Today's other stories in brief
3,500 rescued from Britain's deadly floods
LONDON - More than 3,500 people have been rescued from this week's deadly floods by emergency services in Britain's biggest-ever peacetime rescue effort, the Fire Brigades Union said yesterday.
Thousands more have been evacuated to safe areas after flooding in Sheffield and large areas of northern England and the Midlands.
But weather forecasters are predicting more heavy rain in some of the worst-affected areas over the weekend. - (Reuters)
US court's civil rights ruling
WASHINGTON - A closely divided US Supreme Court ruled yesterday that race cannot be used to decide where students go to school, one of the most important civil rights rulings in years that could affect millions of students nationwide.
By a five-four vote on the last day of its term, the court's conservative majority struck down voluntary programmes adopted in Seattle and Louisville, Kentucky, to attain racial diversity in public school classrooms. - (Reuters)
Russian missile test successful
MOSCOW - Russia successfully tested its newest Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile yesterday, sending it thousands of kilometres away from the White Sea to the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east, Russian agencies said.
"It all went off without a glitch at all stages of the launch," the agencies quoted Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo as saying. - (Reuters)
11 politicians killed in rescue attempt
BOGOTA - Left-wing Colombian rebels said yesterday that 11 provincial politicians kidnapped in 2002 were killed last week in the crossfire of a military rescue attempt.
Twelve hostages were taken by the 17,000-member FARC at the Valle del Cauca's capitol building in a raid that shocked the country. - (Reuters)
6 Islamist fighters killed in Lebanon
LEBANON - Lebanese soldiers killed six Islamist militants, most of them foreigners, during a clash on the outskirts of the northern town of Qalamoun early yesterday, security sources said. A military source said the gunmen appeared to be linked to al-Qaeda-inspired militants of Fatah al-Islam which the army has been battling at a nearby Palestinian refugee camp since May 20th.