US-Italy give up rescue effort in Lebanon blizzard
| Beirut
US and Italian forces gave up efforts to rescue snowbound motorists in Lebanon's mountains. The reason: Syria refused to let them in. A US spokesman said Syria gave permission only for helicopter rescues, which proved impossible because of the weather. At least 39 persons were killed after being trapped in Lebanon's worst blizzard in memory. Lebanese teams kept up their rescue operations. The storm also canceled Israeli-Lebanese negotiations on troop withdrawals.
