iPAD 2

4 June 2011 - A teenager in China has sold one of his kidneys in order to buy an iPad 2, Chinese media report.The 17-year-old, identified only as Little Zheng, told a local TV station he had arranged the sale of the kidney over the internet. The story only came to light after the teenager's mother became suspicious. The case highlights China's black market in organ trafficking. A scarcity of organ donors has led to a flourishing trade. It all started when the high school student saw an online advert offering money to organ donors. Illegal agents organised a trip to the hospital and paid him $3,392 (£2,077) after the operation. With the cash the student bought an iPad 2, as well as a laptop. When his mother noticed the computers and the deep red scar on his body, which was caused by the surgery, Little Zheng confessed. In 2007, Chinese authorities banned organ trafficking and have introduced a voluntary donor scheme to try to combat the trade.

Sherlock Vultures

3 June 2011 - German police are trying out a new weapon in the fight against crime - vultures that can find hidden corpses. Three feathered detectives - called Sherlock, Miss Marple and Columbo - are being trained in Walsrode bird park in northern Germany. The birds' keen eyesight and acute sense of smell might make them as skilful as their fictional namesakes. But worryingly Sherlock sometimes prefers to hunt on foot, rather than scan the ground from above. Police used a piece of shroud from a mortuary for the training exercise, German media report. The vultures are thought to be better than sniffer dogs at finding bodies when a large area has to be searched and the terrain is difficult, for example if it is densely overgrown. But the experiment raises ethical concerns because of the risk that a vulture could start pecking at a dead body, the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper says. This week Miss Marple and Columbo, from a zoo in Austria, joined Sherlock for the exercise in the reserve, north of Hanover. Police are using three birds because the vultures prefer to roam big areas as a group. "The vultures may work much more effectively than sniffer dogs," said a Hanover police officer, Rainer Herrmann. "There's a lot of interest in this. We've had inquiries from Germany, Austria and Switzerland," he said.

Mobile Risk

2 June 2011 - The World Health Organization's cancer research agency says mobile phones are "possibly carcinogenic". A review of evidence suggests an increased risk of a malignant type of brain cancer cannot be ruled out. However, any link is not certain - they concluded that it was "not clearly established that it does cause cancer in humans". A cancer charity said the evidence was too weak to draw strong conclusions from. A group of 31 experts has been meeting in Lyon, France, to review human evidence coming from epidemiological studies. They said they looked at all relevant human studies of people using mobile phones and exposure to electromagnetic fields in their workplace. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) can give mobile phones one of five scientific labels: carcinogenic, probably carcinogenic, possibly carcinogenic, not classifiable or not carcinogenic. It concluded that mobiles should be rated as "possibly carcinogenic" because of a possible link with a type of brain cancer - glioma. Ed Yong, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "The WHO's verdict means that there is some evidence linking mobile phones to cancer but it is too weak to draw strong conclusions from.

Dutch Trauma

1 June 2011 - From the BBC: The extradition of Ratko Mladic to the Netherlands for trial on genocide charges is particularly poignant. The Dutch have a special interest in bringing him to justice because of their role - some would call it complicity - in the Srebrenica massacre. More than any other nation, the Netherlands - whose peacekeepers failed to protect Muslim refugees in Srebrenica - has agitated for his arrest. His detention has, therefore, sparked a collective sigh of relief here. But, for some, it has also revived a deep shame that remains in the Dutch conscience. Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal called the news of Mladic's arrest "happy and historic". He spoke of "redress" for both the relatives of the victims and the Dutch battalion of UN soldiers (Dutchbat) that proved unable to defend the "safe haven" of Srebrenica. More than 7,000 men and boys were killed there, after it was overrun by Gen Mladic's forces. "Dutchbat suffered too," he added during a TV debate, referring to the disorders that afflict many veterans. Delight over the arrest is still tempered by the collective trauma Dutch society suffered from Dutchbat's failure. The NRC Handelsblad daily warns that Gen Mladic's trial in The Hague will not "close the book on Srebrenica".

