World briefs 01/20/03

Australians clean up after destructive bush fire

CANBERRA, Australia -- Hundreds of people began sifting through the charred remains of their homes in Australia's capital on Sunday, after the worst wildfires in the city's history swept through suburbs, killing four people and forcing thousands to evacuate. Nearly 400 houses were destroyed, officials said.

Hospitals treated about 250 people for burns and the effects of smoke from the fires, which swept into Canberra on Saturday.

Many were residents who battled flames with garden hoses and buckets filled from swimming pools. A number of them reported no fire crews in their burning neighborhoods.

Police said a 61-year old man died of smoke inhalation while trying to save his house, and an 83-year-old woman died in her home. A 37-year-old woman was found dead at her burned-out home along with an unidentified body.

Winds eased Sunday, and firefighters said blazes were under control. Workers bulldozed fire breaks around much of the city.

Pope: Catholic children need Catholic school

VATICAN CITY -- Pope John Paul II urged Catholics on Sunday to send their children to Catholic schools, saying the education will help the young confront the "big questions of existence."

The pope made the comments during his regular Sunday appearance to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square. Among those gathered this week were students and teachers from several Catholic schools in Rome.

"While I thank those who live and work in Catholic schools, I hope that every family has the concrete possibility of choosing for their children this type of school," the pope said.

Catholic schools can help children "confront in a positive way the big questions of existence," he said.

U.S. challenges U.N. to take stand against Libya

UNITED NATIONS -- Breaking with tradition, the United States plans to demand a vote when the U.N. Human Rights Commission chooses a new chairman Monday, determined to show its opposition to the country in line for the position -- Libya -- and force other nations to take a stand.

Libya is unfit for the prominent post because it has an "atrocious" human rights record, said Richard Grenell, spokesman for U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte.

He noted Libya remains under suspended U.N. sanctions stemming from the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland. Libya is also on the State Department list of countries that support terrorism.

"We should not reward them with a leadership post, especially on human rights," he said.

Canada was expected to side with Washington but diplomats said some European members were planning to abstain, worried that too many votes against Libya would poison the atmosphere on the 53-member commission.

Turkish protesters stage anti-war demonstration

ANKARA, Turkey -- Thousands of Turks staged an anti-war demonstration Sunday as America's top general arrived to push for U.S. use of Turkish bases for a possible war with neighboring Iraq.

The 2,000-strong protest was part of a weekend of anti-war demonstrations in Turkey and around the world, the largest on Saturday drawing tens of thousands of people to Washington.

About 5,000 people protested in Brussels on Sunday. About 400 protesters gathered outside a military base in Britain to urge their government not to go to war against Saddam Hussein.

Several hundred demonstrators, mostly college students, rallied Sunday outside the Justice Department in Washington, and there were smaller Turkish protests in Istanbul and other cities.

The United States is pressuring Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, to agree to let it station troops here as it did during the 1991 Gulf War. Turkey has delayed its response, however, with polls showing 80 percent of the population opposing another conflict next door.

-- From wire reports