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Tiger Woods out of hospital after crash

ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods was released from a Florida hospital Friday several hours after crashing into a fire hydrant and tree, his agent said.

Marc Steinberg of IMG told USA Today the golf superstar was fine.

The Miami Herald reported a publicist for Woods said in a statement that the pro golfer "had been in a minor car accident," had been "treated and released" and was in good condition.

Woods was believed to have suffered facial injuries, the Herald said.

The accident occurred as Woods left his home about 2:25 a.m. It wasn't clear if there was anyone in the car with him, the Herald said.

The Florida Highway Patrol had initially described Woods as being seriously injured, FirstCoastNews.com reported. Emergency workers took him to Health Central Hospital.

Woods, 33, a child golf prodigy, has dominated the sport at the professional level for more than 10 years. He lives in Windermere near Orlando with his wife and children.

The highway patrol said Woods was at the wheel of a 2009 Cadillac Escalade luxury sport utility vehicle. He first hit the hydrant and then struck a tree on a neighbor's property.

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Police officers rounded up in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- More than 300 police and paramilitary personnel have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the Mindanao massacre, Philippine officials said Friday.

The suspects include Andal Ampatruan Jr., son of the provincial governor of Maguindanao and mayor of Datu Unsay. He is a scion of a powerful family with close ties to President Gloria Arroyo, The Manila Times reported.

Ampatuan denied any involved in the slaughter Monday of 57 people. About 100 gunmen confronted gubernatorial candidate Ismael Mangudadatu's wife, two sisters and others as they traveled to file his election papers.

Ronaldo Puno, secretary of the interior and local government, said more than 300 police officers and members of local paramilitary groups have been arrested. He said he has urged Arroyo to suspend provincial officials in Maguindanao, including the governor.

He said the national government's efforts to respond to the killings were delayed because local police could not be trusted.

"It was very difficult for us to rely on the local military and police forces to carry out the directives of the central headquarters on both the armed forces and police side," he said.

The dead included 12 journalists.

The younger Ampatuan has been charged with seven counts of murder.

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German labor minister resigns over attack

BERLIN, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The German Labor Ministry said Friday Labor Minister Franz Josef Jung resigned his post due to a controversial NATO airstrike in Afghanistan.

CNN said Jung's resignation follows that of the German army's chief of staff, Gen. Wolfgang Schneiderhan, who left his post amid allegations of a cover-up for a deadly air strike in Afghanistan's Kunduz Province.

Germany's Bild newspaper reported this week the death toll from the Sept. 4 airstrike reached 142, despite initial death tolls of at least 90. Bild said Schneiderhan allegedly knew at least half of those killed in the attack were civilians, but nonetheless Jung repeatedly said only Taliban militants were killed.

The NATO airstrike targeted two tankers Taliban militants had hijacked and from which they were attempting to steal fuel, CNN reported.

Jung, a former defense minister for Germany, confirmed Friday he was taking responsibility for any miscommunication that occurred in the wake of the deadly airstrike.

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Diplomat: Iraq invasion lacked legitimacy

LONDON, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The United States and Britain failed to convince other countries the Iraq invasion was necessary, a British diplomat said Friday.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who served as U.N. ambassador during the run-up to the 2003 invasion, testified before a panel investigating the decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein. The investigation, sometimes referred to as the Chilcot Inquiry from the committee's chairman, Sir John Chilcot, was authorized by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"I regard our participation in the military action in Iraq in March 2003 as legal but of questionable legitimacy in that it did not have the democratically observable backing of the great majority of member states, or even perhaps of the majority of people inside the U.K.," he said.

Greenstock said Britain hoped to win a resolution from the U.N. Security Council in favor of an invasion. But he said the United States was clearly determined to invade Iraq with or without one, and this undercut efforts to win the Security Council over.