World briefs

IMMINGHAM, England – Hundreds more British power plant workers went on strike Monday in a widening labor campaign over the use of overseas workers to build an oil refinery in this northeastern town.

Workers from several nuclear and coal-fired power plants staged walkouts, following the lead of thousands of workers at about a dozen sites who went on strike Friday.

The strikes at plants throughout England, Scotland and Wales were launched to show support for workers at an oil refinery in Immingham.

BOGOTA – The International Red Cross postponed a mission to retrieve a hostage on Monday after a dispute over Colombian military flights that allegedly hampered its retrieval of four rebel-held hostages the previous day.

The guerrillas' hand-over of former provincial Gov. Alan Jara was set back from Monday, but "everything is being done so that a trip can made as soon as possible," Red Cross spokesman Yves Heller said.

A senator accompanying the mission, Piedad Cordoba, said the group would leave Tuesday morning, but Heller avoided setting a time or date and said weather could be a factor.The traditionally tight-lipped humanitarian agency did not say why it was delaying the rescue, but urged Colombia's military to avoid complicating a delicate process.

"It's very important that there be a complete suspension of all military activity in the general area that we have submitted to the armed forces," he told The Associated Press.

The agency also persuaded President Alvaro Uribe to reverse his opposition to having a guarantor trusted by the rebels accompany the missions.

LONDON – It was hardly a blizzard, but it still shut down the city that beat the Blitz.

The biggest snowfall to hit London in 18 years idled the city's trademark red buses and Underground trains Monday, stranded thousands of airline passengers, and raised the vexing question of why a predicted winter storm caught authorities so unprepared.

Transit officials had nearly a week to get ready, but they failed to keep things running normally in the capital, which was buried under more than four inches of snow overnight and another four inches in the afternoon.

Londoners who needed to get somewhere often found they couldn't — unless they were willing to walk for miles.

"There's no point in going to work today," said office worker Caroline Samuel, 36, after waiting for an Underground train that never arrived. "I'm going home." All five of the capital's airports briefly shut down.