL continued from front page roney has done, the entire social and cultural fabric of Canada is at stake,” Horswill said He added that dropping out of the nomination race was difficult because he fears “that I am letting down the many people who have supported my candidacy.” Horswill hopes his supporters will redirect their efforts to another candidate whose interests are similar Local man charged By CasNews Staff A Castlegar man faces charges following a New Year's Eve cocaine bust John William Vigue, 30, is charged with possession of cocaine for the pur. pose of trafficking. Nelson RCMP found approximately $700 worth of cocaine after pulling a car over in Castlegar New Year's Eve. prove his chances of getting involved in police work. Thomson will remain in custody until he is found well enough to be released. with an East End ware- housing company. During the trial, Thomson admitted stabbing Pankow Linda Hunt guest speaker Linda Hunt, an active member of Women's Aglow Fellowship, will be the guest speaker when the fellowship meets Jan. 13 at'the Fireside Place. Hunt received her B.Ed. from UBC and taught young children for several years. She was involved in choirs, musical productions and solo work for many years. She became a Christian seven years ago and says God has changed her perspective on life. She loves to minister to his own “The NDP must select a candidate who's understanding of these issues and whose personal qualities can combine to rally the voters of Koote- nay West-Revelstoke to a resounding (Conservative MP) Bob defeat of Brisco.” * MARTY HORS WILL” ... personalgeasons “We haven't weighed it yet, but it's about five grams,” Corp. Harley Doidge of the Nelson RCMP ‘said. Doidge said police stopped the car “after a couple days surveillance.” Another Castlegar man was in- Volved but not charged, Doidge said. Police are still investigating. in song and as one song puts it: “To God be the glory for the, things He has done!! Hunt lived in Kamloops most of her life, but moved to Nelson s year and a half ago, where she lives with her husband and two sons. ADDERLEY To Shelley and Robert Adderley, a boy, born Dec. 15. BORSATO — To Verna and Lawrence Borsato of Montrose, o boy. born Dec. 20. GARDNER — To Lois and Don Gardner of Fruitvale, a girl, born 20. LaFRENIERE — To Pat and Potty LOFRENIERE OF Fruitvale, o girl born Dec. 29. MALLETTE — To Mr. and Mrs. Pat Mallette of Trail, a girl, born Dec. 13. McCARVELL — To Jeanette and Norman McCarvell of Nelson, o girl, born Dec. 30 STLANLEY To Share! and Gien Stanley, girl, born Dec. 8 STEPHENS — To Jean and Bill Stephens of Castlegar. o boy born Jon. 3 WHITE — To Gail and Corey White, of Nelson, o girl, born Dec. 29 DEATHS ALLIN Glen Allin of Coquitiom died suddenly Dec 23. He wos 27. BERUKOFF — Anno Berukotf of Nelson died Jan. 2 at the. Willow Haven Private Hospital. She was 94. Mrs. Berukott is survived by many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by husband Jim in 1964: daughter in intoncy ‘others and one sister Giake of Kamioope ed bee Be at the Inland Hospital otter o lengthy illness. He was 59. Mi jarke sons, Brian, Wayne and Jomie of Prince George; four gran. his mother Violet of He was predeceased by his father James in 1967 FLETCHER — Roy Grant Fletcher of Trail died Jon. 4 at the Trail Regional Hospital. He wos 62 ‘Mr. Fletcher is survived by his wite Gloria and a son Gordie. He was predeceased by two brothers and a sister MOLLER — Niels Moller of Fruit vale died Dec. 31 after a lengthy illness at Mater Misercordice Hospital, Rossland. He Mr. Moller is survived by o son Paul and wite Rose Marie of Dixon, Calif., ‘dou; Moller of Paris, Colit., eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren, He was predeceased by his wifre Jeon and four sisters WHITE — Thomas James White of Robson died on Dec. 31 in the Castlegar and District Hospital. He was 88. Mr. White is survived by his three children ond the! Spouses Tommy and Bonnie White of Robson: WILSON Charles Edwin (Chuck) Wilson of Trail died sud. dently Dec. 26 in He wos 57 Plane located. NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask., — A husband and wife were killed when their light plane crashed Friday afternoon in northern Saskatchewan. A massive aerial search located the Cessna 150 aircraft Saturday in Ministikwan Lake near Loon Lake, 300 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon. Bruce Bazeliniski, 40, and his wife Jean, 35, both of the Loon Lake area, were flying