A two-year-old is seriously ill after being admitted to hospital with 50 sewing needles inside him.
Doctors in Brazil believe the needles were deliberately pushed into his body through his skin - including 17 discovered in his digestive system.
Police have launched an investigation to discover who carried out the attack amid fears the boy may have been used as part of a sinister black magic ritual. One of the needles perforated the youngster's left lung. Stunned medics admitted him to hospital in Barreiras in the state of Bahma, north east Brazil, after X-rays showed the 50 metal objects in his abdomen, neck, thorax and legs.
Today it emerged the macabre crime may be linked to a bizarre black magic ritual.
The boy, taken to hospital by a relative on Sunday with stomach pains, has not been named.
His mother, maid Marma Souza Santos, has told police she does not know who is responsible and said his gran used to look after her son while she was out at work.
But she has reportedly claimed in a statement the youngster's stepfather may have used the infant in a black magic ritual. He has denied the claims. Police chief Helder Fernandes Santana said: 'We are certain someone introduced the needles because of the position of some of them in the child's body.
'At the moment we don't know who did it.
'It's such a strange situation. We could be looking at attempted murder, a serious assault or some type of revenge attack. We're not ruling anything out at the moment.'
Doctors at West Hospital in Barreiras where the boy is currently being treated, said they would considering trying to remove sewing needles just under the surface of the boy's skin.
But hospital director Luiz Cesar said none of the needles were endangering his life at the moment - and said he may have to live with them inside his body because of the risk involved in removing them.
He added: 'We're certain the boy didn't swallow the needles of his own accord.
'If he did, they would be in his gastrointestinal tract.
'I've never seen a case of its kind.
'Our priority at the moment is the boy's lung which was perforated by one of the needles.
'Fortunately his life is not in danger.' The boy's dad Gessivaldo Alves added: 'We have faith in God that he is going to get better.'
No wonder five-year-old Ellie Challis is facing life with an extra spring in her step.
She has become the youngest person in the world to be fitted with the flex-run feet used by leading paralympians including Oscar 'Blade Runner' Pistorius.
Ellie, who lost her hands and lower legs to meningitis as a toddler, had spent the last two years walking on conventional prosthetic limbs. But she complained that she struggled to keep up with her twin sister Sophie. Her parents Paul and Lisa contacted the world-renowned prosthetic limb centre Dorset Orthopaedic, and managing director Bob Watts agreed to make a junior version of the carbon-fibre blades.
Mr Watts said: 'We were worried that she wouldn't be able to balance properly on them, but she has made amazing progress.'
Ellie, from Little Clacton, Essex, was struck down with meningitis at the age of 16 months. At one point her heart stopped and doctors called in her parents to say their last farewells.
'Paul and I just stood at the end of her bed shouting at her to survive,' said 35-year-old Mrs Challis, who works as a carer for adults with learning difficulties.
'We thought we were going to lose her, but amazingly she pulled through and her heart started again.'
Over the next four days, however, Ellie's legs and arms started to turn black and the couple were told they would have to be amputated.
'The operation took six hours and I was just so shocked when I saw her - there was so little left of her,' said Mrs Challis. 'I just kept crying.'
Ellie was inspired to overcome her handicaps by Sophie, her constant companion. And well-wishers raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to help her.
She was fitted with NHS prosthetic limbs a few weeks after the operation, but found them too painful. Mrs Challis said: 'She would wear them for 20 minutes maximum each day as they weren't flexible and they caused her pain.'
In December 2006 Ellie was given new legs with moving knee joints, which were a great improvement.
But the flexible blades will change her life. They helped South African Pistorius race to world records in his 100, 200 and 400-metres events.
Mr Challis, 45, said: 'Ellie can walk twice as fast on these new legs - it really is amazing to see. She is so full of determination.'
The legs cost £10,000 for a pair and will need to be replaced every two years. Mr Watts added: 'We didn't know if it would be possible to make some small enough.
'But now Ellie is the youngest in the world to have such legs - and there is no holding her back.'
A three-year-old girl may never be able to smile again after being scarred for life by a 'devil dog' who had savaged another child months earlier.
