Palestinian police arrest Islamic Jihad militants

JERUSALEM -- Palestinian police arrested two suspected Islamic Jihad militants Saturday, sources said, a move that came a day after a member of the radical group was killed during an attack against Israeli troops.

The two Islamic Jihad men were detained and their weapons confiscated in Gaza City, the Palestinian security sources said.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called for an end to attacks against Israel two weeks ago, and since then, there has been a sharp decline in violence. The Palestinian security forces have arrested some suspected militants, but the Israelis have demanded that Arafat take even stronger action.

Doctors' strike may clog French emergency rooms

PARIS -- Hospital emergency rooms around France braced for a potentially hectic New Year's weekend after general practitioners went on strike demanding higher wages.

The strike by French doctors started Friday and was set to end Wednesday.

A previous four-day strike around Christmas clogged emergency rooms with patients who could not see their regular doctors.

Two unions representing general practitioners want a 14-percent increase in the office fees the government allows public-sector doctors to charge, and a 46-percent increase in home visit fees.

Public doctors, whose consultation fees are reimbursed fully by state health care, currently charge up to $16 for an office visit and $18 for a home visit. Fees for private doctors can be more than triple those prices.

Baby wallabies recovering after kidnap ordeal

LONDON -- Two baby wallabies stolen from an English zoo were "shaken" but recovering Saturday after being rescued by police, a zoo official said.

The marsupials were snatched from their enclosure at Dudley Zoo in central England on Friday. Zookeepers said thieves smashed thick glass to reach the animals, which are native to Australasia and resemble small kangaroos.

Police found the animals playing with children at a Gypsy camp in nearby Oldbury late Friday evening.

Senior curator Chris Gough said the wallabies could have died if they had been left alone overnight.

Yemen detains 80 foreign students in terrorist hunt

ADEN, Yemen -- Yemen has detained 80 foreign students and teachers from a fundamentalist Islamic institute during a crackdown on illegal residents, a security official said Saturday.

The official, who asked for anonymity, said authorities were investigating whether the foreigners -- all men -- were in the country legally. The detentions came near the end of a 30-day grace period provided to foreigners to legalize their presence in the country.

The foreigners, mostly from Arab and South Asian countries, were studying and teaching at the private Dar Al-Hadith institute in the Abida tribal region -- the same area where Yemeni special forces have been searching for members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network in recent weeks.

New Ebola case raises fear of disease spreading

MAKOKOU, Gabon -- Doctors confirmed Saturday that a 16-year-old boy has the Ebola virus and another patient has similar symptoms, prompting fears the deadly disease is continuing to spread in Central Africa.

The boy was admitted last week at Makokou's hospital and tested for Ebola, which already has killed 21 people in Gabon and neighboring Republic of Congo, regional health director Prosper Abessolo Mengue said Saturday.

Another patient was admitted Friday with symptoms of the disease, including fever, diarrhea and vomiting.

Neither patient is known to have had contact with any of the previous victims, raising the possibility of still more unidentified cases.

Medical officials have identified 18 Ebola cases in this remote part of Gabon since the outbreak began in late October, according to government figures. Fifteen of those patients died.

-- From wire reports