Darrell Frazier believed he had found a path out of his life sentence in federal prison, with a president whose allies had advocated a broad use of pardons and a new clemency initiative. Frazier thought he seemed like a perfect candidate.

But when Barack Obama left office in 2017 having pardoned or commuted the sentences of more people than any other president, Frazier was not among them. The Justice Department had denied his application for clemency.

So when Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, took office, Frazier resolved to try a different path. Instead of only going through the formal channels, he also tried to get the attention of people with direct access to Trump.

After years of writing letters to celebrities, activist organizations and even Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Frazier got his break. An activist who had worked with the administration took Frazier’s case directly to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who had been taking pardon requests to her father in his final days in office. And early Wednesday, Trump’s last day as president, Frazier’s counselor came to his cell to deliver the news: He had been pardoned and would soon be released.

Tears started to flow.

“It just blew me away,” said Frazier, 60, who had served 32 years of a life sentence after being convicted of a conspiracy to sell cocaine.

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While Trump was heavily criticized for issuing dozens of pardons to political allies and friends, there also were numerous cases that won the praise of activists for providing relief to people serving harsh sentences for relatively minor, nonviolent offenses.

Frazier’s case in many ways epitomized Trump’s mixed record on criminal justice. On the one hand, he did support some bipartisan reforms to reduce the prison population. On the other, the pardon process showed Trump’s ad hoc, somewhat capricious approach to justice, one that often required special access and was motivated by optics and political expediency during an election where he set out to target more Black voters, some activists said.

“Trump did nothing to actually address the racist practices of the prison industrial complex,” said Thenjiwe McHarris, a member of the leadership team for the Movement for Black Lives. “While we support those he pardoned, we just also want to acknowledge that it was done as a spectacle — an attempt to paint him as a savior while not actually addressing the harms of the actual system.”

The pardon process, and criminal justice reform more broadly, will be among the areas in which President Joe Biden is most closely scrutinized because of his previous record of promoting tough-on-crime policies. He was an architect of the 1994 crime bill, legislation that has since been criticized across the political spectrum for leading to overpopulated prisons and the devastation of Black families.

Although Biden has apologized for his past actions on criminal justice, activists say he will have to prove his sincerity.

“I think that for me the jury is still out,” said Syrita Steib, who was among those to receive a pardon from Trump on his final day and runs an organization that helps women who are currently and formerly incarcerated.

She added that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took actions that helped to create the punitive justice system of today. “It’s my hope that this administration will begin to right the wrongs that they created years ago,” she said.

During the campaign, Biden promised to use his clemency power “broadly” to secure the release of individuals facing unduly long sentences for certain nonviolent and drug crimes. He said he would build on the legacy of Obama, under whom he served as vice president.

A White House spokesperson Friday declined to comment on the president’s plans.

Part of the challenge will be reforming a clemency system that many view as arcane and unfair.

The pardon attorney’s office, operating out of the Justice Department, is responsible for reviewing the petitions for pardons and sentence commutations and making recommendations for clemency to the president. That system has left thousands of petitions waiting for review with a small team of lawyers unable to keep up.

In the past, some advocates have argued that the pardon office should operate out of the White House. In an informal way, that is what Trump did in an operation that reflected the personal interests of his family members and appealed to Trump as an issue that he believed would please Black voters.

Jessica Jackson, a lawyer who advocated for clemencies during the Obama and Trump administrations, said pardons should be run by an independent office. It was a conflict of interest for the Justice Department to both prosecute cases and decide who gets pardoned, said Jackson, who brought Frazier’s case to Ivanka Trump.

There needed to be a systemic mechanism for granting clemencies so that they occur more frequently, she said, rather than presidents jamming them through before leaving office. Jackson said she felt there would be a real openness on the part of the incoming administration to reforming the pardon process and the criminal justice system more broadly.

“He’s looking for issues where he can find common ground on both sides of the aisle,” Jackson said of Biden. “I think this issue naturally presents itself.”

What that reform looks like, though, will be hotly debated and scrutinized in the months and years ahead.

Trump’s most notable legislation on criminal justice reform was the First Step Act, but even that was criticized by many activists as being far too modest to effect real change. Still, those intimately involved with Trump’s pardon process seemed unwilling to let his tough-on-crime approach — he oversaw more federal executions than any president in more than 120 years — derail the work on clemencies.

This week’s pardons included Chalana McFarland, who was sentenced in 2005 to 30 years for multiple counts of mortgage fraud, and Michael Pelletier, who was serving a life sentence in federal prison for a nonviolent marijuana conspiracy offense. But he also pardoned Al Pirro, the ex-husband of one of his favorite Fox News hosts, Jeanine Pirro; Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist; and Elliott Broidy, one of his top fundraisers in 2016.

Alice Johnson, a onetime drug convict, had served 22 years of a life sentence when her case caught the eyes of Trump because Kim Kardashian had brought it to his attention. Trump commuted her sentence in 2018 and then pardoned her after she praised him at the Republican National Convention in 2020.

Her path to the Trump White House had given her what she saw as a unique opportunity to make a difference, and she became a key part of the informal clemency process. The president personally asked her to help him find other people with stories like her own, she said.

“I took him up on it and stayed on top of them,” Johnson said. “There was no way I was going to let that opportunity pass.”

Working mostly with Kushner and, in the final days of the administration, Ivanka Trump, Johnson provided long lists of strong cases to the White House. Kushner and Ivanka Trump would select stories that resonated with them, and then take those cases to the White House Counsel’s Office and the Justice Department for vetting, before making their cases directly to the president.

Frazier said he felt he had a pretty good chance of getting on Trump’s radar more than a year ago when CAN-DO Justice Through Clemency, an organization that advocates for incarcerated nonviolent offenders, took his case. The organization had won other pardons.

But one thing that really made him think Trump would consider his case was when he heard the former president describing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, as a rat for talking to prosecutors.

