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Dutch police and park rangers have admitted they are powerless to stop a growing trend of outdoor sex orgies. In the latest incident, a large group of people were found romping naked on a beach in the Bussloo area of the country.

They including 10 couples who were being "particularly boisterous" with each other while the others watched.

But police called to the scene admitted they were powerless to act despite numerous complaints from other beach users, and could only give the naked orgy lovers a verbal warning.

The head of one of Holland's biggest national parks says the problem is getting worse and has called for the government to make clear guidelines on outdoor sex orgies to allow police to act.

Eric Droogh, who is director at the Veluwe National Park, said: "A national debate on wild sex parties in the countryside is essential.

"Police and park wardens currently have too little scope to intervene. The only possibility is to catch the transgressors red-handed.

"Outdoor sex is now commonly occurring in national parks and other public places. In some cases they just stopped beside the road in the picnic area or a meadow for the orgies."

He called for clearer guidelines and sanctions to deal with the outdoor sex phenomenon.

Ananova.com

A Bulgarian man has escaped a three year jail sentence after having a sex change operation. Under Bulgarian law, the op meant he was legally a different person and could no longer be prosecuted.

Sretko Ickov, from Dragor near Sofia, was arrested and charged with theft before being released on bail last year.

But the case, which took more than a year to come to court, has now been dropped after Ickov turned up in court as a woman.

The judge ruled that the thief, now known as Albena Mihajlova, could not be sent to prison because she was no longer the person charged with the crime, Bulgarian television Nova Televizija reported.

Ickov claimed he had always felt unhappy as a man and planned to start a new crime free life in his new identity as a woman.

He also claims to have fallen in love and is planning to get married shortly, he told the court.

Ananova.com

A DVLA worker whose mobile phone video-clips of herself having sex were sent to her colleagues has been sacked for gross misconduct. The Swansea-based Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) clerk filmed herself having sex with her boyfriend. The film was then forwarded to staff.

Heather Muirhead, 23, was dismissed following an inquiry by the DVLA after senior staff saw the clips.

A friend of Ms Muirhead has said she may go to an industrial tribunal.

Ms Muirhead's dismissal follows an inquiry at DVLA into "alleged circulation of unacceptable material".

The 23-year-old made the mobile phone film with her boyfriend, chef Lee Jones, 26, while on a romantic hotel break.

It was then texted to staff at the DVLA, eventually reaching nearly 300 people.

More than 6,000 people work for the DVLA, most of them based in a 20-storey building in the Morriston area of Swansea.

Many are said to have viewed the clips by the time managers stepped in.

A DVLA spokesman said: "A junior member of staff has been dismissed for gross misconduct."

But a friend of Ms Muirhead is reported to have said: "She is very upset about being sacked and is thinking of going to an employment tribunal.

"Although she was worried about going back to work, she didn't want to be sacked."

The DVLA processes driving licences for the UK and is one of the biggest employers in south Wales.

BBC News

A New Zealand man who removed a condom during sex with a prostitute has been fined for putting her life at risk. Daniel James Morgan, 48, was ordered to pay NZ$400 (£153) plus costs in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the country.

The case, at Christchurch District Court, was brought under New Zealand's 2003 Prostitution Reform Act, which gives sex workers greater rights.

Morgan, who pleaded guilty, could have been fined up to NZ$2,000.

'Social stigma'

But a spokesman for the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective said the case sent out an important message to others.

"As a test case, it was a minimum fine but it shows that the act is working," Calum Bennachie told Reuters news agency.

"The social penalty is a lot larger. He is a married man, his name has been given in open court as having gone along to a sex worker, so there's a lot of stigmatisation that goes along with that as well.

"Quite often the stigmatisation will prevent other people from doing the same thing," he said.

The prostitute told reporters outside court that she faced an agonising six-week wait for the results of an HIV test.

"It feels like a death sentence. I still don't know whether it will be or not," she was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Morgan reportedly told the court he had removed the condom because he knew the prostitute would not have consented to have sex with him otherwise.

BBC News

Health officials in County Durham have expressed alarm at the findings of a study into young peoples' attitudes to sex, drugs and alcohol. The Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) forum for Easington said there were "large areas of concern" for the future health of young people.

The organisation surveyed 1,500 young people, aged between 11 and 16.

The study showed 43% of boys thought it was unimportant to use condoms and that 26% of girls smoked to relieve stress.

Other findings in the survey showed that embarrassment and alcohol were the key factors discouraging young people from using contraceptives.

