World digest 1/24/02

Indian police arrest six suspects in attack

CALCUTTA, India -- Indian police charged three Bangladeshis and three teachers from an Islamic school with murder Wednesday for an attack at an American cultural center that killed four police officers.

Police said they were trying to determine the motive for the attack, and the Indian government said it was too soon to say if the shooting was conducted by Islamic militants sponsored by its chief rival, Pakistan -- apparently backing down from earlier claims.

Calcutta police superintendent Shivaji Ghosh said 55 other people had been detained for questioning about the attack Tuesday on the American Center in Calcutta, which also wounded 20 people.

The three Islamic teachers and three Bangladeshis were arrested Tuesday night near the border with Bangladesh, about 40 miles north of Calcutta, said Sourin Roy, chief secretary of the West Bengal state government.

The six have been charged with murder and waging war against the state and face life imprisonment if convicted, Ghosh said.

Warplanes bomb same site in southern Iraq

MANAMA, Bahrain-- U.S. and British warplanes attacked anti-aircraft batteries in southern Iraq Wednesday, the second raid on the site this week, the U.S. Air Force said.

The planes struck near Tallil, about 170 miles southeast of Baghdad, at about 9 p.m., said a Saudi Arabia-based Air Force official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On Monday, allied aircraft fired on the same site after being threatened by ground fire from Iraqi air defenses.

There was no immediate word on the strikes from Iraqi officials.

He said the Air Force was still assessing damage to the Iraqi defenses. No allied planes were hit.

U.S. and British planes have been patrolling skies over northern and southern Iraq since after the 1991 Gulf War that liberated Kuwait from a seven-month Iraqi occupation. The patrols were set up to protect Kurds and Shiite Muslims from the forces of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Doctors, seeking higher fees, hold one-day strike

PARIS -- A one-day physicians strike Wednesday left emergency rooms around the country struggling to cope with an influx of patients, many suffering from ordinary winter colds.

Union officials claimed that 80 percent of the doctors across France had closed their doors.

In Paris and the eastern city of Strasbourg, emergency services reported twice as many calls for medical emergencies as on a normal day.

"Calls are increasing today because we've had to take over the role of general practitioners," Pierre Carli, secretary general of France's emergency medical services, told France 2 television.

About 75 percent of general practitioners closed their offices in the Rhone region, which includes France's second-largest city, Lyon, unions said.

Officials in the central Puy-de-Dome district said up to 90 percent of doctors were on strike.

Doctors' unions are demanding an increase in the base fee that a general practitioner can charge from $15 to $18 They are also demanding that the fee for house calls be raised from $19 to $27.

Pope urges prayers for world's religion leaders

ASSISI, Italy -- Pope John Paul II, deeply concerned about the impact of the Sept. 11 attacks, urged prayers Wednesday so a gathering of world religious leaders in Assisi can contribute to an "authentic and lasting peace."

Representatives of 11 religions were joining Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations today, responding to the pope's call to proclaim that religion should never become a motive for conflict.

Speaking at his general audience at the Vatican, the pope stressed the need for "justice and forgiveness" and expressed hope that the gathering can make an actual contribution toward real peace.

The pope announced the latest peace day in November.

--From wire reports