With the number of swine flu deaths doubling over the past few weeks, health officials the world over are pulling out all stops to halt the spread of the virus. In Europe, for example, school officials are extending students’ summer vacations; in several Muslim nations, authorities are telling pregnant women not to attend the hajj, and China is quarantining hundreds of foreign students, The Associated Press reports. The fact that the death toll from the H1N1 virus has risen from 330 in early July to its current level of 700 is reason enough for a new round of dramatic measures, officials say. “We expect to see more cases and deaths in the future,” World Health Organization spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi told The Associated Press in Geneva. While the group offered no breakdown of deaths, last week, the United States reported 263 deaths, Canada had 45 deaths and Britain had 29. According to WHO’s last update on July 6, Mexico reported 119 deaths. The fear among experts, however, is that the seemingly astronomical figure of 700 deaths may be far fewer than the actual number of those who’ve died from the virus. “The race is now on to develop and produce a vaccine that is effective against the global swine flu strain, but estimates for when such a jab will be available range from September to December,” according to AP.

Obama and Lincoln are Linked
It seems that the media have an obsession with the Barack Obama-Abe Lincoln parallels. But Obama definitely has played a role in fueling those parallels. Read more here.
 

Americans Continue to Die in Iraq
An unnamed U.S. soldier died in Iraq Saturday, bringing the total number of U.S. soldiers who died in that country to 4,224, since the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, The Associated Press reports. This figure includes eight military civilians killed in action. At least 3,403 military personnel died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers. In addition to U.S. deaths: The British military has reported 178 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia and Georgia, three each; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand and Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan and South Korea, one death each.

Haitian death toll skyrockets.

Haiti’s death toll after four back-to-back tropical storms soared to almost 800 people, up from an earlier estimate of 326 people, reports the BBC. Of those killed, 466 were from the city of Gonaives, a place that was especially battered by the storms and suffered a lot of structural damage, the Haitian Civil Protection agency announced. More than 300 people are still missing, and 548 people were injured in the storms. In addition to the devastation suffered from the storm, there is word that the struggling U.S. economy may be affecting Haiti. Haitian Americans who are afraid of losing their jobs might send less money to family in their home countries, Haitian economists warn. Before the economic crisis, they used to send home $100 each time; now they can only afford $20, say Haitian radio reports.