from Loon Lake to Unity, about 100 kilometres south of Loon Lake when their plane went down. Dog a hero TRURO, N.S. (CP) — A small dog is being credited with saving the life of a Nova Scotia man whose home caught fire Saturday morning. Danial Whidden of nearby Greenfield, in central Nova Scotia, was awakened in bed at about 4 a.m. by a yapping puppy he just bought. Whidden discovered a fire had broken out behind a stove. Fire officials say the dog probably Whidden. He and a neighbor were able to put out the fire before it spread. The house sustained minor structural damage saved Nixon turns 75 NEW YORK (Reuter) — Richard Nixon, who resigned from the White House 14 years ago, cele- brated his 75th birthday Saturday with some supporters urging him to get into the 1988 race for the U.S. presidency. “Tanned, Rested and Ready; Nixon in '88,” say T-shirts on sale in Florida and other parts of the country. Nixon, who was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, after his resignation in the Watergate political espionage scandal, has emerged in recent years as an “elder statesman” among Republicans, advising President Ronald Reagan, lecturing and writing on foreign affairs and meeting world leaders. Quake rocks Albania BELGRADE (Reuter) — Thousands of people ran from their homes in panic and buildings swayed as a strong earthquake rocked central Albania early Saturday. Sources reached in the Albanian capital of Tirana by telephone said damage was serious near the epicentre of the tremor, about 19 kilometres south of the city. In Tirana, they said damage was light and there were no immediate reports of deaths or casualties. Sydney turns 200 SYDNEY (Reuter) — About 100 Australian aborigines chanting “Shame!” stole the limelight Saturday when Sydney turned on a spectacle of color and pageantry for the city’s 200th birthday. The aborigines, carrying placards reading “200 Years of White Lies” and “White Australia Has A Black History,” almost drowned out speeches marking a multi-million-dollar facelift for, the port city, site of the first European settlement. The opening is one of 50,000 events in a year-long birthday party costing billions of dollars and marking what the government says is Australia’s foundation as a country, but what aborigines see as their sub- jugation. Chinese love ads BEIJING (AP) — No one knows what Chinese think about their television shows but they love the ads, according to a survey. A survey of Beijing residents found that.96.1 per cent enjoy watching TV advertisements for just about any product, from cosmetics and medicines to appliances and books, the official Xinhua news agency said. The only ads that don’t get watched closely are for industrial products, according to the survey by the China Central Television Station and the Mass Media Research Institute of China’s People’s University. Advertising was long banned in China as capitalist but the ban was lifted in 1979. Trains kill 155 MOSCOW (Reuter) — One hundred fifty-five ople were killed in train crashes in the Soviet Union last year, including 106 in one accident, a Soviet newspaper said Saturday. The 106 victims died in the Aug. 7 train crash at Kamensky-Shakhtinksy, 900 kilometres southeast of' Moscow, the newspaper Sovetskaya Rossiya quoted the minister for railways, Nikolai Konarev, as saying at a news conference. It was the first time Soviet authorities had given the death toll for the August accident, in which a grain-laden freight train smashed into the rear coaches of a stationary passenger train. Officials said the freight train's brakes failed. Konarev said irresponsible officials were to blame for most crashes. Nuclear advances BEIJING (Reuter) — The official Communist party newspaper People's Daily said in a brief front-page report that China's strategic missile force has developed a nuclear counter-attack capability. In recent years the missile force — established in 1966, two years after China's first successful nuclear test blast — has been streamlined to raise fighting capacity and war preparedness, an unnamed officer was quoted as telling Chinese geporters. Reagan reassures Canada WASHINGTON (AP) — President Ronald Reagan sought Saturday to reassure nervous Canadians that a proposed free-trade pact with the United States will not submerge their national identity in a flood of U.S. imports. Canada has “a national character that will not only survive, but flourish in an environment of free trade and expanding opportunities,” Reagan