In Brief

Uncircumcised pupils rejected NAIROBI – A Kenyan secondary school has turned away 20 boys for being uncircumcised, fearing that they would be bullied, officials said on Sunday.

The boys were turned away last week from Kiriani Boys High School in Eastern Province, three days after they started their secondary education, and advised to report back after undergoing the rite. “Please do the needful within two weeks and let your son report back to school with you immediately he is well,” the school said in a letter addressed to parents.It is not obligatory to be circumcised to get secondary school admission.But a study released in December said circumcision reduces by about half the risk of contracting the AIDS virus.The school head teacher FN Githinji told local media that boys were barred from admission to avoid them from being bullied by other senior students.* 22 Durban workers hospitalised DURBAN – At least 22 Durban factory workers had to be taken to hospital with respiratory problems on Monday morning, paramedics said.Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said 18 of them were from the Beacon Sweets factory in the Jacobs industrial area.One was from a nearby shoe factory.Some of those taken to hospital also had severe eye irritation, he said.eThekwini Health department officials were reportedly taking air samples in the area to determine the source of the pollutant.* Baby loses 4 fingers at clinic BUSHBUCKRIDGE – A baby lost four fingers after nurses apparently forgot to unstrap a band around her arm after fitting a drip.Angel Ngobeni was seven months old when she was admitted to Mapulaneng hospital in Bushbuckridge in August last year with diarrhoea.Her right arm was bound above her elbow so that nurses could find a vein into which they could insert the drip.But they forgot to remove the binding.It stayed on for 18 hours, cutting the blood supply to her hand.”I curse the day I took her to that hospital,” said her 19-year-old mother Khensani Ngobeni.She underwent four operations and was released from hospital three months later.Mpumalanga health department spokesperson Mpho Gabashane said a clinical investigation would have to be held to determine if there was any negligence on the part of Mapulaneng hospital.Nampa-Sapa-AFP-African Eye”Please do the needful within two weeks and let your son report back to school with you immediately he is well,” the school said in a letter addressed to parents.It is not obligatory to be circumcised to get secondary school admission.But a study released in December said circumcision reduces by about half the risk of contracting the AIDS virus.The school head teacher FN Githinji told local media that boys were barred from admission to avoid them from being bullied by other senior students.* 22 Durban workers hospitalised DURBAN – At least 22 Durban factory workers had to be taken to hospital with respiratory problems on Monday morning, paramedics said.Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said 18 of them were from the Beacon Sweets factory in the Jacobs industrial area.One was from a nearby shoe factory.Some of those taken to hospital also had severe eye irritation, he said.eThekwini Health department officials were reportedly taking air samples in the area to determine the source of the pollutant. * Baby loses 4 fingers at clinic BUSHBUCKRIDGE – A baby lost four fingers after nurses apparently forgot to unstrap a band around her arm after fitting a drip.Angel Ngobeni was seven months old when she was admitted to Mapulaneng hospital in Bushbuckridge in August last year with diarrhoea.Her right arm was bound above her elbow so that nurses could find a vein into which they could insert the drip.But they forgot to remove the binding.It stayed on for 18 hours, cutting the blood supply to her hand.”I curse the day I took her to that hospital,” said her 19-year-old mother Khensani Ngobeni.She underwent four operations and was released from hospital three months later.Mpumalanga health department spokesperson Mpho Gabashane said a clinical investigation would have to be held to determine if there was any negligence on the part of Mapulaneng hospital.Nampa-Sapa-AFP-African Eye