leopard/lamb

antibiotic treatment of anaerobic infections

Serious infections may require hospitalization for treatment. Immediate antibiotic treatment of anaerobic infections is necessary. Laboratory testing may identify the bacteria causing the infection and also which antibiotic will work best. Every antibiotic does not work against all anaerobic bacteria but nearly all anaerobes are killed by chloramphenicol (Chloromycetin), metronidazole (Flagyl or Protostat), and imipenem (Primaxin). Other antibiotics which may be used are clindamycin (Cleocin) or cefoxitin (Mefoxin).

Aftermath of the bombings

At least 35 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a double suicide bombing north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, army sources say.

Are there approved hospitals / centres at which I can obtain work experience / training for PACES?

The Colleges' Examinations Offices do not have a list of accredited or recognised centres for training and work experience. There is therefore no requirement that candidates train or work at approved hospitals for the MRCP(UK) examination. Candidates may wish to check with the General Professional Training Department that their experience meets the requirements for progression in their career after having completed the MRCP(UK) examinations.

What are the eligibility requirements for the PACES examination?

Candidates are required to have passed or gained exemption from the Part 1 and Part 2 Written examinations. In addition, candidates need two and a half years' work experience / training since graduation. Twelve months of this two and a half years must have been spent in a Senior House Officer, equivalent or higher grade in acute medicine posts in which there is a strong emphasis on responsibility for unselected emergency admissions and the continuing care of acute emergency medical patients. Candidates also need to have gained their twelve months of Senior House Officer acute medicine experience within five years of the PACES examination they are taking.

It is also presumed (as in the UK) that all doctors will have undertaken a pre-registration year / year at a house officer level or equivalent in which they would have gained 6 months experience in acute medicine. If this has not been the case then you would also need to obtain a further 6 months of acute experience.

Iran: Talks with US possible soon

Ahmadinejad's comments come at a time of growing tension Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said talks with the United States are possible in the near future, according the country's official news agency. But he said that such talks would not happen at governmental level

An undercover BBC investigation has exposed how young African footballers are being conned out of thousands of dollars by Nigerian fraudsters.

It is an area of outstanding natural beauty

It takes eight bone-shaking hours on a dirt track road to reach Afghanistan's first national park from the capital, but the beauty and serenity is worth crossing the world for.

Giant oilfield to raise Saudi output

By Andrew Walker Business correspondent, BBC World Service, Khurais, Saudi Arabia Workers brave the heat to get the project finished in time The desert sun is beating down. The temperature is 44 degrees Celsius. And yet there are men working in the baking heat. Not all that energetically, perhaps, but they are working nonetheless. For them, there is no escaping on board the visiting air-conditioned bus. Instead, simple shelters provide scant, yet welcome, relief. Welcome to Khurais in the Saudi Arabian desert, 160 kilometres east of the capital Riyadh. It is described by the national oil company, Saudi Aramco, as the largest oilfield development in the history of the industry, containing 27 billion barrels of oil.

Breeding rate fall for rare bird

Slavonian grebe are one of UK's most colourful birds

One of the UK's rarest birds is facing its worst breeding season on record, according to RSPB Scotland.

Slavonian grebe first nested in Scotland near Loch Ness, Inverness-shire, in 1909.

England v South Africa 2nd Test

Headingley, 18-22 July

Flintoff has struggled with the bat since returning to fitness

Andrew Flintoff has been recalled to the England squad for the second Test against South Africa, which starts at Headingley on Friday.

The all-rounder has not played a Test since the final Ashes match in Sydney in January 2007 because of injury.

The 30-year-old underwent ankle surgery in October 2007 and returned to fitness before a recent side strain hampered his comeback to the international fold.

Brazil sees rise in bulletproof cars

By Gary Duffy BBC News, Sao Paulo

Aluizio Coelho recalls in vivid detail the incident which persuaded him to buy a bulletproof car.

He was driving with his wife into the centre of Sao Paulo when a motorbike pulled up alongside his vehicle.

Brazil has an estimated 50,000 bulletproof vehicles on its roads

"Two guys were on the motorbike, and the guy behind had a gun. He asked for everything we had, and of course we said to him we will give you everything.

"But the problem was that the guy had such a nervous attitude, and it looked like he was using drugs. The risk of the situation was not only if we wanted to give away whatever we had, but if the guy was sure in his mind that he didn't need to shoot us.

"That was really what brought me to have a bulletproof car."

Pakistani film, based on a real-life story, is being released simultaneously in India for the first time.

Pakistani film, based on a real-life story, is being released simultaneously in India for the first time.

The film tells the story of a boy who strays into the Indian side of the border by mistake. It will be released in both countries on 1 August.

Called Ramchand Pakistani, the film has been praised by the critics.

Obama team decries cartoon image

The magazine said the image "combines... fantastical images" Barack Obama's team has decried The New Yorker magazine for a cartoon cover depicting him in traditional Muslim garb and his wife as a terrorist. The magazine says the cartoon is intended as a satirical comment about some of the distorted right-wing attacks on the Democratic senator. An Obama campaign spokesman said the cartoon was "tasteless and offensive". A spokesman for John McCain, Mr Obama's Republican rival in the presidential election, also criticised the cartoon.

Court cases sharpen Turkey divide

By Roger Hardy, Middle East analyst, BBC News

Mr Erdogan's AKP stands accused of subverting Turkey's secular system

Two court cases in Turkey are deepening the rift between secularists and a government with Islamist roots.

At the heart of the latest political crisis in Turkey is a shadowy ultra-nationalist group called Ergenekon.

Related BBC sites,sports

FIRST TEST, Lord's, day five (close): England 593-8 dec drew with S Africa 247 & 393-3 By Jamie Lillywhite Amla's patient innings ensured that there were no final day fireworks Hashim Amla became the third centurion of the South Africa follow-on as the first Test at Lord's ended in a draw. Amla shared 152 with Neil McKenzie, who spent more than nine dogged hours at the crease for his 138 before edging a wide delivery shortly after lunch.

UN pulls back staff from Darfur

Unamid is a joint UN mission with the African Union

The United Nations is pulling back some non-essential staff deployed in Sudan's restive Darfur region.

It says the decision comes after recent violence and as a precaution after an international prosecutor accused Sudan's president of genocide.