Firefighters to be promoted

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A federal judge has ordered Connecticut officials to promote 14 firefighters who won a reverse discrimination case in a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton ruled Tuesday that the civil rights of white New Haven firefighters were violated when city officials threw out the results of a 2003 promotion exam when too few minorities did well.

Her ruling followed the Supreme Court’s instructions.

In 2006, Arterton had thrown out the white firefighters’ lawsuit. A federal appeals court upheld her decision before the Supreme Court overturned both rulings in June.

Six firefighters are set to be promoted to captain and eight to lieutenant.

Officials: Swine flu vaccine safe

ATLANTA — There’s no evidence that the swine flu vaccine is causing any serious side effects, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, in their first report on the safety of the new vaccine.

Since vaccinations began in early October, the government has been tracking the safety of the swine flu vaccine. By mid-November, about 22 million Americans had gotten the vaccine and there were about 3,200 reports of possible side effects, the vast majority for minor things like soreness or swelling from the shot.

Health officials didn’t expect to see any serious problems — the swine flu vaccine is basically the same as the regular winter flu vaccine. And there weren’t any signs of trouble in the tests done in thousands to find the right dose.

Iranian leader visits Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela — Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought to expand Tehran’s influence in Latin America and deepen his alliance with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez on Wednesday in a visit that offered him a platform to defend his country’s nuclear program.

Both leaders roundly denounced U.S. “imperialism,” and Chavez also called Israel “a murderous arm of the Yankee empire.”

Chavez rebuked Israeli President Shimon Peres for his recent prediction that the people of Venezuela and Iran will soon make their leaders disappear.

“What the president of Israel said, we take it as a threat,” Chavez said, standing beside Ahmadinejad outside the presidential palace.

Ahmadinejad’s visit triggered small protests and was condemned by Chavez opponents and Venezuela’s Jewish community. Students protested outside a Caracas hotel where Ahmadinejad was thought to be staying, and another group outside the Iranian Embassy shouted, “We don’t want him, go away!”

Journalists set free in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Canadian and Australian journalist were freed on Wednesday after more than a year in captivity, Somali officials said.

Police spokesman Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise said Canadian Amanda Lindhout and Australian Nigel Brennan were at a Mogadishu hotel with Somali lawmaker Botan Isse Alin. Barise and Alin declined to say if ransom was paid for their release.

“We are happy. Our health is OK. We could not believe that we are free,” Lindhout told The Associated Press on the phone. “Tonight is a big day for us. We sent our family and friends a message that we are free and will be with them soon after a long time in captivity.”

The journalists were kidnapped in August 2008 along with their Somali driver and two Somali guards while traveling southwest of the capital.

— From wire reports