The US President Joe Biden marked the National Day of Mourning, commemoration among Wampanoag Indians living in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on the day of Thanksgiving. 

"I want to recognize that Thanksgiving is not a day of celebration for all and to share my deep gratitude to you and the Wampanoag people for your invaluable contributions to our Nation," said Biden in a letter to the head of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Brian Weeden.

"Despite a painful history marked by broken promises and harmful federal policies, your communities have remained resilient in the face of great adversity," he added.

Biden said that his administration "is committed to working in partnership with you to honor Tribal sovereignty and strengthen our government-to-government relationship," to Weeden.

"We strive to empower Tribal Nations and advance Tribal self-determination to support a new, brighter future of promise and equity for Tribal Nations and indigenous communities," he added.

"The Thanksgiving holiday is a bitter reminder of a history that attempted to extinguish our culture and broken promises that have inflicted a tremendous amount of damage on our Tribal Nation," said Weeden in his National Day of Mourning/Thanksgiving message.

"Today, we continue to feel the harm of federal policies that have fallen short of the promise to protect our land," he added.

Weeden said that "Past generations of Wampanoag men and women were forced to carry this fight alone. Today, we are thankful to have fierce advocates in Washington that recognize the immediate need to secure our tribal lands - land required to begin the process of healing the damage inflicted over the past 400 years."

Symbolizing the unity of the country in the USA, Thanksgiving Day is known as the National Day of Mourning among Wampanoag Indians living in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Celebrating its 400th anniversary this year, according to the country's official history, Thanksgiving dates back to a banquet that the Wampanoag Indians and the first group of immigrants that come to America from England held together in 1621 after Wampanoag Indians helped immigrants to survive.

According to this narrative, Puritans fleeing from the religious oppression of England and immigrants seeking a new life for themselves, after setting off from Plymouth, spent the first winter in the region they set foot in 1620 and named Plymouth again. They lost most of their population to hunger because they did not know how to engage in agriculture in the new lands.

The following year, the Wampanoag Indians helped them, taught them to plant their land and celebrated their first harvest together. But the natives of Wampanoag, one of the actors of this official narrative, mourn each year on Thanksgiving.

Rights activists in the USA, who demand the removal of the statues of Christopher Columbus and the transformation of Columbus Day into Indigenous Rights Remembrance Day, also oppose the official history of Thanksgiving and its celebration as a holiday.

According to indigenous history, the Wampanoags helped the immigrants survive, albeit for strategic reasons, but their support was rewarded by years of genocide, assimilation, enslavement, and confiscation of lands.

The Mashpee Wampanoags, one of the five officially recognized tribes of the Wampanoags, were able to declare only 1% of the lands they have inhabited for 12,000 years as a protected area under their autonomous administration during the former President Barack Obama term, and they are still trying to combine these scattered lands to establish a protected area where they can generate income./aa

Women and children have suffered tremendously due to the cold weather and lack of hygiene at the Belarus-Polish border on their way to Europe.

Approximately 2,000 people, including many women and children, continue their wait at the Bruzgi border point in Grodno, Belarus.

According to the Belarusian authorities, around 500 children are located in the camp and that there has been no major support for the people from international organizations so far.

The vast majority of aid is distributed through the efforts of the Belarusian government, army and people.

According to Belarusian officials, the €700,000 (about $785,400) allocated by the EU for migrants has not yet been delivered either.

Suleymaniyeli Gesav Rostem, an Iraqi woman who came to the border with her three children and husband, said they did not have enough food to feed their children.

"I want to leave this place. I have my children with me. We have not showered in 20 days and have fewer clothes with us. My child has sores on his back. He got into a fight with other children at the border," she said.

Aysan Nuri from Kirkuk said that she came to the border with her husband and two children because the living conditions in Iraq were not good.

Expressing that the system in Iraq was dreadful, Nuri said like was difficult and that her children were not able to study because the schools lacked quality.

"I came here for my children, not for myself," she said.