It made him think that Trump could empathize with people like him — Frazier’s ultimate downfall was someone from the drug operation testifying against him, he said. So when he heard about the comment, he said he turned to a fellow inmate and told him: “The president’s going to get me out. He sounds like us in here.”

Darrell Frazier believed he had found a path out of his life sentence in federal prison, with a president whose allies had advocated a broad use of pardons and a new clemency initiative.

Darrell Frazier believed he had found a path out of his life sentence in federal prison, with a president whose allies had advocated a broad use of pardons and a new clemency initiative. Frazier thought he seemed like a perfect candidate. But when Barack Obama left office in 2017 having pardoned or commuted the sentences of more people than any other president, Frazier was not among them. The Justice Department had denied his application for clemency. So when Obama’s successor, Donald Trump, took office, Frazier resolved to try a different path. Instead of only going through the formal channels, he also tried to get the attention of people with direct access to Trump. After years of writing letters to celebrities, activist organizations and even Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, Frazier got his break. An activist who had worked with the administration took Frazier’s case directly to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who had been taking pardon requests to her father in his final days in office. And early Wednesday, Trump’s last day as president, Frazier’s counselor came to his cell to deliver the news: He had been pardoned and would soon be released. Tears started to flow. “It just blew me away,” said Frazier, 60, who had served 32 years of a life sentence after being convicted of a conspiracy to sell cocaine. × While Trump was heavily criticized for issuing dozens of pardons to political allies and friends, there also were numerous cases that won the praise of activists for providing relief to people serving harsh sentences for relatively minor, nonviolent offenses. Frazier’s case in many ways epitomized Trump’s mixed record on criminal justice. On the one hand, he did support some bipartisan reforms to reduce the prison population. On the other, the pardon process showed Trump’s ad hoc, somewhat capricious approach to justice, one that often required special access and was motivated by optics and political expediency during an election where he set out to target more Black voters, some activists said. “Trump did nothing to actually address the racist practices of the prison industrial complex,” said Thenjiwe McHarris, a member of the leadership team for the Movement for Black Lives. “While we support those he pardoned, we just also want to acknowledge that it was done as a spectacle — an attempt to paint him as a savior while not actually addressing the harms of the actual system.” The pardon process, and criminal justice reform more broadly, will be among the areas in which President Joe Biden is most closely scrutinized because of his previous record of promoting tough-on-crime policies. He was an architect of the 1994 crime bill, legislation that has since been criticized across the political spectrum for leading to overpopulated prisons and the devastation of Black families. Although Biden has apologized for his past actions on criminal justice, activists say he will have to prove his sincerity. “I think that for me the jury is still out,” said Syrita Steib, who was among those to receive a pardon from Trump on his final day and runs an organization that helps women who are currently and formerly incarcerated. She added that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took actions that helped to create the punitive justice system of today. “It’s my hope that this administration will begin to right the wrongs that they created years ago,” she said. During the campaign, Biden promised to use his clemency power “broadly” to secure the release of individuals facing unduly long sentences for certain nonviolent and drug crimes. He said he would build on the legacy of Obama, under whom he served as vice president. A White House spokesperson Friday declined to comment on the president’s plans. Part of the challenge will be reforming a clemency system that many view as arcane and unfair. The pardon attorney’s office, operating out of the Justice Department, is responsible for reviewing the petitions for pardons and sentence commutations and making recommendations for clemency to the president. That system has left thousands of petitions waiting for review with a small team of lawyers unable to keep up. In the past, some advocates have argued that the pardon office should operate out of the White House. In an informal way, that is what Trump did in an operation that reflected the personal interests of his family members and appealed to Trump as an issue that he believed would please Black voters. Jessica Jackson, a lawyer who advocated for clemencies during the Obama and Trump administrations, said pardons should be run by an independent office. It was a conflict of interest for the Justice Department to both prosecute cases and decide who gets pardoned, said Jackson, who brought Frazier’s case to Ivanka Trump. There needed to be a systemic mechanism for granting clemencies so that they occur more frequently, she said, rather than presidents jamming them through before leaving office. Jackson said she felt there would be a real openness on the part of the incoming administration to reforming the pardon process and the criminal justice system more broadly. “He’s looking for issues where he can find common ground on both sides of the aisle,” Jackson said of Biden. “I think this issue naturally presents itself.” What that reform looks like, though, will be hotly debated and scrutinized in the months and years ahead. Trump’s most notable legislation on criminal justice reform was the First Step Act, but even that was criticized by many activists as being far too modest to effect real change. Still, those intimately involved with Trump’s pardon process seemed unwilling to let his tough-on-crime approach — he oversaw more federal executions than any president in more than 120 years — derail the work on clemencies. This week’s pardons included Chalana McFarland, who was sentenced in 2005 to 30 years for multiple counts of mortgage fraud, and Michael Pelletier, who was serving a life sentence in federal prison for a nonviolent marijuana conspiracy offense. But he also pardoned Al Pirro, the ex-husband of one of his favorite Fox News hosts, Jeanine Pirro; Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist; and Elliott Broidy, one of his top fundraisers in 2016. Alice Johnson, a onetime drug convict, had served 22 years of a life sentence when her case caught the eyes of Trump because Kim Kardashian had brought it to his attention. Trump commuted her sentence in 2018 and then pardoned her after she praised him at the Republican National Convention in 2020. Her path to the Trump White House had given her what she saw as a unique opportunity to make a difference, and she became a key part of the informal clemency process. The president personally asked her to help him find other people with stories like her own, she said. “I took him up on it and stayed on top of them,” Johnson said. “There was no way I was going to let that opportunity pass.” Working mostly with Kushner and, in the final days of the administration, Ivanka Trump, Johnson provided long lists of strong cases to the White House. Kushner and Ivanka Trump would select stories that resonated with them, and then take those cases to the White House Counsel’s Office and the Justice Department for vetting, before making their cases directly to the president. Frazier said he felt he had a pretty good chance of getting on Trump’s radar more than a year ago when CAN-DO Justice Through Clemency, an organization that advocates for incarcerated nonviolent offenders, took his case. The organization had won other pardons. But one thing that really made him think Trump would consider his case was when he heard the former president describing his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, as a rat for talking to prosecutors. It made him think that Trump could empathize with people like him — Frazier’s ultimate downfall was someone from the drug operation testifying against him, he said. So when he heard about the comment, he said he turned to a fellow inmate and told him: “The president’s going to get me out. He sounds like us in here.”