said in his weekly radio address delivered from Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Maryland mountains. He sought to allay Canadian fears by pointing at’ West European countries have maintained “vital and distinctive” national characters despite extensive trade co-operation under the European Ecénomic Community. The free-trade pact, signed by Reagan and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in separate ceremonies Jan. 2, would expand what is the world’s largest trading partner. ship. The countries had two-way trade of about $200 billion Cdn in 1986. The agreement, which still needs-parliamentary and congressional approval, would eliminate tariffs over 10 years. It would also remove export duties on agricultural products traded between the two countries, end Canadian restrictions on the import of U.S. auto parts and do away with taxes and duties on energy exports. It also would create U.S.-Canadian arbitration panels aimed at settling disputes. . LIKES DEAL Congressman Martin Frost, in the broadcast Demo- cratic response to Reagan, offered praise for the agreement with Canada, but said the Republican president's record has been a “dismal failure” in achieving fair trade with other countries. such as Japan and South Korea. “Our current trade deficit is about $170 billion (US), an amount unimagined until President Reagan took office,” said Frost, a Texas member of the House of Representatives. “Major U.S. industries, like steel, textiles and electronics, suffer from unfair competition from nations that enjoy unlimited access to U.S. markets.” Frost said Reagan should end his opposition to House-passed trade legislation, denounced as protectionist by the Reagan administration. “If he really wants to solve our serious trade imbalance with the entire world, President Reagan should now join with Congress in enacting the strongest possible trade bill early in 1988,” he said. TOUCH-UP . . . Sheldon Markin spruces up hand cultivator with a fresh coat of paint. Cultivator is one of many historic implements being restored at the Doukhobor Museum. CosNewsPhoto by Bonne Morgon HISTORIC OCCASION anadian weds royalty By JIM SHEPPARD Canadian Press The earl, said by friends to be quite shy and scholarly, chose a conservative grey double-breasted suit set off by a LEITH, Scotland — History was made on several fronts Saturday as Sylvana Tomaselli, a divorced Canadian Roman Catholic, married the Earl of St. Andrews and became a member of the Royal Family. The 25-year-old earl and his 30-year-old bride beamed broadly and exchanged quick kisses for the hordes of waiting photographers after the 20-minute civil ceremony in a registrar's office in the town of Leith, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It was the first time a member of the Royal Family had been married in a civil ceremony in the British Isles. And court watchers believed it was the first time a Canadian has married into the Royal Family. As well, the earl gives up his place as 17th in line of succession to the throne for havjng married a Roman Catholic. Only 14 guests were allowed into the tiny room bedecked with multicolored orchids, poinsettias and carna tions — for the simple ceremony. Police estimated 1,000 people lined nearby streets to cheer the couple as they emerged from the weather-beaten, semi-circular building where the marriage took place. . BLUE VELVET “Isn't she beautiful?” gushed one matron as the vibrant, outgoing Tomaselli emerged in a royal blue velvet suit with knee-length straight skirt and Venetian jacket over a high-collared white satin blouse. Blue suede shoes and a blue felt hat with satin trim and velvet buttons completed the newest royal’s ensemble. Iranians shell MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) the seven-year-old Iran-Iraq — Iraq said Saturday that war Iranian shells killed eight State-run Tehran radio an- civilians in Basra, and Iran nounced Saturday Iran had said it destroyed missile and launched “deterrent opera radar installations on con- tions” against economic and verted oil platforms) in a military installations in Iraq naval raid that killed at least to retaliate for an air raid 120 Iraqis. Friday on the northwestern Despite the clashes in the. town of Tabriz. southern warfront, a lull the Iranian shelling of Basra in Persian Gulf tanker war con- southern Iraq started Friday tinued for an eighth day. Iran night and continued Satur. and Iraq staged a record 34 day, killing eight