"I have to wash my child outside in this cold. I can't wash his clothes. If my children are hungry, I have to wait until the food comes. Food comes once a day," another Iraqi mother named Ziryan said.

Migrant crisis on border

In October, Belarus suspended an agreement with the EU, obliging the country to take back migrants that crossed its territory and into the EU.
The EU accuses the Belarusian administration of "using irregular migration as a tool" and "trying to destabilize the EU" by sending migrants to the borders of EU countries Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Polish authorities announced that they would not allow the migrants to enter the country and would send those who managed to enter back to Belarus.

Belarus is accusing Poland of not providing humane treatment for people seeking to migrate to Europe, while the Polish administration accused Belarus of using these people as a political tool.

The EU accused the Belarusian government of "using immigrants and encouraging them to go to EU borders."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on EU member states to approve an expanded sanctions regime against Belarusian officials amid the border crisis.

According to the latest EU figures, 7,935 people tried to enter the bloc via the Belarusian-EU border in 2021, up sharply from just 150 last year.

Polish authorities stepped up border protection Monday and mobilized more than 12,000 troops after a large group of migrants started marching toward the country's frontier with Belarus accompanied by the Belarusian military./aa

The High Court of Catalonia approved the Catalan government’s request to implement COVID passports in gyms, bars, restaurants, and nursing homes on Thursday.

The measure, which aims to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases, will go into effect on Friday. The Spanish region already required people to present negative tests or vaccine certificates to enter nightclubs, music festivals, or large events like weddings.

Catalonia, like much of Spain, has seen new infections steadily increasing over the last months.

On Thursday, Catalonia surpassed the 5% positivity rate for coronavirus tests and the 2,000 new-case threshold for the first time this autumn.

Across Spain, the 14-day infection rate has more than doubled to 148 infections per 100,000 in less than two weeks.

However, the situation remains relatively stable compared to other European countries like Austria, Slovenia, Belgium, or the Czech Republic, where the infection rate is over 1,000.

Although Catalonia has more cases than the national average, the Basque Country and Navarra have the highest infection rates in the country.

Last week, the Basque government also tried to implement a COVID passport for leisure activities, but the Basque High Court rejected the request, saying the measure wasn’t justifiable.

The Basque government is now taking the issue to Spain’s Supreme Court, while other governments like Navarra and Aragon are waiting for local judicial approval for similar measures.

Spain’s national government has so far ruled out implementing COVID passports nationally. Its strategy to combat the pandemic remains to continue pushing vaccination without coercion and to keep wearing masks indoors.

Nearly 90% of adults have opted for a vaccine in Spain, so the country’s chief epidemiologist sees little use for COVID passports.

“If everyone is already vaccinated, why should you have to prove it every time you go into a bar?” Fernando Simon said last week.

Currently, more cases are being seen in children younger than 11 years old than in any other group in Spain. The situation coincides with Thursday’s approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children by the EU Medicines Agency./aa

High inflation presents particular risks for emerging markets as they often face higher and more volatile inflation than developed markets, Fitch Ratings said Thursday.

The global rating agency said it expects price pressures around the world will ease starting from early 2022, "but inflation could remain elevated in many markets if services prices pick up."

Higher inflation reflects the risk of economic overheating, in addition to growing macroeconomic imbalances in labor or asset markets, the agency said in a statement.

"It may also raise concerns about macro policy credibility, especially in emerging markets," it added.

"High inflation can have more disruptive political effects for emerging markets than in developed markets, which can weigh on sovereign ratings. However, fiscal moves to shelter populations from the impact of inflation may also hurt public finances," read the statement./aa

European markets closed higher on Thursday, except Borsa Italiana ending in negative territory.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, rose 2.03, or 0.42%, to close at 481.72.

London’s FTSE 100 added 24 points, or 0.33%, to end the day at 7,310, while Germany’s DAX 30 gained 39 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 15,917.

France’s CAC 40 increased 33 points, or 0.48%, to 7,075.

Spain’s IBEX 35 was the best performer of the day by adding 48 points, or 0.56%, to close at 8,840.

