World Briefs

Robbers took advantage of Brazil's passion for soccer to steal about $6 million from a cash delivery firm, as the nation was transfixed on championship games, media reported yesterday.

Police suspect the thieves tunnelled into the firm's building in Sao Paulo and waited until Sunday afternoon, when the final games of the national championships were played, to break in and steal more than 10 million reais (€6.3 million).

A security guard working at the firm on Sunday reported hearing loud noises but thought they were from fireworks lit by excited soccer fans, the Globo news network's website reported Sao Paulo police as saying.

Police said the thieves rented a nearby house several months ago and painstakingly dug a 150-metre-long tunnel, Globo reported. They disguised themselves as residents, even putting a Christmas tree in the window, it said. (Reuters)

Police arrested for stealing marijuana

Three South African police officers were arrested after a woman complained that they had stolen her marijuana, Sapa news agency reported yesterday.

Police said the 37-year-old woman came to a police station in a Pretoria township to complain about the missing drugs.

"She alleged that the suspects were police officials of which one of them was known to her and was spotted by a witness taking the (marijuana) from the woman's shack," Sapa quoted an inspector as saying.

The police officers denied any knowledge of the drugs when questioned, but some 60 kg of marijuana, worth about 60,000 rand (€8,860), was found at the home of one of them.

Police said they had arrested three officials on charges of defeating the ends of justice, corruption and drug possession.

The woman who complained was also charged with drug dealing. (Reuters)

Makeup hides swastika in Florida court

A neo-Nazi gang member went on trial for murder yesterday with his swastika and other tattoos covered by makeup on the order of a Florida judge who thought they could prejudice jurors.

The judge ordered the state to pay for a cosmetologist to apply makeup before trial each day to cover up the tattoos on John Ditullio's face and neck, which include a swastika, barbed wire and an obscene word.

Mr Ditullio, 23, is charged with stabbing to death 17-year-old Kristofer King in 2006 in New Port Richey, north of St Petersburg.

His lawyer argued in a pre-trial motion that the tattoos, which Mr Ditullio acquired after his arrest, could prejudice a jury. The judge agreed but ruled that any tattoos Mr Ditullio had before his arrest should not be covered.

Mr Ditullio could face the death penalty if convicted. (Reuters)

Bird watch

Turkeys have been given their own round-the-clock security guard to keep them safe from thieves in the run-up to Christmas.

Traditional Norfolk Poultry Ltd, a major supplier to Asda, has taken the precaution to protect its free-range birds after an increase in festive thefts.

In 2007 hundreds of geese due to go to the Prince of Wales's organic food brand Duchy Originals were stolen from a farm near Okehampton, Devon. (PA)

Poo power

A leading water company is celebrating a new type of bottom line - the generation of renewable energy from customers' poo.

Thames Water said it was flushed with success after saving £15 million last year in electricity bills by generating renewable power from the poo produced by 13.6 million customers.

Under the scheme, power is generated either by drying sewage into blocks of "poo cake" which is then burned to generate power or through anaerobic digestion where the methane from sewage sludge is burned to create heat. (PA)

'Toxic' toy

The safety of a hit Christmas toy - the Mr Squiggles Go Go Hamster - has been strongly defended by manufacturers following a health scare.

The firm behind the popular gift said the battery-powered pet is "absolutely safe" and has passed the most "rigorous testing" for health and safety in the toy industry.

Russ Hornsby, chief executive officer of the firm Cepia LLC, said in a statement that "the toy is 100 per cent safe". The statement comes after the US GoodGuide, providing consumer information on products, said testing had found traces of the chemical antimony beyond permitted levels in the Mr Squiggles version of the toy. (PA)

Home comforts

A Malaysian woman was discovered keeping a baby honey bear, a leopard and a slow loris primate in her apartment.

Officials acting on a tip discovered the endangered species at the 25-year-old woman's home in a Kuala Lumpur high-rise.

The animals, worth hundreds of dollars on the black market, were apparently kept as pets. (PA)

Ned smelly

Police in Detroit suburb are looking for a bank robber who tellers say has crooked yellow teeth and particularly bad breath.

The man hit the same branch in October and again last week and staff described him as tall, thin and "having very offensive breath and real yellow teeth".

Police say he showed staff a note which demanded money. He implied he had a gun but they did not see any weapon. (PA)