Trump’s pardon process was a mix of mercy and favoritism

Two top Brazillian indigenous leaders on Friday, asked International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate President Jair Bolsonaro for 'crimes against humanity'. They have accused him of unprecedented environmental damage, killings and persecution. Chief Raoni Metuktire, the leader of the Kayapo people, and Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui, leader of the Paiter Surui tribe, filed the claim at the ICC on Friday.

Since Bolsonaro became president in January 2019, "the destruction of the Amazonian forest has accelerated without measure," said the complaint to the ICC, reported by France's Le Monde newspaper on Saturday.

The complaint said that the deforestation had increased "by 34.5 per cent in a year, the assassination of indigenous leaders is at an 11-year high and environmental agencies have collapsed or faced threats."

The two leaders said killings and forced transfer of locals and persecution amounted to "crimes against humanity".

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/with-a-hanuman-image-brazil-president-bolsonaro-thanks-pm-modi-for-covid-vaccines-358644">With a Hanuman image, Brazil President Bolsonaro thanks PM Modi for COVID vaccines</a>

Bolsonaro government has proposed legislation that would relax restrictions in Amazon regions on commercial mining, oil and gas extraction and agriculture.

Activists are pushing for ecocide to be added to the crimes prosecuted by the ICC, alongside genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.&nbsp;

The issue was raised by the Maldives and Vanuatu at the ICC general assembly in December 2019.&nbsp;

"This situation, the most dramatic in the last 10 years, is a direct result of the policies of Jair Bolsonaro", who wants to "lift all the barriers to plunder the wealth of the Amazon," the suit said, also singling out mining firms. 
It said the "destruction of the Amazon forest... was a direct danger not only for Brazilians but for all humanity."

In July last year, health workers in Brazil had also urged the ICC to probe Bolsonaro for crimes against humanity over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A month earlier Chief Raoni had told AFP in an interview that Bolsonaro was trying to use the pandemic to eliminate indigenous people.

(With AFP inputs)

Two top Brazillian indigenous leaders on Friday, asked International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate President Jair Bolsonaro for 'crimes against humanity'. They have accused him of unprecedented environmental damage, killings and persecution.

Two top Brazillian indigenous leaders on Friday, asked International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate President Jair Bolsonaro for 'crimes against humanity'. They have accused him of unprecedented environmental damage, killings and persecution. Chief Raoni Metuktire, the leader of the Kayapo people, and Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui, leader of the Paiter Surui tribe, filed the claim at the ICC on Friday. Since Bolsonaro became president in January 2019, "the destruction of the Amazonian forest has accelerated without measure," said the complaint to the ICC, reported by France's Le Monde newspaper on Saturday. The complaint said that the deforestation had increased "by 34.5 per cent in a year, the assassination of indigenous leaders is at an 11-year high and environmental agencies have collapsed or faced threats." The two leaders said killings and forced transfer of locals and persecution amounted to "crimes against humanity". Also Read | With a Hanuman image, Brazil President Bolsonaro thanks PM Modi for COVID vaccines Bolsonaro government has proposed legislation that would relax restrictions in Amazon regions on commercial mining, oil and gas extraction and agriculture. Activists are pushing for ecocide to be added to the crimes prosecuted by the ICC, alongside genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The issue was raised by the Maldives and Vanuatu at the ICC general assembly in December 2019. "This situation, the most dramatic in the last 10 years, is a direct result of the policies of Jair Bolsonaro", who wants to "lift all the barriers to plunder the wealth of the Amazon," the suit said, also singling out mining firms. It said the "destruction of the Amazon forest... was a direct danger not only for Brazilians but for all humanity." In July last year, health workers in Brazil had also urged the ICC to probe Bolsonaro for crimes against humanity over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. A month earlier Chief Raoni had told AFP in an interview that Bolsonaro was trying to use the pandemic to eliminate indigenous people. (With AFP inputs)

Indigenous leaders of Brazil sue Bolsonaro for 'crimes against humanity'

Prosecutors in Italy are probing the death of 10-year-old girl who allegedly took part in Tiktok 'blackout challenge'. &nbsp;Italy has temporarily blocked access to TikTok to those whose age could not be proven definitively. As per TikTok's terms and conditions, its users must be at least 13-years-old.

The girl was found by her five-year-old sister in the family's bathroom with her cellphone. She was taken to hospital but she passed away.&nbsp;

TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said Friday it had not managed to identify any content on its site that could have encouraged the girl to participate in any such challenge, but was helping the authorities in the probe over possible "incitement to suicide".

"The safety of the TikTok community is our absolute priority, for this motive we do not allow any content that encourages, promotes or glorifies behaviour that could be dangerous," a TikTok spokesman said.

The Italian Data Protection Authority said in a statement later Friday that it would "block the (Chinese) social media network" with immediate effect until February 15, by which date the network will have to meet the regulator's demands.

Medical experts have warned about the danger of the challenge being taken up by some young people, who refer to it as "scarfing" or "the choking game" in which restricted oxygen to the brain results in a high.

