This article by Robert Herriman appeared in Outbreak News Today.

Exactly one year after the mosquito borne virus, chikungunya, made its first appearance in the Western hemisphere as a locally acquired infection in the French Quarter section of the Caribbean island of St. Martin, the epidemic that has spread throughout the Americas has topped the 1 million case mark, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Friday.

The most recent tally from the international health organization put the number of suspected and confirmed autochthonous, or locally acquired cases at 1,011,548, up nearly 36,000 cases from last weeks report.

The eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic, after not reporting new cases for weeks, saw 25,381 additional cases reported to the UN agency. The Dominican Republic accounts for slightly more than half (51.8 percent)of all local transmission cases seen in the Western hemisphere with 524,297…

The past couple of weeks have been a little… well, busy would be an understatement. Here are a few quick highlights of some significant happenings in Kingston, Jamaica – a kind of growing intensity of pre-Christmas madness. This has all been interspersed with daily showers of rain, many heavy and lengthy and soaking in nature – an unusually wet December, so far. It is in a way rather a shame that so many events have been squeezed into a short space of time, with many occurring on the same evening. I am not very good at dashing from one place to another; I am lacking in physical stamina these days, especially since the “chik v” arrived. Well – we will all collapse over Christmas soon enough I suppose, with a glass of sorrel in our hand and platefuls of ham, Christmas cake and other goodies… Enjoy!

Two speakers at the…

From 10 to 12 November, in the Chicomuselo municipality, different activities were organized to protest mineral exploitation and to organize in defence of life.  At the end of a march held on 10 November, Chicomuselo was declared a “municipality free of mining.”  On 12 November, the Third Forum for the Defence and Care of Mother Earth took place, with the participation of 3,500 persons.

At the close of the event, participants declared their opposition to mineral exploration and exploitation operations, as well as wind-energy plants, natural gas ducts, hydroelectric dams, and superhighways sought to be imposed on their lands.  They noted that the structural reforms advanced by the federal government “in no way benefit the campesino and indigenous peoples of our country but instead seek to facilitate once again the looting of our common goods and…

Main Headlines 

 Monday 

• Canadian Embassy in Cairo follows British Embassy in security shutdown
• Al- Qaradawi denies charges in Interpol’s arrest warrant
• Turkish president Erdogan criticizes Egypt for Interpol bid on Muslim scholar
• 33 men arrested in night-time police raid on a Cairo bathhouse for alleged debauchery
• TV host collaborates with police in Cairo’s bathhouse raid
• Political movements and parties reject Aymen Nour’s call for reconciliation
• Award-winning Palestinian cinematographer is denied entry to Egypt

Tuesday

• Military prosecution to investigate alleged SCAF ‘leaks’
• Qatar joins Gulf monarchies in supporting Egypt’s Sisi
• Egypt’s cabinet to discuss a new draft law on parliamentary constituencies
• Egypt’s Sisi reduces curfew hours in North Sinai
• BP to invest $12 billion in Egypt over 5 years

Wednesday

• Embassies remain tight-lipped amid heightened security
• Egypt imposes travel restrictions for Turkey and Libya
• Egyptian rights group partially relocates abroad amid constant threats against civil society
• Egypt’s Gamaa Islamiya considers

(satire?)

We’ve managed to dig out the sedatives UKIP candidate Kerry Smith was using at the time he made his racist and homophobic comments and we can now confirm that Smith is right and the drugs were indeed to blame for his offensive outburst:

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Now please leave this poor sick man alone!

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The Coalition Government Colouring and Activity Book is now available for download as a PDF and in print: