Brazil's 'needle boy' out of danger after operation

Doctors in Brazil say a two-year-old boy who was pierced with at least 31 sewing needles is out of danger following a third successful operation.

Surgeons in Salvador de Bahia have decided to not remove the remaining few needles left in the boy for now.

The boy's stepfather Roberto Carlos Magalhaes, 30, has confessed to inserting the needles into the boy's body as part of a black magic ritual.

He said he did it as a means of taking revenge on his wife.

Doctor Roque Aras said the remaining needles were small and posed no significant threat, the Associated Press news agency reported.

'Happy ending'

However the unnamed boy may still have to undergo more operations in the future.

On Monday, doctors took out four needles from the child's neck.

In an earlier three-hour operation, surgeons took out 14 needles piercing the boy's liver, bladder and intestines.

Four needles which had come perilously close to his heart and lungs were removed during an initial operation last week.

Surgeon Jose Siqueira said he was optimistic following the third surgery, AFP reported.

"We think that this child's story will have a happy ending", he said.

Mr Magalhaes told Brazil's Globo TV that he inserted the needles one at a time, up to three times in a month.

He said he got the boy drunk before driving the needles in.

Mr Magalhaes, 30, and his lover Angelina Ribeiro dos Santos have been formally charged with attempted murder.

Police said Mr Magalhaes, a bricklayer, told them his mistress had urged him to ritually kill the child to take revenge on his wife.

The boy's mother had taken him to hospital in the north-eastern state of Bahia, suffering from stomach pains and vomiting.

She suspected the child had been the victim of a black magic ritual after she found suspicious objects in the home she shared with Mr Magalhaes - her husband of six months - and her six children.

US balloon boy parents are given jail sentences

A US man who triggered a major alert by falsely claiming his son was adrift in a helium balloon has been sentenced to 90 days in jail - and his wife to 20.

Richard Heene, 48, and his 45-year-old wife Mayumi said in October their son had been carried off by the balloon.
Six-year-old Falcon Heene was finally found hiding at home.
In court in Colorado, Heene appeared to fight back tears as he apologised to rescue workers and the community, saying he was "very, very sorry".
The judge also ordered four years of supervised probation for the couple and banned them from receiving any form of financial benefit from the case.
Heene and his wife Mayumi had pleaded guilty to charges that they carried out the balloon stunt to promote a reality TV show.
'Wasted money'
The prosecutor had argued the couple should face time in jail to act as a deterrent to others who may be considering mounting similar stunts for financial gain and publicity.
He said Heene had "wasted a lot of man power and a lot of money in wanting to get himself some publicity".
He argued that the couple had acted not on the behest of any TV companies, but that "they came up with it all on their own, not necessarily just to get a TV show but at least to put their name out there again and maybe in hopes that somebody would pick them up".
"For that," he said, "they do need to be punished".
Richard Heene will be allowed to serve 60 days of his 90-day sentence on release, allowing him to work as a construction contractor during the day, while spending the night in jail.
He will start his sentence on 11 January 2010.
Mayumi Heene will begin her sentence after her husband's to ensure their children are still cared for.
She will be allowed to report to jail on two days a week, return home at night, and serve the sentence through jail-supervised community service.
The judge also ruled that her husband must serve 100 hours of community service and write a letter of apology to the community and public service agencies which helped search for his son.
The couple have already been ordered to pay $42,000 (£26,000) in restitution for the emergency services' rescue efforts.