The deceased girl's parents told media that her sister told them that she "was playing the blackout game"

"We didn't know anything," the girl's father told the paper.&nbsp;

"We didn't know she was participating in this game. We knew that (our daughter) went on TikTok for dances, to look at videos. How could I imagine this atrocity?" he said.

Italy's data protection agency filed a lawsuit against TikTok in December, alleging a "lack of attention to the protection of minors" and criticising the ease with which very young children could sign up to the video app.

(With AFP inputs)

Prosecutors in Italy are probing the death of 10-year-old girl who allegedly took part in Tiktok 'blackout challenge'. Italy has temporarily blocked access to TikTok to those whose age could not be proven definitively.

Prosecutors in Italy are probing the death of 10-year-old girl who allegedly took part in Tiktok 'blackout challenge'. Italy has temporarily blocked access to TikTok to those whose age could not be proven definitively. As per TikTok's terms and conditions, its users must be at least 13-years-old. The girl was found by her five-year-old sister in the family's bathroom with her cellphone. She was taken to hospital but she passed away. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, said Friday it had not managed to identify any content on its site that could have encouraged the girl to participate in any such challenge, but was helping the authorities in the probe over possible "incitement to suicide". "The safety of the TikTok community is our absolute priority, for this motive we do not allow any content that encourages, promotes or glorifies behaviour that could be dangerous," a TikTok spokesman said. The Italian Data Protection Authority said in a statement later Friday that it would "block the (Chinese) social media network" with immediate effect until February 15, by which date the network will have to meet the regulator's demands. Medical experts have warned about the danger of the challenge being taken up by some young people, who refer to it as "scarfing" or "the choking game" in which restricted oxygen to the brain results in a high. The deceased girl's parents told media that her sister told them that she "was playing the blackout game" "We didn't know anything," the girl's father told the paper. "We didn't know she was participating in this game. We knew that (our daughter) went on TikTok for dances, to look at videos. How could I imagine this atrocity?" he said. Italy's data protection agency filed a lawsuit against TikTok in December, alleging a "lack of attention to the protection of minors" and criticising the ease with which very young children could sign up to the video app. (With AFP inputs)

Italy opens probe after 10-year-old girl dies in TikTok 'choking game'

Donald Trump has been called by many to be someone with chronic case of denial. Even when US Election was called in favour of Joe Biden, Trump continued claiming that he was the winner. Now that he is gone, it's perhaps more than expected that Trump's supporters would whip something truly original to continue claiming that he is the real president of the US.

This has happened and fun fact is that the litigants have taken support from Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) to drive home their point.

So here's the deal, in LOTR, the Kingdom of Gondor had an empty throne, its king was exiled and the kingdom was ruled by a Steward, a temporary ruler. He was to rule till the rightful king returned.

So a lawsuit in Texas equates USA to Kingdom of Gondor. USA hasn't had a 'king' or anyone like that since 1776.

“This analogy is applicable since there is now in Washington DC a group of individuals calling themselves the president, vice-president and Congress who have no rightful claim to govern the American people,” the litigants state as per The Guardian.

“Since only the rightful king could sit on the throne of Gondor, a steward was appointed to manage Gondor until the return of the King, known as ‘Aragorn’, occurred at the end of the story.” they add.

Aragorn is the rightful king in LOTR. The character was played by Viggo Mortensen.

As it is apparent, President Joe Biden is like the Steward of Gondor, fit to rule only for a short time till the 'rightful king' (read Donald Trump) returns.

The litigants probably need a standing ovation for their courage for two thing

1. Continuing their journey through wonderland to still strongly believe that the election was rigged. This when even US Supreme Court trashed previous such litigation

2. Taking help of a fantasy kingdom to prove their point. Imagine the plight of their lawyer while arguing the case in a courtroom which only has place for cold hard facts and logic.

Aftereffects of four years of Trump-rule? Who knows.

Donald Trump has been called by many to be someone with chronic case of denial. Even when US Election was called in favour of Joe Biden, Trump continued claiming that he was the winner.

Donald Trump has been called by many to be someone with chronic case of denial. Even when US Election was called in favour of Joe Biden, Trump continued claiming that he was the winner. Now that he is gone, it's perhaps more than expected that Trump's supporters would whip something truly original to continue claiming that he is the real president of the US. This has happened and fun fact is that the litigants have taken support from Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) to drive home their point. So here's the deal, in LOTR, the Kingdom of Gondor had an empty throne, its king was exiled and the kingdom was ruled by a Steward, a temporary ruler. He was to rule till the rightful king returned. So a lawsuit in Texas equates USA to Kingdom of Gondor. USA hasn't had a 'king' or anyone like that since 1776. “This analogy is applicable since there is now in Washington DC a group of individuals calling themselves the president, vice-president and Congress who have no rightful claim to govern the American people,” the litigants state as per The Guardian. “Since only the rightful king could sit on the throne of Gondor, a steward was appointed to manage Gondor until the return of the King, known as ‘Aragorn’, occurred at the end of the story.” they add. Aragorn is the rightful king in LOTR. The character was played by Viggo Mortensen. As it is apparent, President Joe Biden is like the Steward of Gondor, fit to rule only for a short time till the 'rightful king' (read Donald Trump) returns. The litigants probably need a standing ovation for their courage for two thing 1. Continuing their journey through wonderland to still strongly believe that the election was rigged. This when even US Supreme Court trashed previous such litigation 2. Taking help of a fantasy kingdom to prove their point. Imagine the plight of their lawyer while arguing the case in a courtroom which only has place for cold hard facts and logic. Aftereffects of four years of Trump-rule? Who knows.

Pro-Trump lawsuit takes help of Lord of The Rings to make case stronger

Foreign forces in Libya ignored a pull out deadline set by a UN-backed ceasefire deal on Saturday. An unidentified US intelligence officer was quoted in news reports as saying that there was 'no intent' by Turkish or Russian forces to leave Libya and abide by the UN deal. The developments signify the fragility of peace efforts in Libya, which has seen a decade of conflict.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged all "regional and international actors to respect the provisions" of the October 23 ceasefire accord that set out a withdrawal within three months of all foreign troops and mercenaries.