It revealed that 62% of boys and 68% of girls aged between 11 and 13 believed it was easy for people of their age to access illegal drugs.

Most young people said looking "cool" was the key factor encouraging them to smoke. Some 11% of boys aged 11-13 and 34% of boys aged 14-16 "often" drank alcohol.

The study also showed that a lack of public facilities was the main block to young people taking regular exercise.

PPI Forum Member, Ron Lamb said: "The district of Easington has appalling health inequalities.

"We wanted to start with the very young to see if they are learning from the many initiatives to improve the quality of their health and life expectations.

"Sadly the findings of the report - especially from the 11-13 year olds - are already indicating a worrying level of behaviour and knowledge that may set the youngsters on a very unhealthy and possibly dangerous track to adulthood."

The report has been sent to Easington Primary Care Trust to help inform where resources should be targeted to help improve the health of young people.

BBC News

Prostate cancer patients are demanding the disease is given a higher priority by the government and the NHS. Prostate Research Campaign UK surveyed over 1,000 people who had the disease or were close to someone who did.

They found 96% felt there should be more investment in research and therapies for a disease which is the UK's commonest form of male cancer.

Experts said advances in treatment were being made, but were not always available to all patients.

The survey also found 90% felt the negative impact of prostate cancer was under-estimated by the general public.

The survey follows a report from the National Audit Office published in February this year, which found prostate cancer patients were dissatisfied with the information they received about side effects and treatment outcomes, as well as waiting times to be seen by a specialist.

Each year, around 30,100 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 10,000 die from the disease.

Drug review

Professor Roger Kirby, Visiting Professor in Urology at St Georges's Hospital, London and chairman of Prostate Research Campaign UK said: "The findings of our survey should help us understand the needs of those directly affected by prostate disease and ensure that we direct resource where it will be most valued.

"Although, we are making significant steps in treating prostate cancer, such advances don't always reach patients."

Studies have shown the drug Taxotere (docetaxel), currently used to treat breast cancer, can help men with advanced prostate cancer.

It has been licensed for treating men with prostate cancer, but is not yet widely available, pending a review by the drugs watchdog, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

Professor Kirby said: "Men living with prostate cancer should be given the opportunity to make an informed choice about and have access to new treatments which provide prolonged survival and better quality of life."

A second organisation, the Prostate Cancer Charity is beginning its own national survey of patients' experiences of their diagnosis and treatment for the disease.

John Neate, the Charity's Chief Executive says: "Our job is to drive hard to secure the very best NHS services for men affected by prostate cancer."

A spokeswoman for NICE said: "People should not be denied any drug simply because it is under review by us."

She said it would its conclusions would be published next summer.

BBC News

Women are twice as likely as men to be thinking about their sex lives while on the Tube, a survey reveals.

Sex enters the minds of 42% of women while travelling on the Tube, compared with 22% of male passengers, according to the survey by Viacom Outdoors.

It also shows although men are said to think about sex every few seconds, they think less about it on the Tube.

The study was based on questionnaires, observational study of Tube passengers and feedback from travellers.

'Less stressed'

The survey also showed that 65% of Tube passengers think about work, while 43% of men and 45% of women think about the strangers they are with on the Tube.

About 55% of passengers were said to daydream about family and friends, 38% think about plans for the weekend, while 24% think about their next meal and 20% about their next holiday.

Stephen Fuller of Viacom Outdoor said: "This research gives us an insight into the mindset of Tube users and it is fascinating to learn that in most cases they are less stressed and much calmer than is widely believed."

BBC News

Best-selling game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is being investigated in the US over reports that it contains sexually explicit mini-games hidden in its code.

The controversy surrounds a download available on the net which is said to unlock secret sex scenes.

Game makers Rockstar said they were complying with the inquiry, by the industry body that sets age ratings.

If the findings were to lead to an adult-only age rating, it could limit sales from major retail outlets.

Explicit acts

The Grand Theft Auto series of crime games have proved phenomenally popular. They are credited with kick-starting the driving-and-shooting genre of gaming.

The PlayStation 2 version of San Andreas sold more than a million copies in the first nine days that it was on sale in UK last year.

But the game has also attracted criticism from those who say it encourages gratuitous violence as players immerse themselves in an underground world of LA gangs and gun-ridden ghettos.

Now it is under fire over whether the game contains hidden graphic sexual content. Software code developed by GTA Dutch fan Patrick Wildenborg is said to have unlocked mini-games in the PC version of San Andreas that allows players to make game characters perform sexually explicit acts.