Italy’s FTSE MIB 30 was the only index finishing in negative territory by falling 10 points, or 0.04%, to end the day at 27,098./aa

Scientists in South Africa have detected a new COVID-19 variant with numerous mutations rapidly increasing infections in parts of the country, they announced on Thursday.

"The variant has a 'very unusual constellation of mutations' and is different to the other variants of concern," Tulio De Oliveira, director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) told a televised virtual briefing hosted by the country's Health Ministry.

He said the new variant, known as B.1.1.529, was detected in samples from the northeastern province of Gauteng, which contains the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, on Nov. 12-22. The same variant has also been detected in the neighboring Botswana, as well as Hong Kong.

"It was important for us to make this public. We thought the fourth wave would be in mid-December or early January ... This invisible enemy we are dealing with is very unpredictable," Health Minister Mathume Joseph Phaahla said at the same briefing.

Dr. Richard Lessells, an infectious diseases expert, said the new variant was detected in multiple samples tested at both public and private laboratories in Gauteng province.

"Epidemiological data suggests sustained increase in COVID-19 incidences across Gauteng, possibly fueled by the cluster outbreaks," noted Lessells.

He added that experts were still observing the variant to understand its potential impact on the disease's transmissibility and severity, and how it will affect with people with high immunity or who have been vaccinated.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, also confirmed the detection of the new variant.

"Twenty-two positive cases of variant B.1.1.529 have been recorded in the country following genomic sequencing collaborations between the NICD and private laboratories. In addition, other NGS-SA laboratories are confirming more cases as sequencing results come out," it said in a statement.

In August, South Africa detected the C.1.2, variant in all nine of its provinces. The C.1.2 lineage shares a few common mutations with the Beta and Delta variants.

The new lineage has a number of additional mutations, the NICD said at the time.

South Africa has the highest number of COVID-19 infections on the continent with total confirmed cases standing at more than 2.95 million and fatalities at 89,657./agencies

Eleven African countries are experiencing or have experienced the fourth wave of coronavirus, the head of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Thursday.

In his weekly virtual press briefing, John Nkengasong, the center’s director, said these countries are Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Somalia and Tunisia.

He said Mauritius has actually been hit by a fifth wave, adding that "the waves will continue unless we scale-up vaccinations and maintain a good public health practice."

Nkengasong said the continent, which has 54 countries, has received 403 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, but only 55% of them, or 221 million, have been administered.

Only 6.6% of Africa's population of over 1.2 billion is fully vaccinated, meaning Africa is far from reaching the aim of fully vaccinating 70% of people by the end of 2022, he added.

"What we are seeing now is a lot more vaccines coming in and the uptake is challenged because of the logistics and delivery," said the head of the public health agency of the African Union.

He said some countries in Africa, however, are making good progress in terms of vaccination, i.e. Morocco has fully vaccinated 61% of its population, followed by Tunisia 33%, Egypt 12% and Algeria 11%.

Africa has so far recorded 8.6 million infections, while the death toll from the virus has crossed 222,000./agencies

 Some mosques in Kuwait are built to mirror Ottoman architecture, with exterior and interior designs and drawings showing its beauty. Among these mosques are Badria Al-Jee’an Mosque, commonly referred to as the Golden Mosque, a 3,600-square-meter newly-built mosque in Salmiya. The other is the cemetery’s mosque. – KUNA

  Two months after the issuance of the government decision to transfer the commercial visit to work permits to fill the shortage of workers as a result of the Corona pandemic and the failure of residence permits by thousands of expatriates, the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) officially canceled this decision yesterday, and this came after the competent authorities had limited it to teachers, doctors and other professions and specialized jobs are required, but the suspension includes all jobs, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The suspension came after PAM had linked the automated system for issuing work permits to the ministries of Interior and Health at the beginning of November. Several conditions were approved for receiving new workers, including the approval of academic qualifications and vaccination certificates. A security source at the Ministry of Interior told Al-Qabas the absence of a PCC certified by the Kuwaiti embassy in Cairo was the reason why 1,500 Egyptians who arrived on commercial visit visas cannot transfer their visas to work permits. “Those who hold a commercial visa must leave the country within 30 days,” which is the period specified for the validity of the visa,” said the source. Occupations which are no longer allowed to transfer from business visas to work permits include doctors, the nurses, medical staff and teachers. The sources said the following steps are required to control the labor market – eliminate the visa trade, develop an advanced recruitment mechanism and prevent random employment.