That deadline passed on Saturday, with no movement announced or observed on the ground.

The UN estimates there are still some 20,000 foreign troops and mercenaries in Libya helping the warring factions, the UN-recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli and military strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east.

The GNA has received military support from Turkey. Haftar has the backing of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt as well as Russia.

On Friday, CNN broadcast satellite images showed that Russian proxies were <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/libya-huge-trench-by-russian-proxies-may-derail-peace-process-says-report-358600">digging a kilometres-long trench</a> from coastal areas near Site to their stronghold in al-Jufra. The objective appeared to be to fortify their positions against attacks from western parts of Libya held by internationally recognised Libyan government.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/libya-huge-trench-by-russian-proxies-may-derail-peace-process-says-report-358600">Libya: Huge trench by Russian proxies may derail peace process, says report</a>

UN Secretary-General Guterres called on all parties to implement the terms of the ceasefire "without delay," something he noted "includes ensuring the departure of all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya, and the full and unconditional respect of the Security Council arms embargo," which has been in place since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted and killed longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi.

(With AFP inputs)

Foreign forces in Libya ignored a pull out deadline set by a UN-backed ceasefire deal on Saturday. An unidentified US intelligence officer was quoted in news reports as saying that there was 'no intent' by Turkish or Russian forces to leave Libya and abide by the UN deal.

Foreign forces in Libya ignored a pull out deadline set by a UN-backed ceasefire deal on Saturday. An unidentified US intelligence officer was quoted in news reports as saying that there was 'no intent' by Turkish or Russian forces to leave Libya and abide by the UN deal. The developments signify the fragility of peace efforts in Libya, which has seen a decade of conflict. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged all "regional and international actors to respect the provisions" of the October 23 ceasefire accord that set out a withdrawal within three months of all foreign troops and mercenaries. That deadline passed on Saturday, with no movement announced or observed on the ground. The UN estimates there are still some 20,000 foreign troops and mercenaries in Libya helping the warring factions, the UN-recognised Government of National Accord in Tripoli and military strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east. The GNA has received military support from Turkey. Haftar has the backing of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt as well as Russia. On Friday, CNN broadcast satellite images showed that Russian proxies were digging a kilometres-long trench from coastal areas near Site to their stronghold in al-Jufra. The objective appeared to be to fortify their positions against attacks from western parts of Libya held by internationally recognised Libyan government. Also Read | Libya: Huge trench by Russian proxies may derail peace process, says report UN Secretary-General Guterres called on all parties to implement the terms of the ceasefire "without delay," something he noted "includes ensuring the departure of all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya, and the full and unconditional respect of the Security Council arms embargo," which has been in place since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted and killed longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi. (With AFP inputs)

Libya: Foreign forces ignore UN peace deal deadline

A blast in a residential area of Hamas-ruled Gaza strip injured more than 20 people, said Palestinian officials. The explosion took place inside home of a member of Gaza's armed groups.

"An explosion occurred in a house in Beit Hanoun this morning, resulting in a number of injuries," the interior ministry said.

An investigation had been launched into the cause of the blast but it is understood to be accidental. AFP cited medical sources who said that 20 people were injured and condition of 2 of them is serious.

Witnesses said several homes were damaged as a result of the explosion in the home of an "activist". Police cordoned off the area.

There was no immediate official explanation of the explosion, but the Israeli military said it was the result of militants "storing weapons in residential homes".

Houses "have been turned into warehouses for weapons... and missiles for terrorist organisations, and those who pay the price in the end are innocent civilians," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on Twitter.

Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in a near civil war in 2007.

Since then, Hamas has fought three devastating wars with Israel, which has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory of some two million people.

A blast in a residential area of Hamas-ruled Gaza strip injured more than 20 people, said Palestinian officials. The explosion took place inside home of a member of Gaza's armed groups.

A blast in a residential area of Hamas-ruled Gaza strip injured more than 20 people, said Palestinian officials. The explosion took place inside home of a member of Gaza's armed groups. "An explosion occurred in a house in Beit Hanoun this morning, resulting in a number of injuries," the interior ministry said. An investigation had been launched into the cause of the blast but it is understood to be accidental. AFP cited medical sources who said that 20 people were injured and condition of 2 of them is serious. Witnesses said several homes were damaged as a result of the explosion in the home of an "activist". Police cordoned off the area. There was no immediate official explanation of the explosion, but the Israeli military said it was the result of militants "storing weapons in residential homes". Houses "have been turned into warehouses for weapons... and missiles for terrorist organisations, and those who pay the price in the end are innocent civilians," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said on Twitter. Islamist group Hamas seized control of Gaza from rival Palestinian movement Fatah in a near civil war in 2007. Since then, Hamas has fought three devastating wars with Israel, which has maintained a crippling blockade on the territory of some two million people.

Gaza blast injures more than 20 people

A parched swath of Central California is set to receive welcome rounds of rain and snow over the next week, but the forecast is raising concerns about flash flooding and mudslides in areas that endured a treacherous wildfire season last year.

Starting Friday, weather systems will bring a mix of rain and snow to parts of Northern and Central California through the middle of next week, with much of the snow expected in higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Between 5 to 10 inches of precipitation are expected, though some areas could receive up to 15 inches in the next two weeks, said Greg Carbin, head of the forecast operations branch at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.

“These areas have been unusually dry,” Carbin said. “In fact, much of California has had well below normal rainfall and precipitation for many months on end, which had led to the dramatic wildfire activity that we’ve seen as well.”

A group of fires known as the LNU Lightning Complex stretched across Napa County and surrounding areas starting in August, burning more than 360,000 acres. It was 100% contained by early October, but the charred terrain it left behind is more susceptible to rainfall runoff, according to the National Weather Service.