civilians raids on merchant shipping in light blue tie. The Queen had earlier given her formal approval to the match, which makes Tomaselli the Countess of St. Andrews. She can also be called Lady St. Andrews But Tomaselli's religious and marital status presented several major problems. The Church of England rarely agrees to a marriage in one of its churches if either of the partners is divorced. So the couple decided on a civil ceremony. But the 1772 Royal Marriages Act forbids members of the Royal Family to marry in a civil ceremony in England or Wales, so they chose Scotland for the nuptials. More importantly, the bearded earl, who's in the diplomatic service, paid a high price when he stood in front of the Registrar James Lambert's simple teak desk and said: “I, George Philip Nicholas, Earl of St. Andrews do solemnly declare that I know of no legal impediment to my marrying this woman, Sylvana Palma Tomaselli, and that I accept her as my lawful wedding wife.” In his radio address, Reagan called for the defeat of “private interest” groups and swift confirmation of the U.S.-Canada free-trade treaty, due to take effect Jan. 1, 1989. “I would hope that the national interest will overcome the pressure of the private interest on both sides of the border. I would hope that our peoples of Canada and the United States and their elected representatives are able to keep their eyes on the long-term growth and opportunity that will be forthcoming with this agreement., Reagan focused on the economic benefits expected to flow from the removal of cross-border trade barriers. “Frankly, I think we've come up with a winner . . . for people on both sides of the border,” he “Numerous studies have shown that the agreement will mean billions of dollars in new economic growth for both countries each year. This means thousands of new jobs, and opportunities. “The most easily recognized beneficiaries of this pact will be the consumers of both countries. With enhanced competition, lower prices can be expected, as well as greater consumer choice.” TROOPS KILL PALESTINIAN PROTESTER JERUSALEM (AP) — Troops shot dead a Palestinian protester Saturday as residents of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip strictly observed a stay-at-home strike ordered by an Islamic fundamentalist group. The Israeli army said troops wounded four other protesters. Arab reports said soldiers seriously wounded a woman in the chest and hit 18 other demonstrators with rubber bullets during several violent protests in the Gaza Strip. Saturday's killing brought the Palestinian death toll to at least 27 since widespread disturbances erupted a month ago in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. About 1.5 million Palestinians live in the territories Israel captured from Egypt and Jordan during the 1967 Mideast war. About 200 Palestinians have been wounded by army gunfire in the past month. There were also scattered disturbances and strikes in the West Bank, and the army imposed curfews on three refugee camps, Israel radio reported. Soldiers clashed with a group of protesters in downtown Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, killing Bassem Hader Mussalem, 17, from an adjacent refugee camp. The army said three other Palestinians were shot and wounded in Deir el-Balah and another hit by rubber bullets during a demonstration in Rafah. The Arab-run Palestine Press Service, which also reported the death, said a woman who was shot in the chest was listed in serious condition at Khan Yunis hospital. In the Sajaiya quarter of Gaza City, two women were struck by rubber bullets, one in the head and one in the shoulder, after one woman. burned, an Israeli flag and stomped on it with her feet, an Arab reporter said. They were treated at Shifa Hospital. The reporter spoke on condition of anonymity. A loudspeaker of a nearby mosque urged residents to fight Israeli troops with “knives, stones and all other means.” Most of the 650,000 residents of the Gaza Strip strictly observed the strike called by the Jihad Islami (Islamic Holy War) organization, which threatened attacks on drivers and businesses that did not join in. “Every car that passes will be burned and destroyed and every store that opens will be burned and destroyed,” said the fi list or i 's hlet distributed in mosques and street corners Friday. Snow piles up in U.S. Northwest The southern flank of the storm, which caused ice, sleet and snow Thursday and into By The Associated Press A storm that