Bangladesh court orders doctors to write legibly

 

DHAKA, (AFP): Doctors the world over are renowned for their bad handwriting, but now a Bangladesh court is seeking to ban the sloppy scrawl after prescriptions became so illegible that patients were taking the wrong medicines. Doctors will now have to either type their prescriptions or write them in block capitals, deputy attorney general Mokhlesur Rahman told AFP after the court issued its judgement late Monday. “The court has ordered the health secretary to circulate the ruling among the country’s doctors. He was also asked to report on improvement of the situation within six weeks,” he said. The court also said doctors must use generic drug names rather than specifying particular brands. “Many patients and even some pharmacists cannot read what the doctors scribble on the prescriptions,” said lawyer Manzil Morshed, who filed the public interest suit. “Therefore, very often they take wrong medicines. It costs them money and exposes them to unnecessary and sometimes dangerous health hazards.” The court order was widely praised on social media, although some doctors asked the government to do its bit by introducing a computerised prescription system. “Why blame us when you can’t implement computerised prescription system?” posted Farhan Kabir on Facebook.

 

 

Razer three-screened laptops ‘stolen’

LAS VEGAS (BBC): Two prototype models of an unusual gaming laptop with three screens have been stolen at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, according to PC maker Razer. The concept device boasts three 4K screens and is said to be the first portable laptop of its kind. Razer said the laptops had gone missing from its booth at the tech show on Sunday. The incident was being taken “very seriously”, said chief executive Min-Liang Tan. A Razer spokesman said it was offering $25,000 (£20,600) for any “original information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction” of those allegedly involved in the crime. “Our teams worked months on end to conceptualise and develop these units,” Mr Tan said in a post on his official Facebook page. “It is cheating, and cheating doesn’t sit well with us. Anyone who would do this clearly isn’t very smart.” A spokeswoman for the Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES, confirmed to the BBC that two laptops had been reported as stolen. “We express our regrets,” she said. “The security of our exhibitors, attendees and their products and materials are our highest priority. “We use a wide variety of security measures at our show to combat theft. “For example, we delay labour coming on the show floor until an hour after the show closes so that exhibitors have a chance to secure product before dismantling their booths.”

 

Serbian ‘miracle man’ survives -20C ordeal in well

(BBC): A Serbian man is being hailed a miracle survivor after he spent two-and-a-half days stuck down a well in temperatures well below freezing. Jezdimir Milic left home on Friday morning to buy groceries ahead of Orthodox Christmas the next day, but failed to come home. He was found some 52 hours later, on Sunday afternoon, trapped down a well while temperatures reached -20C (-4F). Mr Milic is being treated for hypothermia and abrasions in hospital. An extremely cold weather front has gripped much of Europe, with authorities declaring an emergency in parts of Serbia. Six people died of hypothermia in Poland on Monday, authorities say, and dozens more deaths are being blamed on the wintry conditions across Europe. Mr Milic was discovered by neighbour Goran Markovic, who says Mr Milic’s poor sight probably explains how he did not see the five-metre-deep (16-foot) well and fell into it. Mr Markovic said he discovered Mr Milic when he noticed a bag of groceries sitting by the well, in a wooded area close to their village of Smoljinac. “Attracted by the unusual sight, I walked over to the bag in which there was a bottle of red wine, a few bottles of beer and some corn flour,” Mr Markovic told news organisation RTS. “At that moment I remembered that there was talk in the village about a disappeared person named Jezdimir. Then I heard some cries and looked into the well and I saw, at the bottom, someone sitting with their hands and feet close to their chest.”

He then notified a local vet, who summoned police. The fire service eventually got Mr Milic out.

As well as hypothermia, he is being treated for bruises and abrasions consistent with a fall from height.

 

 

 

Man charged in fight over milk and potato chips

NEW JERSY (GN): A Bath man became irate after his wife sent the couple’s daughter to the grocery store to buy a tin of Pringles potato chips and container of chocolate milk, Colonial Regional police said. Charged is Anibal Javier Garcia, 39, of the first block of South Chestnut Street. Police were dispatched to the home at 12:21 pm.The female victim told police Garcia was annoyed money was being spent and slapped her in the back of the head. Garcia then pushed her onto the couch and screamed vulgarities at the woman, according to police. When the victim’s brother arrived at the home to check on the victim, Garcia allegedly pushed him and threatened him. The victim told officers a handgun, in which Garcia has a permit for, was missing after the incident. Garcia is charged with making terroristic threats and harassment (two counts). He was arraigned before District Judge Robert Hawke, who set bail at $8,000. In lieu of bail, Garcia was taken to Northampton County Prison.