Psychologist Bruce Beaton, 64, pleaded not guilty in the Western Australia District Court to four charges of indecently assaulting a 22-year-old woman in 2005, local media reported.

Beaton was arrested when police, who had been secretly video recording the session with the woman, heard whipping sounds, reported Australian Associated Press from the court.

Beaton told the court he resorted to master-servant treatment with his bulimic patient because other methods had failed. He said he thought forcing the woman to wear a dog collar and call him master would build a more trusting relationship.

He said such treatment was allowed by the Australian Psychological Society. “It is right within the ethical guidelines,” Beaton told the court.

“I am not saying it would be all right if I hit her. I did not hit her,” he said. The trial continues.

His Web site will be renovated in the next couple of weeks to officially begin selling parcels for an introductory price of $39.95. Buyers will receive a brochure and a “deed,” but much like Internet groups that claim to sell stars, they probably can’t call themselves owners.

“What’s the scam?” said Norm Nichols, co-developer of the online venture. “If you really think there’s something here that you can’t live with, nobody’s forcing you to buy it. It’s meant to be fun.”

The Web site advertises, “Lo’ihi Seaview Estates: Real Estate for the Future. Grand Water View Front Lots.” A photo of the sales office is a raft in the middle of the ocean.

Nichols and his business partner, Linda Kramer, both Honolulu entrepreneurs, envision online chat rooms and newsletters to discuss everything from street names to what kind of government to install. They want to hold a “homeowners association” meeting — a boat ride over the volcano — every April Fool’s Day.

Scientists don’t really know when, or if, Lo’ihi will break the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Many guess about 10,000 years, but it could be much longer than that.

Stephen Levins, head of the state consumer affairs office, said the offer could be a problem if it were serious. “However, if the Web site is clear it’s a parody and you’re not going to be receiving an actual interest in real estate, that’s something else,” he said.

The two men, from Jidong county, in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, fled down a 1,500-metre (5,000-ft) shaft full of carbon monoxide after being caught stealing cabling at a mine in Hada village, Xinhua said, citing police.

“The colliery… had halted production for safety reasons and police believed it could cave in at any time,” Xinhua said.

Police waited at the mine’s exits, deployed search parties underground, and yelled down the shaft with a loudspeaker, “but hours of shouting met with no response”, Xinhua said.

After 23 hours, police heard a “weak voice” calling for help, and rushed down the shaft to pull the men out.

The men had difficulties in breathing and walking, but later recovered at a local hospital, Xinhua said, citing police.

The men were arrested and charged with stealing electric cable worth about $60,000.

In October, a Chinese man wanted on gun charges gave himself up after hiding in a cave constructed at the back of his house for eight years.

Diane Hannon, from north Wales, was looking after the white fluffy cat called Paws last summer while her friend Duncan Carthy was away.

She put the six-year-old cat, which was deaf, into the washing machine before switching it on. Paws died from a heart attack and suffered loss of hair and scalding.

Inspector Kevin Patin of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said in a statement: “This is the worst act of deliberate cruelty I have ever seen.”

Hannon, who suffered from depression, told a Welsh court that she and Carthy had argued before he went away, causing her to feel wounded and angry.

Hannon, who admitted last December to causing unnecessary suffering to the animal, was banned from owning animals for life.

Police said Whittman’s wife, 21, who was not named, reported the abuse on Saturday.

The child was treated at a hospital, police said, and then taken into protective custody by the state Department of Human Services.

Capt. Eric Carter said the police haven’t established a motive for the abuse, nor why it began about three weeks ago.

He said the device was not a Taser weapon, named for the manufacturer, but an older model that’s applied directly to someone’s skin.

Police officers had left the vehicle in the car park with the engine running, while they investigated a report that a stolen card had been used at the post office, the Mainichi newspaper said on Tuesday.

“I came out shopping by train, but I got tired walking, so I thought I would drive the police car home,” the man told police.

He was apprehended about 15 minutes later in the driveway of a private home, about 4 kms (2.5 miles) from the post office, the Mainichi said.

Eight-months pregnant Nyree Thompson, 32, went into labor on the casino floor about 9:30 a.m.

Thompson said she mistook labor pains for gas at first, but after going to the restroom told a security guard that she might be giving birth.

Thompson said the guard thought she was joking. Then her water broke.

“A guard came over and said, ‘Don’t push,’” Thompson said. “I said, ‘Forget you, this baby is coming right now!’”

Minutes later, a boy weighing less than 5 pounds was born. Thompson named him Qualeem.

Four security guards helped Thompson deliver the baby, wrapping the child in a jacket until paramedics arrived at about 9:40 a.m., said Steve Callender, vice president of operations at Resorts.

Despite being premature, Qualeem was doing fine.

Callender, who has worked at Resorts since it opened in 1978, said the birth was a first for the casino as far as he knew. “We’ve had people die here,” he said, “but we’ve never had people born here.”