The industry body which regulates games in the US, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), said it had opened an investigation into the so-called Hot Coffee modification.

The aim is to "determine if there has been a violation of ESRB Rules and Regulations requiring full disclosure of pertinent content," ratings group President Patricia Vance said in a statement.

The results of the investigation could determine if San Andreas retains its M rating, which is given to games for ages 17 and older, or is reclassified as an adults-only title.

This kind of rating could lead big stores in the US to limit sales or take it off the shelves altogether.

'Leftover material'

Rockstar has said it is complying with the investigation.

"We also feel confident that the investigation will uphold the original rating of the game, as the work of the mod community is beyond the scope of either publishers or the ESRB," said Rockstar in the statement.

The fan at the centre of the controversy, Patrick Wildenborg, has said he did not create the sex scenes, but enabled them with his modification.

"But all this material is completely inaccessible in an unmodded version of the game," he said in a statement on his website.

"It can therefore not be considered a cheat, Easter Egg or hidden feature But is most probably just leftover material from a gameplay idea that didn't make the final release."

The PlayStation 2 version of San Andreas was one of the best-selling games of 2004. The title already has an 18 age rating in the UK

BBC News

China is planning to increase its focus on women in the fight against HIV/Aids, due to a sharp rise in the rate of female infection, state media has said.

In the 1990s the male to female ratio of HIV/Aids infection was 5:1, but the figure is now closer to 2:1.

In some areas, there are now a similar number of women as men infected, the China Daily said.

The new focus on women is part of a government initiative marking World Population Day.

"The number of women infected with HIV/Aids is climbing," Wei Jian'an, an official with China's Aids Prevention and Treatment office, told the China Daily.

"Most of the recent infections in women have been sexually transmitted. Some of them belong to the high-risk group of prostitutes, while others are just ordinary housewives or career women, infected by their husbands," she said.

Many women also became infected from selling blood in the 1990s.

Health Minister Gao Qiang blamed the increasing numbers on a lack of knowledge about the disease, especially among women in poor rural areas.

"Women on the whole know less about the disease than men," Mr Gao reportedly told a recent Beijing conference, adding that fewer than 40% of women in the countryside knew how to prevent Aids.

China estimates that 840,000 of its citizens are infected with HIV, including 80,000 with Aids.

But international groups believe the real figure is much higher.

The United Nations' Aids agency says that up to 10 million Chinese people could be infected by 2010 without more aggressive prevention measures.

BBC News

Women are bigger wimps than men when it comes to pain, research suggests, contrary to the popular notion that the reverse is true. Not only do they feel pain more easily, women are less able to cope with it, believe scientists at Bath University.

Women focus on the emotional aspects of their pain, which makes it worse, while men tend to focus on the physicality.

Their findings are based on a series of pain tests on 50 men and women using triggers such as ice cold water.

Volunteers were asked to put their arm in a warm water bath for two minutes before plunging the same arm into a vat of icy water for a further two minutes or until they could stand the pain no longer.

The women felt pain much sooner than the men and were able to endure it for far less time.

Furthermore, when men were asked to think about the sensory aspects of the pain rather than the emotions related to it, the pain decreased.

This strategy did nothing to help the women.

More pain

Lead researcher Dr Ed Keogh, a psychologist at the Pain Management Unit at the university, said: "Our research has shown that whilst the sensory-focused strategies used by men helped increase their pain threshold and tolerance of pain, it was unlikely to have any benefit for women.

"Women who concentrate on the emotional aspects of their pain may actually experience more pain as a result, possibly because the emotions associated with pain are negative."

He told the journal Pain how mounting evidence suggested that "women experience a greater number of pain episodes across their lifespan than men, in more bodily areas and with greater frequency."

Dr Beverly Collette, from the British Pain Society, said: "This supports previous experimental work.

"Women tend to report to pain at lower thresholds than men. We know that we have far more women attending pain clinics than men too.

Hormones

"But it's a very complex area."

She said there were many theories to explain the gender difference.

One is that women have an innate caring role and that they are therefore more attuned to recognising pain in themselves as a warning sign in case it is something dangerous that would impair their ability to care for others.

Another theory is that it is down to hormonal differences.

"We know that women's pain threshold varies across the menstrual cycle. Postmenopausal women who take HRT tend to report more pain problems than other women

"More research needs to be done. It's hugely important because most of the drugs we use in pain have been tested on men. There is some evidence that women respond better to different pain killers than men."

BBC News