virtually closed the U.S. capital and With those words; the earl was automatically excluded from the line of succession to the throne. The Act of Settlement of 1701, passed after centuries of religious wars throughbut the British Isles, says no Roman Catholic or person married to one can ascend the throne. The earl's decision does not affect his right to succeed his father, a cousin of the Queen, as Duke of Kent. Nor does it affect any of the rights of new couple's potential heirs because they have agreed any children will not be brought up as Roman Catholics. oil platforms persuaded Iran to delay the attack to permit time for mediation efforts by gulf Arab. states. Shipping sources say the Arabs have persuaded Iraq to curb its attacks on Iranian oil ship ping. Persian Iran has attacked neutral ships in retaliation for air strikes on its tankers by Arab Iraq Iran and Iraq both re ported fighting around two converted oil platforms about Amaya terminals Friday night, setting fire to missile and radar sites, killing “at least 100” Iraqis and des. troying three Iraqi frigates. Iran also said its artillery hit two Iraqi vessels Sat urday that had been ap proaching the _ platforms, causing “heavy casualties.” The platforms” have not pumped any oil since early in the war. DENIES CLAIM Iraq denied any of its five government offices in four states heaped snow on the Northeast Saturday, after pulling down power lines in the South and glazing roads from Texas to New England. The storm piled up to 20 centimetres of snow in Rhode Island and 18 centimetres in Portland, Me., by early Sat- urday. Thirty centimetres of snow fell Friday in parts of Connecticut and Massachus: setts, 29 centimetres in Washington, D.C., and 18 in New York City The severe cold and snow has been blamed for at least 63 deaths since Jan. 2, in cludiig 20 from exposure. While the storm was fin. ally starting to move off the Atlantic Coast, another was developing in the Pacific Northwest. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Satur day for the Cascade Moun. tains of Oregon, where 30 to 46 centimetres of snow were possible. The north-central states got another blast of Arctic air Saturday, and the wind chill factor made it seem like -40C at Mason City, lowa, and Roch r, Minn. Friday morning, knocked out power to at least 25,000 homes in Georgia. About 57,000 homes and businesses in Alabama remained with out electricity Friday. Some major ‘highways re- mained closed for a second day Friday in Alabama and in South Carolina, where Na- tional Guard troops assisted stranded motorists. Federal officials in Wash- ington decided to keep some 340,000 government workers home Friday because past storms have severely snarled traffic, especially when workers were sent home early. The city’s municipal offices also were closed. State offices were closed Friday in South Carolina and Richmond, Va. Georgia Gov- ernor Joe Frank Harris closed state offices in the icy northern part of the state. City, county and federal courts were closed in Phil-¥ adelphia. Offici: New England anies to let employees go home early, and Connecticut authorized banks to close at 1 p.m. Schools were closed Friday and wounding 27, the official Iraqi-news agency said. Arab diplomats based in Damascus said Iran has massed as many as 500,000 men east of Basra, once Iraq's second-largest city, for a winter offensive. But they said Syria has the gulf last month. Meanwhile, Egypt's Presi dent Hosni Mubarak and U.S. Defence Secretary Frank Carlucci held talks with offi- cials in Saudi Arabia about how to protect gulf Arab states from threats posed by 30 kilometres south of Iraq's Faw Peninsula, which was partly overrun by the Iran ians in February 1986. Iran's official IRNA news agency said Iranian Revolu tionary Guard gunboats raided the al-Bakr and al- frigates were destroyed and said it beat off. the attack, sinking 13 of 50 small Iranian vessels involved in the raid. Baghdad -radio. and Iraqi forces sank Iran's command ship and captured one gun boat. in Arkansas, Connecticut, suburban New York City, the District of Columbia, Vir- ginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia and South » some for a second day. Schools in Boston and surrounding communities closed early. Utility. crews_in Alabama and Georgia worked into the night to restore electric pow- er knocked out by ice on the wires and falling trees. More gnow has fallen since Thurs- day in some parts of. the South than in two decades.