“Actor and director Mel Gibson has pleaded no contest to a “misdemeanour” battery charge after a fight with then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva in 2010. Gibson, 55, was placed on probation for 36 months and ordered to attend a year of domestic violence counselling. The complaint accuses Gibson of “wilfully and unlawfully” using force and violence against Ms Grigorieva. A misdemeanour charge is generally considered a lesser criminal act than a felony charge in the US”. – BBC News

Photo: Oksana Grigorieva arrives at the premiere Of Warner Bros. “The Edge Of Darkness” held at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on January 26, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Australian ballet dancers rehearse their moves on Whitehaven Beach on June 11, 2010 on Hamilton Island, Australia. (Photo by James Morgan/Hamilton Island via Getty Images)

An Apple Inc., employee holds the new white iPhone 4 at the Apple store April 28, 2011 in Palo Alto, California. The long awaited white iPhone, first announced in June of 2010, went on sale worldwide for the first time today. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Stagecoach tests the amphibious bus, on the River Clyde on February 9, 2010 in Glasgow, Scotland. The Ј700,000 Dutch made amfibus could eventually replace the existing ferry service which is being scraped in March due to costs. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Visitors to Kensington Gardens are reflected in Anish Kapoor's sculpture “C-Curve 2007” on September 27, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

(L-R) Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, J K Rowling and Rupert Grint attend the World Premiere of “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1” held at The Odeon Leicester Square on November 11, 2010 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Blanka Vlasic of Croatia and Team Europe celebrates a clearance in the women's high jump during the IAAF/VTB Continental Cup at the Stadion Poljud on September 5, 2010 in Split, Croatia. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)