In brief

Dutch medical worker released: Kidnapped Dutch medical relief worker Arjan Erkel has been released 20 months after being abducted by unknown gunmen in Makhachkala, capital of the Russian republic of Dagestan (BMJ 2002;325: 406). Mr Erkel, head of Médecins Sans Frontières' Dagestan mission, has lost 18 kg but is in “good health considering.” No ransom was paid.

GP jailed for morphine death: An on-call locum GP in Liverpool was sentenced to 15 months in prison last week for the manslaughter of a patient. Narendra Sinha, aged 68, gave Maureen Lyth, who was in “excruciating” pain from arthritis, more than three times the safe level of the drug, a 30 mg injection of morphine sulphate. Dr Sinha had worked five days and four nights that week, but the prosecuting counsel said that Mrs Lyth, who had kidney problems, should not have been given more than 10 mg.

Poorer countries to be able to buy cheap AIDS drugs: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced last week that it had struck a deal with the World Bank, Unicef, and the Clinton Foundation to make it possible for poor countries to buy discounted AIDS drugs.

GMC set to abolish limited registration: The General Medical Council is to abolish the current limited registration that it grants to international medical graduates. The new arrangement, to come into effect in April 2005, will see overseas doctors obtain full registration without necessarily having a job.

Primary care makes “huge improvement,” says tsar: A report from England's national clinical director for primary care, David Colin-Thome, shows that more specialist procedures are taking place in general practice surgeries and more than 99% of practices have signed up for the new contract.