In short

A roundup of today's other world news in brief

A roundup of today's other world news in brief

Polish police protest over pay

WARSAW - At least 4,000 Polish police officers protested yesterday over delays in the payment of benefits that have built up as the government struggled to get to grips with a sharp economic downturn.

Uniformed policemen and women waved trade union banners and blew whistles outside the prime minister's office in a smart district of Warsaw as organisers addressed them from the top of a bus. - (Reuters)

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Top German fugitive captured

BERLIN - Germany's most wanted fugitive was captured yesterday after a five-day manhunt when police knocked the escaped murderer off a bicycle he was riding along a rural road near the Dutch border.

Peter Paul Michalski surrendered without a fight after an unmarked police car deliberately crashed into him, knocking him off the bicycle on to the grassy shoulder of the road.

The 46-year-old, who was serving a life sentence when he escaped from prison last week, was carrying a pistol.

- (Reuters)

Careless driving citation for Woods

ORLANDO - Tiger Woods will be cited for careless driving, the Florida highway patrol said yesterday, four days after the world's top golfer drove his Cadillac SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his Florida home.

"The investigation has determined that Mr Woods is at fault in the crash," Maj Cindy Williams told a news conference in Orlando. She said no criminal charges would be filed against Woods and the investigation was being closed. "There are no claims of domestic violence by any individual," colleague Sgt Kim Montes added.

- (Reuters)

Refugees leave Sri Lankan camps

COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's government yesterday let thousands of refugees temporarily leave camps where they have been held since the end of a 25-year war with the Tamil Tigers, the military said.

More than 9,100 people availed of the government's relaxation of restrictions on freedom of movement which had been in place despite condemnation by the UN and rights groups since the war ended in May. - (Reuters)

Peru misled over 'fat-selling' gang

LIMA - Peru suspended top organised crime investigator Eusebio Felix yesterday after he misled the country by saying he had caught a gang of killers who acted out an Andean legend and sold their victims' fat.

Police initially said the gang murdered up to 60 victims and sold their fat to Italian cosmetics makers. However, police in Huanuco said there was only one murder victim and that he was linked to the cocaine trade. They believe the four alleged killers may have bottled his fat to intimidate drug trafficking rivals.

- (Reuters)