Lawsuit against FDA The consumer group Public Citizen is suing the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over their failure to issue a black-box warning of the risk of serious tendon injuries associated with fluoroquinolone antibiotics. Between 1997 and 2005, the FDA received 794 reports of tendon ruptures and disorders, and since many cases go unreported, this might represent only a small proportion of the actual cases.

Humanitarian crisis After the outbreak of post-election violence in Kenya, the Red Cross called for humanitarian aid for those in need. Among the agencies which have responded, the UK Department for International Development and the US Agency for International Develop-ment are providing £1 million and US$5 million respectively. UNICEF is supplying food, water, and medicines.

Violence against doctors According to a survey of 591 UK doctors, one in ten had been physically attacked, with 5% of cases resulting in serious injury. However, many of the doctors who had been assaulted did not report the incident, and most thought that patients’ dissatisfaction with the service, such as frustration at long waiting times, was the main reason for the attacks.

One-child policy China’s Communist Party has expelled 500 members, including officials, lawmakers, and political advisers, for defying the country’s one-child policy. Many wealthy people have ignored the law and simply paid the fines, which has lead to the current crackdown by authorities in the Hubei province.

Prescient pacemaker A 65-year-old man has received a new-generation pacemaker at St Mary’s Hospital, London. The device is programmed to detect subtle changes to avoid symptoms such as syncope, and a home-monitoring system can be used to transmit information to clinicians daily.

Tuberculosis The number of people who have died from tuberculosis in Afghanistan has decreased by 50% over the past few months, from 20 000 deaths to 10 000 deaths every year, according to the latest WHO figures. But despite this substantial progress, the conflict-affected nation is still one of the 22 countries in the world with the highest burden of tuberculosis.

HIV benefits The health minister of Malawi, Marjorie Ngaunjeb, is planning to give all HIV-positive Malawian civil servants an extra US$35 a month, which is almost a 50% salary increase. 7% of the population of 13 million are HIV positive and the government is the country’s largest employer. However, the stigma associated with infection might still discourage infected individuals from stepping forward to receive this support.

Spread of dengue A comment in JAMA captured news headlines by suggesting that dengue might soon be widespread on the US continent. Somehow, the fact that Cambodia has just had its worst outbreak of dengue in a decade-which killed 407 people, most of them children, and infected 16 000 others-did not attract much international attention.

Family protection bill On Jan 6, 2008, the Jordanian government endorsed a bill to combat rising domestic violence. The draft law, which still needs to be approved by the Senate, includes hefty fines and imprisonment for per-petrators. Disappointingly, however, lawmakers rejected an article in the bill that would have obliged health-care staff to report any incidents of family violence to authorities.

Easing the end of life The American College of Physicians has released new guidelines for palliative care at the end of patients’ lives, which recommend that doctors plan for and assess pain, breathing difficulties, and depression during care of terminally ill patients.

Groundbreaking radio “Chatting with my best friend”-a youth-friendly programme on safe sex-is taking Nepal by storm, and attracting nearly 6 million listeners every week. Sexual health is considered a taboo subject in Nepal, but with guidance, open discussion, and the support of UNICEF, the show is changing social attitudes.

Effect of circumcision Male circumcision prevents HIV transmission, but does it affect sexual satisfaction? Perhaps not. Ron Gray’s follow-up of Ugandan men reported high rates of satisfaction. However, this result might be caused by under-reporting, since fewer than 2% of the men reported any difficulties, while in a similar trial, 7% of Kenyan men reported erectile dysfunction at baseline.

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