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.'
His owner apparently hadn't noticed that Socrates was getting a little pudgy.As you can see from her face however, the vet's nurse realised straight away.At a whopping 22lb, the black and white heavyweight in Jenny Doig's arms is more than double the size of a normal cat. 
Owner Bill Duncan, 52, had taken Socrates to the vet worried by his lack of get-up-and-go.The verdict, not surprisingly, was that he was simply too fat to move, possibly because of his taste for cheese and onion crisps. Twice a day, regular as clockwork, he had managed to stagger to his paws and miaow for his breakfast and tea. Now however, meals are a little disappointing. Five-year-old Socrates has been chosen as one of nine finalists in Pet Fit Club, the PDSA animal charity's annual diet competition. 
With just 100 days to reach his target weight of 9.9lb, he gets two 50g helpings of prescription diet food a day. That's about half of what he used to eat.'Because he's long-haired I hadn't noticed how big his belly was getting,' said Mr Duncan from North Shields, Tyne and Wear.'When I feed him now, he scoffs it down and looks at me as if to say, "Where's the rest of it?" ' 
This is the moment when an unsuspecting swan is ferociously attacked in mid-flight by an eagle who is half its size.The adult trumpeter swan was flying over a river when the bald eagle swooped out of nowhere bearing its talons.The eagle, with its massive two metre-wide wings outstretched, landed on the swan.
But remarkably after a five second struggle the plucky swan escaped the eagle's clutches and managed to fly down to the water.Smarting from its defeat the eagle, with its distinctive dark brown and white feathers, headed for some nearby trees.The stunning spectacle was captured by an amateur photographer Kelly Munday.The mum-of-two was watching the swan fly with a mate over the Lakelse River, in Terrace, British Columbia, when the eagle attacked.
She said: 'I was photographing the swans when the bald eagle came out of nowhere and attacked one of them.'They struggled for about five seconds and then the swan broke free, flew down to the water and seemed to be fine.'It was a spectacular few seconds and I was lucky enough to capture it.'The bald eagle normally eats smaller prey such as seagulls and fish but is known for its opportunist nature.Grahame Madge, a conservation spokesman for the RSPB, said: 'The bald eagle, America's national symbol, is often believed to be a supreme predator.'However, these 'magnificent' birds are usually happiest feeding on fish or scavenging for carrion along the tideline.'It was clearly an ambitious bird if it felt able to take on a bird the size of a trumpeter swan - one of the few birds even larger than a bald eagle.'
Looming from the depths, this huge creature looks as if it is about to swallow diver Sam Bester whole.Luckily for her, it is actually a whale shark, which only eats plankton.The picture was taken by Miss Bester's friend Fiona Ayerst off the coast of Durban in South Africa.
The diver had been completely oblivious to the shark's presence until Miss Bester pointed it out.Whale sharks are the largest living fish species and can grow up to 65ft (20m) in length. Some experts believe they can live to the age of 100.They are found in tropical and warm seas, typically with temperatures ranging between 18 and 30C.And though the gaping mouth may look terrifying, it has a very practical purpose.Whales sharks are able to gobble up huge amounts of plankton, sieving out the water swallowed with each mouthful through the gills.Although they are so big, they are one of the world's more elusive creatures and little is known about them.Marine scientists dubbed them whale sharks because of their size. They have the skeleton of a shark and are therefore fish, not mammals.
There was shampoo, backcombing and enough diva antics to scare the steeliest of postmen but as beauty pageants go not every canine would have been quite so happy to participate. But for those who did take part in the World's Ugliest Dog Competition at Sonoma-Marin Fair in California it was a question of ugly being the new beautiful.In the dog-eat-dog, claw-biting contest a truly 'unique' looking creature beat off other hideous hounds to claim the crown for being the world's ugliest pedigree dog.
Miss Ellie, a pure breed Chinese crested hairless from Tennessee, is reported to be around 15 years old, has only a couple of back teeth, cataracts in both her eyes, several moles and pimples and limited hair - with such credentials the other mutts surely could not have stood a chance.And like every good beauty queen Miss Ellie also had a heartfelt message for her adoring fans. According to her owner come spokesperson, Dawn Goehring, Miss Ellie really hopes to be a 'spokesmodel for rescue dogs of the 'not so cute' kind''.'Her dream is to travel around to prove that ugly is just a word, and says nothing about how wonderful she is,' she said.
Ellie has come a long way from being kept in a kennel area for much of her life with an owner that saw no purpose for her.When she was rescued she knew no commands and was not house trained but now rules the roost among her other rescue pals and even attended her owner's wedding in rival white dress and veil.'Miss Ellie hopes that people get the message that there are plenty of wonderful rescue dogs out there just waiting for a chance,' added her proud owner.
As well as winning a modeling contract from House Of Dog lucky Ellie will also pick up a cheque for $1,000, a trophy to put in her kennel and even a professional photo shoot. But it was Pabst the boxer who came through as the surprise overall winner of the contest.His victory was an upset - the first place usually goes to a Chinese crested, like Miss Ellie. 
The fabulously toothy four-year-old Boxer, who is also a rescue dog, has a 2in underbite, a large burn scar on his stomach and his nails grow in any direction they feel like. While looking absolutely ferocious Pabst's bark is worse than his bite and in fact the loveable mutt is reportedly a pussy cat who likes nothing more than to take lots of naps in the sun.
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.
