The British Labour announced they are no longer going to be using G4S for their security. This decision by the Labour Party, which now represents 330,000 members and many more supporters, sends a clear message: our political parties can stand up and act ethically and responsibly, and this can be at the centre of how politics works.It tells G4S loud and clear that we won’t stand for their involvement in the ongoing occupation of Palestine, their connection to global violence, or their involvement in other dodgy deals in the UK, in South Africa and around the world. This is a step in the direction of truly respecting human rights in all that we do politically. This decision is a challenge not just to G4S, but to all businesses. If you turn a blind eye to violations of human rights purely to make a profit, you will lose business.
Disgusting Donald Trump Desperately Denies Mocking Reporter With Disability: Gothamist
In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Kovaleski said that he met with Mr. Trump repeatedly when he was a reporter for The Daily News covering the developer’s business career in the late 1980s, before joining The Post. “Donald and I were on a first-name basis for years,” Mr. Kovaleski said. “I’ve interviewed him in his office,” he added. “I’ve talked to him at press conferences. All in all, I would say around a dozen times, I’ve interacted with him as a reporter while I was at The Daily News.”A representative for The Times said on Wednesday: “We’re outraged that he would ridicule the physical appearance of one of our reporters.”
Source: Disgusting Donald Trump Desperately Denies Mocking Reporter With Disability: Gothamist
Behind migrant protests, children live in limbo at Macedonia′s border | Europe | DW.COM | 27.11.2015


“The things some of these kids draw, they’re awful,” said Iro Kofokotsios, 18. “People with guns, war, torture.” Kofkotsios had come with a group of volunteers from the YMCA to the Greek border with Macedonia “We couldn’t bring them shelter or food,” she continued, “but we thought maybe we could bring them smiles.”Here at the refugee camp near the town of Idomeni, Greece, smiles are hard to come by. After the Macedonian government announced last week that it would only allow migrants from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq to cross its border, thousands here have been left behind. It’s led to daily protests, with the border at times being closed altogether. On Monday, a group of Iranian men sewed their lips together in desperation.But behind the crowds of angry, screaming men confronting the Greek riot police, in the camp set up by aid agencies, there are an estimated 70 children who are also stranded in this dusty no man’s land. Most are Iranian or Pakistani, with some from Morocco, Somalia, Sudan, Bangladesh and other countries. Many have come with their parents, others have come alone. But with the border now closed to these nationalities, all of them are stuck in refugee limbo.
Source: Behind migrant protests, children live in limbo at Macedonia′s border | Europe | DW.COM | 27.11.2015
Cholera – Iraq
WHO received notification from the National IHR Focal Point of Iraq of additional laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera.
As of 22 November, a total of 2,810 laboratory-confirmed cases of Vibrio cholerae 01 Inaba had been confirmed at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Baghdad, and only 2 deaths related to cholera were reported. These cases were reported from 17 Governorates of the country, namely Baghdad (940 cases), Babylon (675 cases), Qadisiyyah (442 cases), Muthanna (287 cases), Karbala (157 cases), Basra (102 cases), Wassit (68 cases), Najaf (46 cases), Thyqar (20 cases), Missan (21 cases), Dahuk (16 cases), Kirkuk (19 cases), Erbil (10 cases) Diyala (3 cases), Salaheddine (2 cases) Sulaimanneya (1 case) and Ninewa (1 case).
Microcephaly – Brazil
The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brazil has provided PAHO/WHO with an update regarding the unusual increase in the number of cases of microcephaly among newborns in the northeast of Brazil.
As of 21 November, a total of 739 cases of microcephaly were being investigated in nine states in the northeast of Brazil. The distribution of the cases was as follows: Pernambuco (487 cases), Paraíba (96 cases), Sergipe (54 cases), Rio Grande do Norte (47 cases), Piauí (27 cases), Alagoas (10 cases), Ceará (9 cases), Bahia (8 cases) and Goiás (1 case). One fatal case was reported in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Once in Guantánamo, Afghan Now Leads War Against Taliban and ISIS – The New York Times

At 54, Mr. Ghalib’s face is creased, and his eyes are both exhausted and watchful, as though all they really expect to see is the next bad turn that will befall his life. There have been many, including the death of both wives, his daughters, a sister and a grandchild at the hands of the Taliban.“I don’t have good memories of life, to be honest,” Mr. Ghalib said.In a recent interview in Kabul, he cataloged the enemies he has fought during a life of struggle — first the Soviets, during the jihad of the 1980s; then the Taliban over the next three decades; and now the Islamic State.More slowly, he recounted the long list of relatives he lost over these decades of calamity, from a brother who died in the war against the Soviets in the 1980s to his 70-year-old brother-in-law, who was beheaded this month. The Taliban killed more than 19 relatives in all.“Everything has been fighting and killing,” he lamented.Now, his latest fight has even pitted him against a man he once considered a close friend: a poet named Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost, whom he lived alongside in Guantánamo.
Source: Once in Guantánamo, Afghan Now Leads War Against Taliban and ISIS – The New York Times
Microcephaly – Brazil
The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brazil has provided PAHO/WHO with an update regarding the unusual increase in the number of cases of microcephaly among newborns in the northeast of Brazil. As of 21 November, a total of 739 cases of microcephaly were being investigated in nine states in the northeast of Brazil. The distribution of the cases was as follows: Pernambuco (487 cases), Paraíba (96 cases), Sergipe (54 cases), Rio Grande do Norte (47 cases), Piauí (27 cases), Alagoas (10 cases), Ceará (9 cases), Bahia (8 cases) and Goiás (1 case). One fatal case was reported in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.
Source: Microcephaly – Brazil
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Avian Flu Diary: Post-Zika Outbreak Spike In Congenital Abnormalities In Brazil & French Polynesia
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the HSE and HPSC are advising women who are pregnant or who might become pregnant to ensure that they make every effort to protect themselves against biting mosquitos while travelling in areas affected by Zika virus disease. Zika virus infection is a febrile illness caused by Zika virus (ZIKAV). ZIKAV is spread by infected biting Aedes mosquitoes and can be found in a number of countries in the tropics (see here for a map of affected areas).Authorities in Brazil and French Polynesia who have been monitoring extensive outbreaks of ZIKAV disease in these countries (each consisting of many thousands of ZIKAV cases) have begun – in the last two months – to see the emergence of large numbers of brain and skull abnormalities in new born babies. Currently there are 17 cases of brain abnormality under investigation in French Polynesia and more than 700 cases of microcephaly in north-eastern Brazil (microcephaly is a congenital condition in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and it is frequently associated with markedly impaired intellectual development).
Source: Avian Flu Diary: Post-Zika Outbreak Spike In Congenital Abnormalities In Brazil & French Polynesia
(1/3) “I used to work at a bank in Cameroon. I designed…
(1/3) “I used to work at a bank in Cameroon. I designed clothing as a hobby, but I never really saw it as a possible profession. There really is no such thing as a ‘fashion designer’ in Cameroon. If you make clothes, you are known as a ‘seamstress.’ When I arrived in America, I realized that it was possible to pursue a career in fashion. At first I tried to become as Western as possible. I tried to change my accent. I wore extensions and straightened my hair. I started wearing high-end name brands. But when I finally went back to Cameroon for a visit, I was able to see my country with new eyes. I’d always viewed the culture as local and primitive because it was all I’d ever known. But having gotten some distance, I could appreciate its beauty. As soon as I got back to America, I cut my hair and sewed myself a traditional dress. I wore the dress to my job at Saks 5th Avenue, and a customer asked me where she could find it in the store. That gave me so much confidence.”
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