A roundup of today's other world news in brief:
Flooded areas in UK spared more damage
LONDON- Flood-ravaged areas of Britain were spared more chaos yesterday after heavy overnight rain failed to cause new flooding and forecasters predicted better weather.
Police in Gloucestershire, one of the worst affected counties, had warned people to stay at home on Saturday night or risk becoming stranded.
The Met Office said that only 10mm of rain fell in the region, far less than expected, sparing towns already suffering from the worst flooding in 60 years.
- (Reuters)
Stranded Gazans leave Egypt
ISMAILIA- Around 100 Palestinians stranded in Egypt since mid-June crossed the border into Israel yesterday under a deal allowing them to return to Hamas-held Gaza through the Jewish state, an Egyptian border official said.
The Palestinians were the first of more than 600 stranded Gazans who are expected to return in the coming days under a deal agreed on Saturday.
- (Reuters)
Kurdish separatists kill Turkish soldier
TURKEY- A Turkish soldier was killed in a clash with separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in southeast Turkey yesterday, security officials said.
Two other soldiers were wounded in the clash in Mardin province and the army responded by launching an operation against the rebels there and sending in extra troops, the officials said.
Dozens of soldiers have been killed this year in an escalation of violence in the mainly Kurdish southeast, which has prompted calls from the army for a cross-border incursion into northern Iraq to deal with rebels based there.
- (Reuters)
Steve Martin gets married at home
LOS ANGELES- From father of the bride to groom, actor Steve Martin married for the second time in front of 75 guests who thought they had been invited to his home for a party, media reports said yesterday.
The comic turned actor who played George Banks in the 1991 film Father of the Bride, married writer Anne Stringfield on Saturday with Hollywood heavyweights including Tom Hanks and Diane Keaton in attendance, according to Peoplemagazine's website.
- (Reuters)
Actor Mike Reid dies, aged 67
LONDON- The actor Mike Reid has died, his agent David Hahn told BBC News 24. Reid, most famous for his role as EastEnders'Frank Butcher, was 67. He first appeared on the soap in September 1987 and gave his last turn in December 2005.
- (PA)
Call for 'fair' Zimbabwe election
PRETORIA- South African president Thabo Mbeki warned yesterday elections in neighbouring Zimbabwe next year must be "free and fair" and produce a legitimate government in the eyes of the people of the devastated nation.
"It is important that when those elections take place, the results should not be contested," Mr Mbeki said.
- (Reuters)