“If you have too much rain in an area that the vegetation has been burned off from wildfire activity, that can cause a problem with debris flow, mudslides and some flash flooding,” Carbin said.

Mountainous and hilly terrain could be vulnerable to flash flooding and landslides, particularly where there are burn scars — charred, barren areas scorched by wildfires. In 2018, at least 17 people died in mudslides in Montecito, in Southern California, after a storm hit hillsides that had been stripped of the vegetation in the Thomas Fire.

The weather systems affecting Central California are not out of the ordinary as the state receives the majority of its rainfall during the cooler months, particularly the period from January through March. But the forecast is notable for a region where rainfall and snowfall “have been so far below normal” in recent years, Carbin said. (Parts of Central California and the Sierra Nevada region are currently experiencing extreme and severe drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.)

California’s 2020 “water year” — the 12-month period that ended on Sept. 30, 2020 — was rather dry for the state’s northern region, the state’s Department of Water Resources reported.

The Sierra Nevada can receive anywhere from about 70 inches of precipitation to more than 100 inches in an average year, Carbin said. According to the Western Regional Climate Center, the state’s North Central and North Coast regions received more than 50 inches of precipitation in 2017.

A parched swath of Central California is set to receive welcome rounds of rain and snow over the next week, but the forecast is raising concerns about flash flooding and mudslides in areas that endured a treacherous wildfire season last year.

A parched swath of Central California is set to receive welcome rounds of rain and snow over the next week, but the forecast is raising concerns about flash flooding and mudslides in areas that endured a treacherous wildfire season last year. Starting Friday, weather systems will bring a mix of rain and snow to parts of Northern and Central California through the middle of next week, with much of the snow expected in higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. Between 5 to 10 inches of precipitation are expected, though some areas could receive up to 15 inches in the next two weeks, said Greg Carbin, head of the forecast operations branch at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center. “These areas have been unusually dry,” Carbin said. “In fact, much of California has had well below normal rainfall and precipitation for many months on end, which had led to the dramatic wildfire activity that we’ve seen as well.” A group of fires known as the LNU Lightning Complex stretched across Napa County and surrounding areas starting in August, burning more than 360,000 acres. It was 100% contained by early October, but the charred terrain it left behind is more susceptible to rainfall runoff, according to the National Weather Service. “If you have too much rain in an area that the vegetation has been burned off from wildfire activity, that can cause a problem with debris flow, mudslides and some flash flooding,” Carbin said. Mountainous and hilly terrain could be vulnerable to flash flooding and landslides, particularly where there are burn scars — charred, barren areas scorched by wildfires. In 2018, at least 17 people died in mudslides in Montecito, in Southern California, after a storm hit hillsides that had been stripped of the vegetation in the Thomas Fire. The weather systems affecting Central California are not out of the ordinary as the state receives the majority of its rainfall during the cooler months, particularly the period from January through March. But the forecast is notable for a region where rainfall and snowfall “have been so far below normal” in recent years, Carbin said. (Parts of Central California and the Sierra Nevada region are currently experiencing extreme and severe drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.) California’s 2020 “water year” — the 12-month period that ended on Sept. 30, 2020 — was rather dry for the state’s northern region, the state’s Department of Water Resources reported. The Sierra Nevada can receive anywhere from about 70 inches of precipitation to more than 100 inches in an average year, Carbin said. According to the Western Regional Climate Center, the state’s North Central and North Coast regions received more than 50 inches of precipitation in 2017.

Rain and snow headed for wildfire-damaged areas of California

President Joe Biden, vowing to restore environmental protections frayed over the past four years, has ordered the review of more than 100 rules and regulations on air, water, public lands, endangered species and climate change that were weakened or rolled back by his predecessor.

But legal experts warn that it could take two to three years — and in some cases, most of Biden’s term — to put many of the old rules back in place.

“People should temper their expectations about what can be done quickly,” said Kevin Minoli, who served as a lawyer at the Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. He added, “It’s very possible, more possible than not, that some of the Trump rules will still be in effect for a couple of years.”

Biden has an array of legal tools to reinstate environmental protections that were dismantled by the Trump administration. Gina McCarthy, his top domestic climate change adviser, headed the EPA in the Obama administration and served as the chief author of some of the nation’s most comprehensive climate change rules. She has now reviewed every possible option to restore those protections, according to a White House official who is familiar with her thinking but was not authorized to speak on the record.

But those tools take time. Experts in environmental law who have spoken with top Biden administration officials said the process of rolling back the Trump-era rollbacks would quite likely fall into a few broad categories. In a limited set of cases, Biden will be able to use his executive authority immediately, for instance to cancel individual fossil fuel infrastructure projects or reinstate federal protections on distinct areas of land and water. He did that on Day One when he rescinded the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried oil from Canadian oil sands across the American Midwest.

The White House announced Thursday that any new lease of drilling rights on public lands must have the personal approval of the highest-ranking officials at the Department of Interior — either the secretary or an assistant secretary.

Likewise, Biden is expected in the first months of his term to restore federal protections around at least two national monuments in Utah: Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. In 2017, Trump opened nearly 2 million acres around those monuments to mining, logging and drilling — at the time the largest rollback of federal land protection in the nation’s history.

On Thursday night, the White House released a fact sheet singling out its review of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase, along with one other, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monuments off the New England coast, to “determine whether restoration of the monument boundaries and conditions would be appropriate.”

Patrick Parenteau, a professor of law with the Vermont Law School, said the Biden administration could also act quickly to block Trump’s push to drill in Alaska. In the last days of Trump’s administration, the Interior Department auctioned off oil and gas drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

“The Biden administration can pretty quickly cancel those leases,” said Parenteau, although he noted that before doing so, the administration would quite likely want to conduct a legal review of whether it would need to compensate the companies that purchased the leases.