The owner of the powerful Japanese Akita fighting dog escaped prosecution for the first attack, which left the boy, 7, requiring 40 stitches, because the animal was on 'secured' property.
But the family of first victim Charlie Faulding were furious the dog wasn't put down and were taking legal action against its owner when another neighbour's child was seriously mauled last week.
Toddler Demi Franklyn was playing with the dog called Tyson outside her home when it suddenly turned on her - breaking her jaw and leaving her with horrific wounds to her head and neck.
The damage to her facial muscles and nerves is so severe she may not be able to smile properly again. The girl's mother, Mary Davies, 39, said she had left her daughter playing in their back yard - which they share with Tyson's owner - unaware the dog had a violent history.
Demi has undergone one operation at Bradford Royal Infirmary and doctors may need to carry out reconstructive surgery on her jaw as well.
Mother-of-five Miss Davies of Shipley, West Yorkshire, said: 'I am in shock. I just don't understand how this could have happened. That animal had a taste for blood and nothing was done about it. It beggars belief.
'I just want to know why that dog wasn't put down after the first attack. Something wasn't done that should have been and it is my daughter who has paid the price.'
Last June Charlie was savaged when his football bounced into the dog owner's garden three doors away and he went to retrieve it.
The schoolboy suffered severe injuries to his head and legs.
His father Mark Faulding, 36, was alerted by the boy's 12-year-old sister and found him lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
He fought off the dog to rescue him from the neighbour's garden.
Charlie still bears the scars of the savaging and has been left traumatised by the experience, suffering nightmares and refusing to sleep alone. The family has since moved house.
Mr Faulding, a horse trainer, said: 'It is disgusting. To think the dog's owner left this animal unguarded and near children.
'He knew what this dog was capable of but he didn't stop this little girl playing near it. It is simply unbelievable. It didn't even have a muzzle on.
'We have been fighting to have this devil dog destroyed since Charlie was attacked and the only thing that made that happen was another attack on an even younger child. That child could have died.'
The dog's owner Mohammed Asam Bashir has now had Tyson put down. The first attack happened at his family home, where the dog was kept in a secure pen behind a wall and padlocked gate.
The second attack was at his business address at a different location.
Mr Bashir has been unavailable for comment.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed the dog had been 'destroyed' and the attack on Demi was currently under investigation.
'We can confirm this dog was previously involved in an incident which resulted in no further action being taken at the time due to the circumstances,' he said.
Police decided no offence had been committed in the first incident as the dog was kept at home and secured in the garden. The boy had previously been advised not to retrieve the football unaccompanied.
There are baby bumps and then there are baby bumps.
But there must be few women in history who have ever had a baby bump quite like octuplets mother Nadya Suleman.
These extraordinary pictures show the 33-year-old baring her stomach eight days before having her brood. Smiling proudly, the mother-of-14 hoists her green patterned smock to show off her hugely distended stomach to the camera.
The photographs, which first went up on tmz.com, show the strain her body was under as she reached the end of her record-breaking pregnancy.
Single mother Suleman, who already had six children by IVF, used a fertility doctor to give birth to her babies.
The new pictures surfaced on the day it emerged she had fled her house in Whittier, California, to go into hiding with her older children after receiving death threats.
She has even taken on the services of a security firm to ensure the safety of her family.
Her publicist Michael Furtney said: 'There has been some really nasty stuff about wanting to physically harm Nadya, and outrageous statements about both her and her children.
'We have a security firm that we've been working with and they have certainly made contact with the police about the threats. I don't know where that will go, but we'll see'
Much of the anger surrounds the eight babies' conception by IVF. Yesterday, Suleman launched a website, encouraging readers to give her money via credit cards and send parcels.
The American mother, who already receives a raft of state handouts to care for her growing brood, also left a message to well-wishers.
'We thank you for the love and good wishes sent to us from around the world,' she said.
And she adds that the octuplets, born on January 26, are 'all healthy and growing stronger by the day.'
