Going by the latest figures released, Canada’s health care spending is growing faster than the economy, outpacing inflation and population growth.

Representing 10.7 per cent of the gross domestic product, health care spending has reached $171.9 billion or $5,170 per person, the highest share ever recorded in Canada.

When it comes to province-wise per-person spending, the figures for Alberta and Manitoba stand at $5,730 and $5,555 respectively. The provinces that spend the lowest are Quebec at $4,653 and British Columbia at $5,093.

Under Canada’s new movie pirating legislation, the first person to be convicted is a man from Calgary, who pleaded guilty on Friday to the unauthorized recording of ‘Sweeney Todd’, a Johnny Depp movie.

Richard Craig Lissaman - arrested in a northeast Calgary theatre on December 21 last year - was fined $1,495 and placed on probation for a year by provincial court Judge Catherine Skene.

Lissaman has also been imposed a one-year probation including a ban on purchase, ownership or possession of any video recording equipment, even one on a cellphone, outside his home during his probation period.

The NHS budget has doubled in the past five years, from £45bn to £90bn, the fastest growth in its history. While some NHS workers have enjoyed a pay bonanza, it has not been spread evenly. The biggest rises have gone to doctors, with senior GPs who run their own practices enjoying rises of 58 per cent on average in the three years from 2003 – an average income of £113,614.

The NHS bosses have been accused of “double standards” for getting huge pay hikes while frontline staff took an effective cut.

Researchers say in the British Medical Journal that guidelines on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) should be updated in light of the recent findings that older 'overlooked' treatments - using fiber, antispasmodic drugs, and peppermint oil - may end up being the best option for IBS patients.

The Times reports claim that introduction of 'presumed consent' for the donation of vital organs is to be rejected by the UK government's Organ Donation Taskforce, thereby aiming to give the recent reform of the existing system a chance to work. The taskforce was set up in 2007 to explore ways of boosting transplants across the UK.

Chennai’s new Commissioner of Police has formed 25-special teams for nabbing students involved in the Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College clash. Taking over from R. Sekar, who was shifted after television footage showed policemen watching silently as students received merciless thrashing in a clash between two student groups.