Biden’s team has also looked to Congress, where Democrats could potentially use their razor-thin House and Senate majorities to revoke some of the Trump administration’s last-minute regulatory rollbacks. Under the Congressional Review Act, any regulation finalized within 60 legislative days of the end of a presidential term can be overturned with a simple congressional vote.

In the early days of the Trump administration, Republicans used that law to quickly wipe out 16 Obama-era rules.

But legal experts have warned Democrats that using that law to undo environmental policies could backfire: Once Congress has used it to wipe out a regulation, the administration is legally barred from enacting a substantially similar rule. That twist would bar the Biden administration from replacing a weak Trump-era rule with a similar but more stringent one.

“They don’t want to create roadblocks to creating future regulations,” said Hana Vizcarra, a staff attorney at Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program, who has closely studied the Trump administration’s rollbacks.

Vizcarra cited just one such rollback as a good candidate for rapid reversal under the Congressional Review Act: a January rule that reduced protections for migratory birds by ending penalties for energy and construction companies that harm the birds and their habitats in construction projects and oil spills.

Then there are the longer-term rollbacks. It could take two years or more for the administration to restore Obama-era climate change regulations, rolled back by the Trump administration, that were designed to cut emissions of planet-warming pollution across major sectors of the economy. It could also take that long to restore rules on industrial emissions of toxic pollutants such as mercury, as well as a major rule, Waters of the United States, designed to protect wetlands and waterways.

“When it comes to restoring the vast majority of these Obama environmental policies, the rollbacks were actually done by putting in place new regulations,” Jeffrey Holmstead, a lawyer representing fossil fuel companies who served in the EPA in both Bush administrations. “In some cases that took two to three years. They will have to be replaced with new regulations. There is a legal process that has to be followed.”

The work of reinstating the federal government’s more comprehensive regulations on air, water and climate pollution will take even longer. A key reason, explained legal experts: when the Trump administration rolled back those rules, it almost never eliminated them entirely. Rather, it replaced strict federal pollution regulations with new, weaker pollution regulations.

The Biden administration, in turn, will seek to legally undo those weak regulations and replace them with tougher ones. And that legal process typically takes two years or more. For example, the Trump EPA undid the Obama administration’s single largest policy aimed at curbing climate change, a rule that forced automakers to rapidly increase the fuel economy of passenger vehicles, and, in so doing, drastically lowering their pollution of heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution. To do that, the EPA had to follow a long legal path; formally publishing a proposal to change the rule; opening it to public comments; drafting legal, economic and scientific justifications for the rule; and performing complex technical analyses of the effects of the new rule on highway safety, air quality and consumer behavior.

Although the Trump administration began its rollback of the Obama auto pollution rule within Trump’s first days of taking office, it was not completed until last spring.

The same timetable could await Biden as he seeks to reinstate the rule.

“It’s a laborious, time-consuming process,” said Richard Revesz, a professor of environmental law at New York University, who was on Biden’s short list to run the EPA.

“No one doubts the EPA’s authority to put these regulations on auto pollution back in place,” Revesz said. “But they can’t just make the Trump rules go away by executive order. They have to follow the same process — preparing all the scientific and economic analyses, and you have to get all that right.”

Revesz noted that while the Obama administration had performed such analyses a decade ago when it first put the auto pollution rule in place, much has changed since then, including the economy, the auto industry and the amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. So Biden’s EPA staff will need to conduct all that work again, with present-day data.

And he noted that after four years in which the staff and budget of the EPA has shrunk, the agency is now being asked to do far more with far fewer resources.

“They want to do a lot, but they can’t do it all at the same time,” Revesz said. “EPA has suffered the loss of a lot of senior staff. They’ll need to prioritize. So they may not get to some of these until the end of a first term.”

Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at the Columbia Law School, said it could take even longer for the EPA to restore the Waters of the United States rule, which was designed to protect the streams, wetlands and smaller water systems that flow into larger bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers. The Trump administration replaced that rule last year with a new rule that stripped away protections of those wetlands and smaller water bodies.

“Replacing that water rule will take a very long time,” Gerrard said. “And they won’t want to rescind the Trump rule while they are working on the new rule, because then the waterways would be left with no protection.”

President Joe Biden, vowing to restore environmental protections frayed over the past four years, has ordered the review of more than 100 rules and regulations on air, water, public lands, endangered species and climate change that were weakened or rolled back by his predecessor.

