Thieves running from pursuers in Germany made the job of capturing them easier when they tried to flee across a drained pond and got stuck so fast in mud they had to be helped out by police.

A spokesman for police in the eastern city of Chemnitz said on Wednesday “They probably thought the pond looked dry and that it would be a handy shortcut, but they got totally stuck.”

Having released the men from the sludge, police arrested the pair, both Poles in their twenties. The two had earlier given officers the slip after being caught breaking into a car.

Sounds like they have some quicksand like mud over in Germany.

Interesting news from China, where homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder until 2001. China has opened its first hotline for lesbians following the success of a service for gay men, state media reported on Wednesday.

The free hotline operates in Shanghai, the free-wheeling financial centre where social change has outpaced the rest of China. The hotline opened earlier this week. The new line is staffed by trained counsellors and the plan is to provide “real help” for lesbians.

“Many lesbians in China are pressured into marrying men and end up living miserable lives,” sociologist Li Yinhe was quoted as saying. Understanding and tolerance from lesbians’ families and friends were needed, she added.

Recent Chinese history - During the Mao era, homosexuals were persecuted, especially during the Cultural Revolution when they risked prison terms and even death sentences. Even today homosexuals still face stigma and discrimination.

China doesn’t have any official statistics on homosexuality. The health authority estimated there were five to 10 million gays at the end of 2004, but some experts put the number at least 30 million.

More than a kilogram of heroin stuffed inside 46 golf balls destined for Taiwan where seized by Police in military-ruled Myanmar on Wednesday.

The Pyi Myanmar weekly said workers at a courier office in Yangon became suspicious when a young woman dropped off a parcel for delivery to Taipei, but left before filling out the necessary paperwork.

Upon arrival, police discovered the balls were fake and each contained a small bag of around 25 grams (0.9 ounces) of heroin.

Myanmar is the world’s number two producer of opium, the raw material for heroin, behind Afghanistan. Most of its poppy fields are in the lawless mountainous region of the eastern Shan state, near the borders with Laos and Thailand — the so-called Golden Triangle.

Manila airport officials prevented what would have turned into a real life version of horror flick “Snakes on a Plane” this week when they stopped more than 130 reptiles, including poisonous cobras, from boarding a flight to Bangkok.

Reptiles such as dozens of lizards, wearing diapers to conceal the stench of their urine, and 60 snakes concealed in water bottles, were discovered on Tuesday morning inside two suitcases belonging to a Filipino woman, airport officials said.

While her luggage was being x-rayed, security officers noticed something moving and the discovery was made. Unfortunately, one of the nappy-clad lizards reportedly died due to heat.

Reptiles, amphibians and other exotic animals have become a popular delicacy and ornament in many parts of Asia. Due to the belief that they are effective aphrodisiacs and good-luck charms.

In similar news, last week, Manila airport authorities arrested a Filipino man trying to smuggle three live Siamese crocodiles from Cambodia.