Global Quickies: Quacks, Acupuncture, and Danger in Public Transportation
UK
“Acupuncture is no longer recommended as a treatment for low back pain on the NHS, according to new draft guidelines released today by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). The u-turn comes after a review of scientific evidence found that the practice was no better than a placebo in treating those living with low back pain and sciatica.”
WORLD
“The Thomson Reuters Foundation and YouGov asked more than 6,550 women in 15 of the world’s 20 largest capital cities, plus New York, how safe they felt when traveling on public transport.” Here are the cities with the most dangerous transport systems for women.
SWEDEN
The Swedish Academy, the organization that awards the Nobel Prize decided to condemn the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, 27 years after it was issued.
AUSTRALIA
“A coroner has found that a midwife left a woman to ‘bleed out’ in a birthing pool at her home before she later died in hospital, although she had ‘begged for an ambulance to be called’. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that because of a bias against medical intervention in hospitals, midwife Gaye Demanuele, stood by as her patient, Melbourne woman Caroline Lovell, slowly died. Ms Demanuele would only offer Ms Lovell a homeopathic ‘rescue remedy’.”
KENYA
Kenya is fighting back against aggressive advertising of quacks by allowing doctors and dentists to advertise their services too.
CANADA
“A Canadian court has acquitted Jian Ghomeshi, the former CBC radio host who was fired in 2014 amid multiple allegations of sexual assault.”
UGANDA
“Parents who fail to vaccinate their children in Uganda will face six month in jail, according to a new law signed by President Yoweri Museveni.”
Featured image: Mexico City subway by Théo Paul