Indonesian Maids

31 May 2011 - Indonesia is allowing maids to apply for work in Malaysia for the first time in two years, after ending a long-running row over abuse of workers. The countries signed a deal aimed at improving working conditions for maids, guaranteeing them one day off a week. They will also be allowed to keep their passports, rather than having to give them to their employers. Indonesia banned its citizens from working as maids in June 2009, after allegations of abuse emerged. Last year, a Malaysian woman was jailed for inflicting injuries on her maid using hot water, scissors and a hammer. Indonesian migration minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the deal was part of a long-term plan to protect the rights of workers. "After going through a long negotiation process, we have eventually reached an agreement that is a 'win-win solution', with a number of improvements for the Indonesian worker," he said in a statement. More than one million Indonesians work in Malaysia, most as maids or labourers.

Indian X-Factor

30 May 2011 - Welcome to the global village - the X-factor has reached India. India's version of the X-factor has launched with performances ranging from the amazing to the downright atrocious. But as one of many reality singing shows in India, can the format win over one of the world's largest television audiences? A bad singer is a bad singer, no matter where you are in the world. As contestants took to the stage for the opening auditions for X Factor India, viewers on Sunday night could watch a startling variety of hopefuls, who lived up to the show's trademark mix of the truly talented and truly appalling. What marks out the Indian version of the show is the country's rich and diverse musical heritage, which saw performers try their hand at everything from Bollywood to Bhangra. "We've had everything from 16 Rajasthani folk singers dressed in turbans singing in high-pitched voices to the soft voice of a 70-year-old man who has been brought up with the Bollywood traditions of the 1960s," says Sonu Nigam, one of the judges on the Indian show. With the same theme tune, stage set, categories and editing style, the "look" of X Factor India is almost identical to that of its British predecessor.

Depressed Fathers

30 May 2011 - It is a sad story, but a man in the UK has been acquitted of murdering his six-month-old daughter, after saying he had had post-natal depression. The case of Mark Bruton-Young has put the issue of men who struggle to cope with becoming fathers in the headlines. One out of every seven new mothers has post-natal depression - but, according to the Fatherhood Institute, one out of every 10 fathers are depressed both before and after their baby is born. The peak time for fathers' depression is thought to be between three and six months after the birth. Like women, they can struggle with the huge life changes a baby brings, says Fatherhood Institute research head Adrienne Burgess. "Hormones, lack of sleep, increased responsibility and general life stresses can apply to men just as much to women," she said.  "And if their partner is depressed, then men are more likely to be too." Men and women who have pre-existing mental health problems are more at risk of developing depression after the birth of a child. But a father's depression can begin during pregnancy, when relationships are already changing. Fathers can feel left out while their partner is the focus of increased attention. Association for Post-natal Illness counsellor Liz Wise says: "Women can feel they do things best, like changing a nappy or feeding. But they don't always think about how it could undermine a man's confidence."

Cantagalo

29 May 2011 - High above Rio de Janeiro's beachside neighbourhoods is Cantagalo, one of the many favelas clinging to the city's hillsides.Cantagalo, along with the communities of Pavao and Pavaozinho, is a winding mass of concrete alleyways and stairwells that snake up the hill overlooking the famous Ipanema and Copacabana beaches. Every day thousands of the favela's residents travel down the hill to work in the homes, shops, hotels and bars of their richer neighbours but the daily migration is one-sided. Many wealthier Rio residents have never set foot in Cantagalo but an ambitious new project in the hillside community is working to change that. Museu de Favela is trying to turn the shantytown, which is home to more than 20,000 people, into a popular destination. Like an art gallery that has exploded on to the streets, the Museu is made up of a series of huge murals covering 20 buildings, all commissioned by local artists. "Samba, capoiera, funk, everything that the elite of Rio de Janeiro enjoy comes from the favela," says Sidney "Tartaruga" Silva, vice-president of the Museu, as he guides visitors up the hill. The project's aim is to reflect the history of this urban community and give a voice to the people who live there.