Sub reaches seabed

A Russian mini-submarine last night reached the seabed below the North Pole on a mission intended to strengthen Moscow's claims to the Arctic, the BBC reported.

Explorers on board the Mir-I one of two submarines travelling to the Arctic floor planned to carry out tests and plant a capsule with a Russian flag 4200m below the pole.

A Russian official said the "risky and heroic" Arctic mission was like "putting a flag on the Moon", the BBC said.