Indonesian schoolboy cleared of bee sting 'abuse'

An Indonesian schoolboy who was facing "serious abuse" charges for causing a bee to sting a classmate has been cleared by a court, reports say.

The boy, believed to be about nine years old, had allegedly placed the bee on a girl's face where it stung her.

Her parents reported him to the police who arrested him. He faced up to three years in prison.

But the judge said the case was about "normal children's naughtiness" and should never had reached court.

"It could have been settled amicably by the school and the parents involved," judge Sutriadi Yahya was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Mr Yahya said the boy had been acquitted of all charges and the court would "leave it to the parents to guide him".

The boy's mother, Any Sulistyowati, wept as the verdict was read out, said AFP.

"We're satisfied with the judge's decision. We will look after our child properly," she said.

The Jakarta Post said the girl's parents were angry that she was being teased at school and had wanted to make an example of the boy.

Children in Indonesia are tried as adults from the age of eight, but there are calls for the age to be raised to 12.

Juveniles who are given prison sentences usually serve their term in adult jails, contrary to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Indonesia is a signatory.

In 2009, a group of 10 boys who worked as shoe shiners were accused of gambling while waiting for customers in the capital, Jakarta.

They were found guilty and faced five years in prison, but were returned to their parents' care after a public outcry.

Male breast op numbers 'growing fastest'

Breast reduction for men is the fastest growing part of the cosmetic surgery industry for the second year running, plastic surgeons have said.

The number of such operations rose from 323 in 2008 to 581 last year - an 80% increase - the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons said.

Pressure created by men's magazines was partly to blame, one surgeon said.

Cosmetic surgery appears to be defying the recession, with an overall increase in the number of procedures.

Nine out of 10 cosmetic procedures carried out by members of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (Baaps) in 2009 were performed on women, with breast enlargement the most popular operation.

But the most dramatic rises were seen in the world of male surgery - an overall increase of more than a fifth over the year.

Surgeons carried out 581 breast reductions, compared to 323 the previous year.

The top two operations for men were rhinoplasty - or "nose-job", and blepharoplasty - surgery on the skin around the eyes.

Consultant plastic surgeon Rajiv Grover said that while the problem of so-called "man-boobs" - or "gynaecomastia" in official language - was not a new one, it had been thrust into prominence by media coverage.

He said: "Many men are feeling the pressure from men's magazines that weren't even being published five or six years ago.

"In addition, they are just realising that they can get something done about it."

Lifestyle not scalpel

However, he said that in many cases, surgery could be avoided by simple changes to lifestyle.

"Quite a few cases are caused by obesity, and we often say to men to look at their lifestyles before thinking about the scalpel."

A total of more than 36,000 surgical procedures were carried out by Baaps members, a 6.7% increase over last year. Women had 5.4% more procedures than in 2008.

Baaps president Nigel Mercer said: "The public's interest in aesthetic surgery appears to remain strong and indeed growing quite considerably among UK males despite the economic downturn."

Call to end exclusion of elderly from drug trials

A charter against ageism in clinical trials is being launched by a group of geriatricians from Europe.

The EU funded project, called PREDICT, says treatments are less likely to be tested on older people even though the elderly take the most medication.

Trial results from younger people cannot always be extrapolated to the elderly, say the authors.

They want older people to have access to drugs which have been shown to be safe and effective for their age group.

PREDICT set out assess the extent to which the elderly were excluded from clinical trials and to come up with solutions.

They surveyed the medical literature on treatments for conditions which were common among elderly people and found clear evidence that the elderly were underrepresented.

For example, the average age of patients in clinical trials of treatments for high blood pressure is 63, although 44% of patients are over 70 when they are first diagnosed.

The researchers interviewed health professionals in nine countries and conducted more than 50 focus groups with elderly people and their carers.

They concluded that both doctors and patients felt that more elderly people should be included in trials.

"If treatments are not evaluated for elderly people it is difficult for doctors to balance the risks and benefits" said Dr Gary Mills, Director of Medical Economics and Research Centre, Sheffield, who is one of the co-ordinators of the project.

'Practical steps'

Dr Mills said people conducting trials may need to take practical steps to help the elderly participate, such as going to their house rather than expecting them to travel.