An official at PAM pointed out that allowing the conversion of commercial visas to work permits was in place based on an administrative circular bearing No. 17 of 2021, which was issued on Sept 20 last even for some types of professions, including “educational, medical” in addition to other specialized professions, which were allowed to transfer due to the needs of the labor market, which now remains suspended. The official added, the conversion of commercial visas to work permits is linked to an assessment based on need of company or institution. It is not allowed to add a new estimate if there is no need in accordance with the requirements and regulations in force.

The official pointed out that there is a keenness on the part of the PAM and the Ministry of Interior to follow up on the status of the files that during the last period have issued commercial visas to workers, and work to control them to prevent fraud and trade in residence permits, especially since the government has made huge efforts to stop visa trade. The officials quoting PAM said, there is currently no need to issue more commercial visas to convert them into work permits, as it is possible through the PAM automated system and the electronic forms portal to issue direct permits for the desired labor according to the assessment of the needs of companies or government contracts and others. The Labor Department, he said, is completing the procedures for registering transactions by approving a work permit and then withdrawing the visa data, to enable employers to take the procedures for issuing a work permit for the first time through an easier portal in accordance with the procedures, in accordance with the administrative circular issued No. 17 of 2021./ Arab Times

Boursa Kuwait sponsored the efforts of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society as a ‘Humanitarian Partner’, contributing to the sponsorship of the society’s ‘Basic Education’ initiative, helping children inside Kuwait to gain an education. The initiative aims to reduce the burden on of low-income families, paying part of the tuition fees for about 5,000 students. The campaign, which is running for the sixth year in a row, pays orphans’ full tuition fees.

The initiative forms part of Boursa Kuwait’s efforts to create a lasting meaningful impact on the communities where it operates as part of its Corporate Sustainability strategy and is in line with Goal 4 – Quality Education – and Goal 17 – Partnership for the Goals – of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the National Development Plan for the State of Kuwait, “New Kuwait 2035”.

Dr Hilal Al-Sayer, Chairman of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, commented on the occasion, saying, “The goal of the “Basic Education” initiative is to decrease illiteracy and the damage it inflicts on the community, through fostering the abilities and educations of the next generation and fulfilling them economically and socially. Education is the foundation of any stable society, which is why we think that this initiative is one of our most promising and important. I would like to thank Boursa Kuwait for their sponsorship and support, and look forward to more fruitful collaborations in the future.”

Naser Al-Sanousi, Marketing and Communication Director at Boursa Kuwait, added, “Boursa Kuwait is proud of our strategic partnership with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society as a humanitarian partner and sponsor of this tremendous initiative. Boursa Kuwait seeks to be a force for good for all our stakeholders through an ongoing and diverse range of community and social impact initiatives that are in line with our Corporate Sustainability strategy and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. I would like to thank the Kuwait Red Crescent Society and Dr Hilal Al-Sayer for hosting us today.”

Boursa Kuwait’s Corporate Sustainability strategy stipulates ensuring initiatives apply and fall in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), industry best practice standards and investor expectations, creating strong and sustainable partnerships that ultimately achieve success and allow Boursa Kuwait to leverage the capabilities and strengths of other companies or organizations that have experience in different fields, and integrating sustainability efforts with the company culture, in order to achieve longevity and an ongoing impact that is carried on and instilled in the day-to-day operations of the stock exchange.

As part of the strategy, Boursa Kuwait has launched many initiatives in partnership with local and international organizations, focusing on support for nongovernmental organizations and charity programs, financial literacy and capital market awareness, the empowerment of women, as well as environmental protection./ kuwaittimes