The babies have been named Noah, Maliah, Isaiah, Nariah, McCai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Miss Suleman has three disabled children
Despite previously insisting that she will not be claiming benefits, her publicist confirmed that she already receives food stamps and child disability payments to help feed and care for her six other children.
But he would not disclose the nature of the disabilities, or the type or sum of the payments.
The news came as it was revealed that all of Suleman's children were conceived with help from the same fertility doctor - Dr Michael Kamrava.
The 57-year-old, who runs a clinic on glamorous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, is being investigated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Dr Kamrava, who helped pioneer embryo implantation, is a controversial figure in the field.
'He's tried some novel techniques and some of those methods have been controversial,' said Dr John Jain, founder of Santa Monica Fertility Specialists.
He criticised the decision to implant so many embryos, saying: 'I do think that this doctor really stepped outside the guidelines in a very extreme manner, and as such, put both the mother and children at extra high risk of disability and even death.’
Dr Jeffrey Steinberg, a professional acquaintance of Dr Kamrava's, said he worked to develop an embryo transfer device that allows doctors to implant an embryo - or sometimes sperm with an unfertilised egg - directly into the uterine lining.
He was such a special delivery, and such incredibly fragile goods, that the usual sort of wrapping just wouldn't do.
The little mite swaddled in bubble wrap is Gregor Craig, who was born at just 24 weeks weighing a tiny 1lb 14oz - so small that his father's wedding ring fitted over his arm.
His chances of survival were slim, but doctors wanted to give him every chance. So they wrapped him in the bubble wrap to keep him warm. Hospitals often use plastic wrap to help premature babies retain their body heat, but this was the first time the doctors in Kintyre, western Scotland, had used the bubble variety.
Luckily their efforts paid off and five months later he has finally been allowed home with his family in Argyll.
His mother, Martine Craig, 29, said: 'Gregor is one of life's true survivors. We can't believe that we have him home with us after his long fight for survival.
'We just couldn't believe that anything so tiny could possibly survive.' The couple were thrilled when Mrs Craig became pregnant with Gregor as she had suffered a previous miscarriage.
Mrs Craig said: 'We were worried about losing this baby too, but at my ten-week scan I could feel some strong kicks coming from him.'
But then just a week after her 23-week scan Mrs Craig began suffering severe stomach pain. She went to Campbeltown hospital in Kintyre where doctors told her she was suffering from a urinary tract infection. A few hours later, the infection had triggered labour and the doctors couldn't stop it.
But amazingly Gregor survived the birth. Mrs Craig, whose husband Keith, 33, is a bus driver, said: 'I was allowed to see him two hours later when I had recovered from the birth.
'He looked so fragile lying there, but at least he was alive. His nappy came up to his neck and his tiny hand was the size of a penny piece. Doctors only gave Gregor a 10 per cent chance of survival but he kept hanging on.' He was transferred by air ambulance to the Queen Mother Hospital in Glasgow to receive specialist care. After 24 hours, doctors said his chance of survival had increased and, on the fourth day, Mrs Craig was allowed to hold her son for the first time.
She said: 'He felt so light it was just like holding a ball of wool.
'His skin was completely see-through and he was covered in wires and tubes, keeping him alive. But every day that he hung on he gave us more hope.'
At ten weeks he had laser eye surgery to stop him going blind as the blood vessels in his eyes hadn't developed properly.
After 17 weeks in hospital, when Gregor had reached 7lb, he was allowed home. He has to have daily oxygen, and his parents had to learn how to resuscitate him if necessary.
Mrs Craig said: 'He is now a happy six-month-old and incredibly all he seems to have is some slight hearing problems. It's a small price to pay for having him here with us.'
It's fun in the water for these amazing animals who love to swim at their owner's outdoor pool.
Measuring over two metres in length and weighing 200lb, these one-year-old tigers are having the time of their lives.
Reaching for their human playmates with their giant paws, they dive, splash and even swim - in the same pool.
Together with their handlers, Moksha Bybee and Ragani Ferrante, tigers Balavan, Bali, and Oden display unusually close interaction between man and beast.
