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The Syrian town with more cats than peopleAfter months of intensive bombing by Syrian and Russian forces, the town of Kafr Nabl in Syria's last rebel-held province is now home to more cats than people. Humans and felines now provide comfort to one another in hard times, writes the BBC's Mike Thomson.Crouched beneath a table in the corner of his rubble strewn basement, a man shelters from the barrage of bombs above. But 32-year-old Salah Jaar is not alone. Huddled beside him are half a dozen assorted cats, all as petrified as he is.Salah's home town, Kafr Nabl, was once home to more than 40,000 people, but fewer than 100 remain. It's hard to guess how many cats there are - certainly hundreds, possibly thousands. "So many people have left Kafr Nabl that the population has become very small. The cats need somebody to care for them and give them food and water, so they've taken refuge in the homes of those who've stayed. Each house now has about 15 cats, sometimes even more," Salah says.
Medical brain drain persistsMore than 18,000 Greek doctors have moved abroad since the outbreak of the crisis, according to a study from the Athens Medical Association (ISA), which also shows that the trend continued, albeit at a slower rate, in 2019.Between January 1 and December 16, ISA issued 1,097 certificates for doctors applying for a job outside Greece, slightly down from 1,191 in 2018 and from 1,297 in 2017. The exodus peaked in 2012 when ISA issued 1,808 certificates.The main reasons cited were high unemployment (permanent hirings in the National Health System were frozen for 10 years) and low wages.The UK was the top destination for Greek doctors (45 percent of ISA certificates).
Injured bear survives four days caught in illegal snare in PrespesA young male brown bear survived subzero temperatures and a deep gash in its stomach after becoming ensnared in an illegal trap designed to catch wild boar in northern Greece's Prespes lake district before being rescued by members of the Callisto wildlife conservation group.
QuoteWoman dies after being set on fire during surgery in RomaniaElectric scalpel used despite patient being treated with alcohol-based disinfectantThe patient, who had pancreatic cancer, died on Sunday after suffering burns to 40% of her body when surgeons used an electric scalpel despite her being treated with an alcohol-based disinfectant.Contact with the flammable disinfectant caused combustion and the patient “ignited like a torch”.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/30/woman-dies-set-on-fire-surgery-romania
Woman dies after being set on fire during surgery in RomaniaElectric scalpel used despite patient being treated with alcohol-based disinfectantThe patient, who had pancreatic cancer, died on Sunday after suffering burns to 40% of her body when surgeons used an electric scalpel despite her being treated with an alcohol-based disinfectant.Contact with the flammable disinfectant caused combustion and the patient “ignited like a torch”.
Marked police car given parking ticket as officers attend emergency call‘They require us to spend time writing a letter of appeal. Please hold calling 999 whilst we do that!’