Global Disasters/ Significant Events – Nov. 30, 2013

SHAME ON YOU!

An entire generation of Syrian children are becoming casualties of the Saudi-supported terrorist war in the country, with the UN refugee agency calling the situation as “a shameful milestone of conflict.”

More than half of the 2.2 million Syrian refugees are children, young people aged 17 or under, as the country faces losing an entire generation, warns UNHCR.

Some 75 per cent of the refugee children are under the age of 12.

“Too many have been wounded physically, psychologically or both. Some children have been drawn into the war—their innocence ruthlessly exploited,”  said UNHCR in a report.

Many of those not at school go out to work for long hours and for low pay from as young as seven years old.

As many as 300,000 living in Lebanon and Jordan could be without formal education by the end of 2013, said UNHCR.

Thousands of children in Jordan and Lebanon are living without one or both of their parents, or with no adult caregivers at all.

Philippine Mega Disaster:  Death toll rises to 5,632 with 1,759 others missing and  26,136 injured

Death toll from Super Typhoon HAIYAN climbed to 5,632, after 34 bodies were recovered in central Tacloban city since Thursday, said the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The number of people missing also rose to 1,759, with 26,136 others reported injured due to HAIYAN [ locally known as YOLANDA.] Read more…

Another day of massacre in Iraq leaves at least 55 dead

At least 55 people were killed  on Friday as sectarian violence continues to spiral in Iraq.

Most of the victims were targeted individuals who had been snatched  from their homes in Baghdad and neighboring towns, and executed,  authorities said.

Police discovered 18 corpses early morning, including four policemen, an army major and two tribal chiefs, dumped in farmland near the town of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in Iraq, so far this year.

Mozambique airliner carrying 34 people vanishes

A passenger plane carrying 34 people vanished from radar screens over northeast Namibia en route from Mozambique to Angola on Friday, said the Mozambique Airlines .

The Embraer 190 with 28 passengers and six crews failed to arrive at the Angolan capital Luanda, authorities said.

Ukraine riot police break up pro-Europe demonstrations

Ukrainian riot police used batons and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of pro-Europe protesters on Saturday following a night of violence in the capital Kiev after President Yanukovich decided against a landmark pact with Europe. Read more…

Police helicopter crashes into Glasgow “pub”

At least three people were killed and dozens of other injured after a police helicopter crashed into a busy pub in Glasgow, Scotland.

Scottish authorities have declared a major incident after a police helicopter with a crew of three came down on the roof of a public house with an estimated 120 people inside.

55 found HIV positive in tests for blood donation in Japan

Some 55 of the 782 cases of new HIV infections confirmed across Japan between January and September 2013 were detected in tests for blood donors, according Japan’s health ministry.

Among every 100,000 blood donors, 1.4 people tested positive for HIV this year, the ministry’s data show. The rate is 1.8 times the nationwide ratio for HIV carriers detected last year.

Earlier this month, blood donated from an HIV-infected man was given to 2 people, one of whom became infected, said NHK.

The health authorities have not revealed the criteria for the test. It’s unclear what percentage of the donors are tested for HIV, given the latest infections.