The British Geriatrics Society welcomed the project. Their spokesman Professor David Oliver said the under-representation of elderly people in clinical trials was a "serious problem".

He said it was easier for drug companies to carry out testing on younger people, but this means the trial group is "not representative" of the majority of taking medicines.

He added that drugs might be more or less effective on the elderly than younger older people, and might have different side effects.

"Doctors try to practise evidence-based medicine, but this is not possible if there are not enough elderly people in the trials."

'Ageism'

Stephen Jackson, Professor of Professor of Clinical Gerontology from King's College, London, said the reasons why not enough elderly people are included in trails go beyond practical difficulties.

"The elderly are underrepresented in clinical trials because of ageism," he said.

He pointed out that elderly people often have more than one condition and that makes it more complicated for those conducting trials to include them.

People conducting trials think it is "too much trouble" to include older people he said. This would not change without regulation, he added.

Age Concern welcomed the initiative. Andrew Harrop their Head of Policy said: "More and more people will be living longer and many with multiple long-term conditions.

"Addressing the shortfall in the numbers of older people taking part in clinical trials is crucial to ensure the well-being of a growing proportion of the population."

Beyonce is queen of Grammy Awards

Pop star Beyonce was the big winner at the prestigious Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, winning six prizes.

Starting the night with 10 nominations, her awards included song of the year and best R&B song, both for Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).

Twenty-year-old country star Taylor Swift picked up four prizes, including the coveted album of the year title.

The Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and Kings of Leon all picked up three trophies each, while Lady GaGa and Eminem won two.

Beyonce has set a new record for the most awards won in a single year by a solo female, and takes her career tally to 16.

Her other awards this year included best contemporary R&B album, best R&B female vocal for Single Ladies and best traditional R&B performance for At Last, which she performed at President Obama's inauguration.

She also won best pop vocal performance for Halo. Accepting that trophy, she said: "This has been such an amazing night for me and I'd like to thank the Grammys.

"I'd like to thank my family including my husband, I love you," she added, referring to rapper Jay-Z.

But she lost out to Tennessee rock band Kings of Leon in the record of the year category.

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In a surprise result, the group's song Use Somebody won that prize, also beating hits by Lady GaGa, Taylor Swift and The Black Eyed Peas.

The song had also earlier been named best rock song - triumphing over tracks by heavyweights like Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Green Day - as well as best rock performance by a duo or group with vocals.

Michael Jackson's children Paris and Prince accepted a lifetime achievement award on behalf of the King of Pop, who died last June.

"Daddy was going to perform this year," 11-year-old Paris told the audience. "He couldn't perform last year. Thank you and we love you daddy."

Their appearance followed a 3D tribute featuring Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson and Usher accompanying a recording of Jackson's Earth Song.

The Black Eyed Peas won best short video for Boom Boom Pow and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals for I Gotta Feeling.

And the group beat acts including Kelly Clarkson and Pink to win best pop vocal album for The END.

TOP GRAMMY AWARDS Album of the year - Taylor Swift (above), Fearless Record of the year - Kings of Leon, Use Somebody Song of the year - Beyonce, Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) Best new artist - Zac Brown Band Best pop vocal album - Black Eyed Peas, The END Grammy Awards winners list

An emotional Taylor Swift won best country album for her second LP Fearless plus best country song and best female country vocal performance, both for the track White Horse.

Jay-Z's track Run This Town, featuring Rihanna and Kanye West, was named best rap song and best rap/sung collaboration, while the rapper also picked up best rap solo performance for DOA (Death Of Auto-Tune).

Fellow rapper Eminem, meanwhile, won best rap album for Relapse and best rap performance by a duo or group for Crack A Bottle, his comeback collaboration with Dr Dre and 50 Cent.

Lady GaGa took two awards - best dance recording for Poker Face and best electronic/dance album for The Fame. But she missed out on the major prizes.

The outrageous newcomer also performed an elaborate routine that culminated with her playing piano opposite Sir Elton John.

Other winners included Indian composer AR Rahman, who won two trophies for his soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Michael Jackson's children Paris and Prince Michael gave a dignified speech

Film composer Michael Giacchino also won a pair, for best score soundtrack album and best instrumental composition for his work on the Pixar animation Up.

