Taiwanese man 'too old' for jail

A Taiwanese jail has reportedly turned away a 96-year-old man, saying he would not be able to look after himself behind bars.

Sun Hsin-ming, a former railway worker, was sentenced to three months in jail for squatting.

He refused to pay a fine to stay out of prison, insisting that he was innocent of the charges against him.

But as soon as he turned up at the jail he was sent back to the prosecutor's office, according to local media.

'Illegal occupation'

White-haired and frail, stooping over his walking stick, Sun Hsin-ming seems an unlikely criminal.

But he became Taiwan's oldest convict when he was given a three-month sentence for illegally occupying the dormitory of his former employer, Taiwan's national railway administration - something he fiercely disputes.

"The court is in a mess and won't listen to reason. I am really angry. I haven't done anything wrong," he told reporters.

The Apple Daily newspaper said prosecutors now plan to send Mr Sun to a prison hospital ward in the central city of Taichung to serve his sentence.

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German fat cat turns to hot dogs

By Ray Furlong BBC News, Frankfurt

Thomas works in the shadow of the skyscraper where he was a trader

Thomas Brause used to earn a six-figure salary working as a trader in a gleaming Frankfurt tower. Now he sells sausages on the street outside.

"My friends and family said: 'You're crazy'," he said. "But they also said: 'Go for it!'"

His stand is a converted bus that he bought on eBay. In front of it, office workers and labourers from a building site opposite chat over Bratwurst and French fries on white cardboard trays.

When Thomas looks up, he sees the skyscraper where he worked until the world financial crash arrived.

"I was working for an American brokers with offices all around the globe," he said. "It ended on 10 December 2008 - a Wednesday. The Friday before we'd had our Christmas party. Our bosses had come out from London to celebrate with us.

"The Wednesday started normally, but then at 1100 an e-mail came round from human resources. By 1400 we were out the door."

At first, Thomas tried sending his CV to get similar jobs. But in a changed market, he was offered around half his previous salary. So he hit upon his radical change of direction.

"I'd first got the idea when I was working in the office," he said. "I'd think: hmm, lunch wasn't up to much this afternoon. I could really use a good German Currywurst with chips."

No less stress

But amidst the slick cafes of Frankfurt, no-one was selling grilled sausage smothered in ketchup and curry powder. Thomas spied a gap in the market.

So now there are long queues in front of his bus every lunchtime and Thomas hopes his business will soon be in the black. "If I can earn 60-70% of my former wage with my snack bar, I will be more happy than before," he said, presumably not including his former bonuses in the calculation.

He used to handle deals worth millions of dollars - via computer screens and the telephone. Now, he sells Bratwurst with mustard and brown bread for 2.40 euros (£2.15; $3.50), and French fries for 1.60 euros. "And my sister's home-made cakes," he added. "I mustn't forget to mention them.

If you're not happy with your job, it's bad for you Thomas Brause

"These are real things, not abstract things. You can touch them. I deliver something and I get something in return. It's more satisfying."

In a way, what he has done is a fantasy for many highly-paid people in demanding jobs.

"I've heard lots of people moaning about their jobs," said Mr Brause. "As soon as people get to management level they dream of this, and this was a dream of mine for a while because I was pretty fed up with my job too. The office politics was terrible."

But as the sausages sizzled on a hot plate, Thomas said quitting his high-powered job had not made life less stressful.

"I work 14-hour days," he said. "I get up at 0530. This is more stressful than before! I did my previous job for 24 years so I was very used to it. Now, I have to learn a lot of things and cope with circumstances I've never seen before.

"But I would say I'm happier. If you're not happy with your job, it's bad for you. I lost everything but it was an opportunity. So now I'm here - and I'll see where I am in a year's time."

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Developing world myths

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Remember what he says: Richer countries do worse trying to buy health care than Poorer country's who have it and try to find wealth.

Antibiotic resistance clue found

MRSA highlights the problem of antibiotic resistance

US scientists have uncovered a defence mechanism in bacteria that allows them to fend off the threat of antibiotics.

It is hoped the findings could help researchers boost the effectiveness of existing treatments.

The study published in Science found that nitric oxide produced by the bacteria eliminates some key effects of a wide range of antibiotics.

One UK expert said inhibiting nitric oxide synthesis could be an important advance for tackling tricky infections.

Antibiotic resistance, for example with MRSA, is a growing problem and experts have long warned of the need to develop new treatments.

Here, we have a short cut, where we don't have to invent new antibiotics Dr Evgeny Nudler, study leader

The latest research, done by a team at New York University, showed that in bacteria the production of nitric oxide - a small molecule made up of one nitrogen and one oxygen atom - increased their resistance to antibiotics.

They found the enzymes responsible for producing nitric oxide were activated specifically in response to the presence of the antibiotics.

They also showed that nitric oxide alleviates damage caused by the drugs as well as helping to neutralise many of the toxic compounds within the antibiotic.

The researchers then showed that eliminating nitric oxide production in the bacteria allowed the antibiotics to work at lower, less toxic doses.

More effective

Study leader, Dr Evgeny Nudler, said developing new medicines to fight antibiotic resistance, such as that seen with MRSA is a "huge hurdle".

"Here, we have a short cut, where we don't have to invent new antibiotics.

"Instead we can enhance the activity of well-established ones, making them more effective at lower doses.

Dr Matthew Dryden, consultant in microbiology and communicable disease at Royal Hampshire County Hospital and general secretary of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, said if the enzyme which creates nitric oxide could be inhibited, it could suppress the ability of the bacteria to counteract antibiotics.

"This would be a useful therapeutic advance, especially as we are running out of new classes of antibiotics and there is less antibiotic development in general."

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