Rather than hoping for the emergence of some new ‘party of the left,’ EMMA DENT COAD sees a broad alliance of local parties and community groups as a way of reviving democratic progressive politics

YOU have probably heard of Ebola because of the shocking outbreak that started along the west coast of Africa in 2013: the biggest Ebola outbreak ever.
Over the course of three years, 28,000 people were infected, resulting in over 10,000 deaths, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
There have since been three more outbreaks, all in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Two of these outbreaks were snuffed out quickly before they even reached 100 infections, due to a rapid response by the Congolese government and international health authorities.
But the third outbreak, which started last August and is still ongoing, has been described by the WHO’s deputy director-general for emergency preparedness and response as a “perfect storm.”
This latest outbreak has been bubbling away under the surface in the Kivu region along the eastern Congolese border with Uganda and Rwanda. So far, there have around 840 Ebola cases and 530 deaths (these numbers are always a “best guess” while the chaos of the outbreak unfolds).

A maverick’s self-inflicted snake bites could unlock breakthrough treatments – but they also reveal deeper tensions between noble scientific curiosity and cold corporate callousness, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
Science has always been mixed up with money and power, but as a decorative facade for megayachts, it risks leaving reality behind altogether, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