Animal expert Dr Bhagavan Antle has taught these amazing creatures to swim as part of an enrichment programme at his animal park in Miami. 'Tigers have a natural desire and ability to swim, exceeding that of all the other big cats,' said Dr Antle.
'It is rarely seen and we wanted to be able to present it to people so they could really get the feel of that incredible beauty and grace that a tiger has in the water.
'Tigers have modified webbing between their toes that makes their feet like flippers and they are superior swimmers.
'Because of those attributes we thought it was something people would love so we built this custom-made pool to allow people to experience this unique behaviour.'
The water-loving animals all live at the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, or TIGER, in Myrtle Beach, near Miami.
Filled with 100,00 gallons of water, one side of the entire pool is made of glass, allowing guests of the institute the unique opportunity to see the handlers and the animals up close swimming together. 'There are other pictures out there of tigers underwater but people have never been able to get this close to a tiger because it is so dangerous,' says Dr Antle.
'These are the only shots I have ever seen where people are swimming with tigers like this.'
Dr Antle has a 25-year career caring for threatened species and has about 200 animals in large enclosures at the TIGER park.
He said: 'I started swimming with tigers about 25 years ago.
'We found that in the water people and tigers were on a more equal footing when the tiger was swimming around on the top.
'As they were floating around we could manipulate them more easily because they don't stand up on their back legs.
'When they are younger they love taking baths and then we slowly introduce them to the pool.' Dr Antle and his animal-trainers give one-on-one tuition to each of the animals while they are in the water.
'These are hand-raised tigers,' he said.
'At the institute we feel that swimming with the big cats gives them a closer bond between the animal and their human companions.
'As part of our wildlife education program they are all hand-reared.' But despite the apparent danger, Doc ensures his trainers are never at risk.
'There is always a team of handlers in the water at any given time,' he explains.
'I don't think many people in the world try to get in the water with a tiger these days. It is all done from the edge when people throw meat and the tiger chases it.
'We are playing with the tigers and letting then have that interactive capacity with the handlers instead of allowing them to have meat.'
Each tiger is introduced to the pool a few months after they are born.
With a potential to grow to over 500lbs and 8ft in length, it is often considered that handlers will only swim with the tigers when they are no more than a year old. However Dr Antle often looks at each individual case when considering how close his trainers can remain to the tigers.
'I depends on the tiger,' he says.
'I personally have had full-grown 15-year-old adult tigers that I swam with and adult ligers [cross between a lion and tiger]. But that is me and I wouldn't put my staff at the same risk.
'We will allow the tigers to swim with the handlers as they mature but we have to monitor each one on its own merits.'
The TIGER centre has several programmes allowing people to interact closely with the animals.
Many of the animals are also trained actors and have appeared in advertisements and films including Forrest Gump and Ace Ventura.
This bundle of blubber may only be 11 months old, but he is already the size of an eight-year-old.
The giant baby tips the scales at a whopping 61lbs 12oz (28kg) and stands four and a half stone larger than his older brother. Due to his hefty frame the toddler also has to wear huge nappies.
His mother, Milena Orosco de Agudelo, said her son started ballooning at just two months old. The baby has had undergone a number of medical examinations which suggest he may have a problem with his endocrine system.
Ms Orosco said: 'He had some tests done and the results show that he has a thyroid malfunction.
'Then, he had a cardiogram test done and that test shows that he has the bones of an eight-year-old boy, but they have not told me where that came from.'
The normal weight for a boy his age is between 13lbs 4oz and 15lbs 7oz (6-7kg) and now baffled doctors in Colombia are trying to work out how he became so big.
Doctor David Dias, of the Barranquilla Pediatric Hospital, said: 'The baby will undergo more tests to see if he's obese or we're dealing with hyperthyroidism.'
One of the needles perforated the youngster's left lung. Stunned medics admitted him to hospital in Barreiras in the state of Bahma, north east Brazil, after X-rays showed the 50 metal objects in his abdomen, neck, thorax and legs.
Police chief Helder Fernandes Santana said: 'We are certain someone introduced the needles because of the position of some of them in the child's body.
