Briefly . . . NATION/WORLD

Helicopters collide; 7 dead

PHOENIX - Two medical helicopters collided in mid-air yesterday afternoon near an Arizona hospital, killing at least seven people and critically injuring three, a federal official said.

All three people on one of the helicopters were killed in the Flagstaff collision, including a patient and the pilot, said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Four others were killed and three critically wounded, Gregor said. He wasn't sure if they were all on the second helicopter or whether some were on the ground.

The cause of the collision is being investigated.

Two news helicopters collided while covering an auto chase last summer near Phoenix, killing all four people on board.

Cop killed; driver laughs

HOUSTON - A car slammed into two police officers working traffic control at a construction site early yesterday, killing one and seriously injuring the other, authorities said.

The car crashed through barricades, plowed into two of the three officers at the construction site on the Katy Freeway and tore the driver's side door off a patrol car, police said.

"There did not appear to be any braking on the part of the driver," Capt. Bruce Williams said.

Police said the driver's demeanor at the scene led them to believe he was intoxicated. At one point, they said, he was laughing at the officers.

Officer Gary Gryder was pronounced dead at Memorial Hermann Hospital, and Officer Joe Pyland was listed in critical condition.

Firefighters make progress

SAN FRANCISCO - Firefighters in Northern California battled more than a thousand acres of wildfires to a stalemate by yesterday, but forecasters said dangerous conditions would not relent anytime soon.

No new major fires had broken out by yesterday morning as fire crews inched closer to getting some of the largest blazes surrounded, according to the state Office of Emergency Services.

But a "red flag warning" - meaning the most extreme fire danger - was still in effect for Northern California until today. And the coming days and months are expected to bring little relief.

Forecasters predicted more thunderstorms and dry lightning through the weekend, similar to the ones that ignited hundreds of fires a week ago. Meanwhile, a U.S. Forest Service report said the weather would get even drier and hotter as fire season headed toward its traditional peak in late July and August.

Lower-than-average rainfall and record levels of parched vegetation likely mean a long, fiery summer throughout Northern California, according to the Forest Service's state fire outlook released last week.

Gay pride is catching

SAN FRANCISCO - A lesbian motorcycle group dressed in wedding gowns and wearing bridal veils lent a matrimonial touch to San Francisco's gay pride parade Sunday as revelers celebrated their newfound freedom to marry.

The riders tossed bouquets as they led the city's 38th annual gay pride parade down Market Street. Some of the motorcycles were adorned with signs that read "Just Married."

Huge crowds lined the route as city tourism officials predicted the largest turnout yet for the parade, which typically draws tens of thousands.

_ NEW DELHI, India - Men wore sparkling saris, women wore rainbow boas and hundreds of people chanted for gay rights in Calcutta, Bangalore and New Delhi yesterday in the largest display of gay pride in the deeply conservative country where homosexual acts are illegal.

Homosexual smear?

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of Malaysia's resurgent political opposition, took refuge yesterday in the Turkish Embassy here, saying he feared for his security after an aide accused him of homosexual acts. Police said they would investigate allegations by the aide, Saiful Bahari, 23, a campaign worker, that he had been sodomized by Anwar. Under Malaysian law, sodomy is punishable by up to 20 years in jail and whipping.

The accusation, similar to one that led to Anwar's dismissal as deputy prime minister and jailing a decade ago, comes at a time of turbulence in Malaysian politics, with Anwar threatening to woo enough defectors from the ruling coalition to form his own government. Anwar spent six years in prison for the 1998 sodomy case but was ultimately acquitted and released.

"Not again," said Anwar, reached by phone inside the embassy. "It's a repeat of the same script."At a news conference yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, Azizah Ismail, Anwar's wife and a member of parliament, showed a photo of the accuser with officials of the governing party. *

-Daily News wire services