BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romanian authorities have evicted dozens of homeless people living in Bucharest’s sewer system in order to seal off underground canals to secure the capital for a NATO summit this week, police said. The government has deployed thousands of police officers, brought in fighter jets and snipers to ensure security for the event. “We evicted 37 persons out of sewers along the route used by NATO delegations. The manhole covers were sealed,” said Christian Ciocan, spokesman of the Bucharest police. “They were offered a hot bath, fresh clothes, a meal and a chance to stay overnight.” But he said most of the homeless refused shelter and were back on the streets and in the parks.

ISTANBUL (AFP) – Turkish anti-terror police yesterday detained 45 people on suspicion of belonging to the al-Qaida extremist network and planning attacks, the Anatolia news agency reported. The suspects, rounded up in simultaneous operations in eight districts of Istanbul, were being questioned by police, the report said.

Thousands of workers clashed with police near Turkey’s parliament yesterday during angry protests against an International Monetary Fund-backed social security reform that raises the retirement age. The bill is central to the government’s economic program for 2008, and the IMF has made its passage through parliament a condition for releasing loans worth $1.3 billion. Scuffles erupted when protesters, some carrying red flags and banners, tried to walk toward the parliament building in central Ankara, where lawmakers were debating the reform. (Reuters)

Croatian police said yesterday they pressed charges against a fugitive former army general over a series of murders last week which have shocked the former Yugoslav republic. Ivan Korade was charged with shooting dead his former aide as well as a 62-year-old woman, her 16-year-old grandson and a 63-year-old neighbor, police said. Evidence found in Korade’s house and car showed he was responsible for the murders, they added. (AFP)