Neil Young won the first Grammy of his career, taking best art direction on a boxed or special limited edition package for Neil Young Archives Vol. 1 (1963-1972).

British artists have dominated the Grammys in the past couple of years. Last year, Robert PLant and Alison Krauss took top honours, with Coldplay, Adele, Duffy and Radiohead also doing well.

And in 2008, Amy Winehouse scooped five prizes. But this year, UK artists fared less well.

Rock veterans Judas Priest took home best metal performance and Jeff Beck won best rock instrumental.

Singer-songwriter Imogen Heap was awarded best engineered non-classical album, while the London Symphony Orchestra won best opera recording for Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd.

WikiLeaks whistleblower site in temporary shutdown

WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website that allows people to publish uncensored information anonymously, has suspended operations owing to financial problems.

Its running costs including staff payments are $600,000 (£377,000), but so far this year it has raised just $130,000 (£81,000).

WikiLeaks has established a reputation for publishing information that traditional media cannot.

The website claims to be non-profit and relies on donations.

A statement on its front page says it is funded by "human rights campaigners, investigative journalists, technologists and the general public".

Original documents

WikiLeaks does not accept money from governments or corporations.

A list of names and addresses of people said to belong to the British National Party (BNP) was posted on the site in October 2009.

WikiLeaks also published e-mail exchanges involving US politician Sarah Palin after her account was hacked.

The site claims to have information about corrupt banks, the UN and the Iraq war that it is unable to publish while funds remain low.

While it has won awards for its work from the Economist and Amnesty International, WikiLeaks has also fought more than 100 legal challenges.

"WikiLeaks has established a good name for itself and broken some good stories," Julian Petley, chair of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, told BBC News.

"One of the reasons why WikiLeaks is so useful is that it's able to put original documents up - unfiltered by comment and editorial."

Investigative journalist Paul Lashmar said he had been "startled" by the effectiveness of WikiLeaks in publishing suppressed information.

However he thought that the funding issue would not be easily resolved.

"(Web) users aren't interested in how the people behind sites make their money," he said.

"The problem for the self-funding model is that sites like WikiLeaks will not find it easy to attract funding through advertising.

"At some point people who care about free speech will realise that free speech has to be funded, otherwise it's not free."

Battery recycling rules in force for stores

New EU rules have come into force that require some stores selling batteries to provide in-store recycling bins.

Anyone selling more than 32kg a year - equivalent to one pack of four AA batteries a day - must comply as part of targets on cutting landfill.

The UK currently recycles only 3% of portable batteries, but the aim is to raise that figure to 45% by 2016.

Battery maker Varta warned that a lack of awareness among consumers could hamper the scheme's success.

An estimated 30,000 tonnes of batteries - from those in electrical goods like torches, to rechargeable ones in mobile phones - enter the UK market each year.

At present, 97% eventually end up in landfill sites, where they can leak toxic chemicals into the soil.

The EU Batteries Directive aims to tackle that problem and cut carbon emissions by reducing the need for new batteries to be made from scratch.

'Great concern'

Retailers will be required to provide a recycling point in-store which will be regularly emptied free of charge under the government's Battery Compliance Scheme.

The hope is that this will see battery recycling levels rise to 10% by the end of this year and to 25% by 2012.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: "This new legislation will make it easier for consumers to do the right thing whilst ensuring retailers fulfil their part of the bargain."

But Vince Armitage, divisional vice-president of Varta, said he was concerned.

"The directive places the responsibility of meeting its stringent collection and recycling targets on the manufacturer, but it relies on the co-operation of consumers and retailers to make it work," he said.

"However, a lack of promotion means that awareness of the directive among these key groups is low.

"This gives us great concern that, as a nation, we are setting ourselves up to fail before we even begin."

Varta estimates that just meeting the 10% target will cost manufacturers £3m.

Bob Gordon, from the British Retail Consortium, said retailers were ready for the new requirements, but called for a "comprehensive and continuing" government information campaign to raise awareness among consumers.

He also said shops should not be the only route for collection, adding: "We need an infrastructure to develop which includes workplaces, schools, community centres and kerbside collection.

"All the evidence shows home collections of recyclables are easiest for customers and produce the best results. Developing these mustn't be ignored."