President Joe Biden, vowing to restore environmental protections frayed over the past four years, has ordered the review of more than 100 rules and regulations on air, water, public lands, endangered species and climate change that were weakened or rolled back by his predecessor. But legal experts warn that it could take two to three years — and in some cases, most of Biden’s term — to put many of the old rules back in place. “People should temper their expectations about what can be done quickly,” said Kevin Minoli, who served as a lawyer at the Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump administrations. He added, “It’s very possible, more possible than not, that some of the Trump rules will still be in effect for a couple of years.” Biden has an array of legal tools to reinstate environmental protections that were dismantled by the Trump administration. Gina McCarthy, his top domestic climate change adviser, headed the EPA in the Obama administration and served as the chief author of some of the nation’s most comprehensive climate change rules. She has now reviewed every possible option to restore those protections, according to a White House official who is familiar with her thinking but was not authorized to speak on the record. But those tools take time. Experts in environmental law who have spoken with top Biden administration officials said the process of rolling back the Trump-era rollbacks would quite likely fall into a few broad categories. In a limited set of cases, Biden will be able to use his executive authority immediately, for instance to cancel individual fossil fuel infrastructure projects or reinstate federal protections on distinct areas of land and water. He did that on Day One when he rescinded the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried oil from Canadian oil sands across the American Midwest. The White House announced Thursday that any new lease of drilling rights on public lands must have the personal approval of the highest-ranking officials at the Department of Interior — either the secretary or an assistant secretary. Likewise, Biden is expected in the first months of his term to restore federal protections around at least two national monuments in Utah: Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. In 2017, Trump opened nearly 2 million acres around those monuments to mining, logging and drilling — at the time the largest rollback of federal land protection in the nation’s history. On Thursday night, the White House released a fact sheet singling out its review of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase, along with one other, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monuments off the New England coast, to “determine whether restoration of the monument boundaries and conditions would be appropriate.” Patrick Parenteau, a professor of law with the Vermont Law School, said the Biden administration could also act quickly to block Trump’s push to drill in Alaska. In the last days of Trump’s administration, the Interior Department auctioned off oil and gas drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. “The Biden administration can pretty quickly cancel those leases,” said Parenteau, although he noted that before doing so, the administration would quite likely want to conduct a legal review of whether it would need to compensate the companies that purchased the leases. Biden’s team has also looked to Congress, where Democrats could potentially use their razor-thin House and Senate majorities to revoke some of the Trump administration’s last-minute regulatory rollbacks. Under the Congressional Review Act, any regulation finalized within 60 legislative days of the end of a presidential term can be overturned with a simple congressional vote. In the early days of the Trump administration, Republicans used that law to quickly wipe out 16 Obama-era rules. But legal experts have warned Democrats that using that law to undo environmental policies could backfire: Once Congress has used it to wipe out a regulation, the administration is legally barred from enacting a substantially similar rule. That twist would bar the Biden administration from replacing a weak Trump-era rule with a similar but more stringent one. “They don’t want to create roadblocks to creating future regulations,” said Hana Vizcarra, a staff attorney at Harvard Law School’s Environmental and Energy Law Program, who has closely studied the Trump administration’s rollbacks. Vizcarra cited just one such rollback as a good candidate for rapid reversal under the Congressional Review Act: a January rule that reduced protections for migratory birds by ending penalties for energy and construction companies that harm the birds and their habitats in construction projects and oil spills. Then there are the longer-term rollbacks. It could take two years or more for the administration to restore Obama-era climate change regulations, rolled back by the Trump administration, that were designed to cut emissions of planet-warming pollution across major sectors of the economy. It could also take that long to restore rules on industrial emissions of toxic pollutants such as mercury, as well as a major rule, Waters of the United States, designed to protect wetlands and waterways. “When it comes to restoring the vast majority of these Obama environmental policies, the rollbacks were actually done by putting in place new regulations,” Jeffrey Holmstead, a lawyer representing fossil fuel companies who served in the EPA in both Bush administrations. “In some cases that took two to three years. They will have to be replaced with new regulations. There is a legal process that has to be followed.” The work of reinstating the federal government’s more comprehensive regulations on air, water and climate pollution will take even longer. A key reason, explained legal experts: when the Trump administration rolled back those rules, it almost never eliminated them entirely. Rather, it replaced strict federal pollution regulations with new, weaker pollution regulations. The Biden administration, in turn, will seek to legally undo those weak regulations and replace them with tougher ones. And that legal process typically takes two years or more. For example, the Trump EPA undid the Obama administration’s single largest policy aimed at curbing climate change, a rule that forced automakers to rapidly increase the fuel economy of passenger vehicles, and, in so doing, drastically lowering their pollution of heat-trapping carbon dioxide pollution. To do that, the EPA had to follow a long legal path; formally publishing a proposal to change the rule; opening it to public comments; drafting legal, economic and scientific justifications for the rule; and performing complex technical analyses of the effects of the new rule on highway safety, air quality and consumer behavior. Although the Trump administration began its rollback of the Obama auto pollution rule within Trump’s first days of taking office, it was not completed until last spring. The same timetable could await Biden as he seeks to reinstate the rule. “It’s a laborious, time-consuming process,” said Richard Revesz, a professor of environmental law at New York University, who was on Biden’s short list to run the EPA. “No one doubts the EPA’s authority to put these regulations on auto pollution back in place,” Revesz said. “But they can’t just make the Trump rules go away by executive order. They have to follow the same process — preparing all the scientific and economic analyses, and you have to get all that right.” Revesz noted that while the Obama administration had performed such analyses a decade ago when it first put the auto pollution rule in place, much has changed since then, including the economy, the auto industry and the amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere. So Biden’s EPA staff will need to conduct all that work again, with present-day data. And he noted that after four years in which the staff and budget of the EPA has shrunk, the agency is now being asked to do far more with far fewer resources. “They want to do a lot, but they can’t do it all at the same time,” Revesz said. “EPA has suffered the loss of a lot of senior staff. They’ll need to prioritize. So they may not get to some of these until the end of a first term.” Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at the Columbia Law School, said it could take even longer for the EPA to restore the Waters of the United States rule, which was designed to protect the streams, wetlands and smaller water systems that flow into larger bodies of water, such as lakes and rivers. The Trump administration replaced that rule last year with a new rule that stripped away protections of those wetlands and smaller water bodies. “Replacing that water rule will take a very long time,” Gerrard said. “And they won’t want to rescind the Trump rule while they are working on the new rule, because then the waterways would be left with no protection.”

Restoring environmental rules rolled back by Trump could take years

UK Prime Minister on Friday said that there was 'some evidence' that the new coronavirus variant in the UK was more transmissible and more deadly.

"It also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant... may be associated with a higher degree of mortality," he said at a Downing Street news conference.

Chief government scientist Patrick Vallance said the new variant could be around 30 per cent more deadly, although he stressed that only sparse data was available.

He said that for a 60-year-old man, around 10 in 1,000 would be expected to die after catching the original strain.&nbsp;

But that rises to "13 or 14" for the new strain.

"You will see that across the different age groups as well, a similar sort of relative increase in the risk," he added.

Britain is currently experiencing third and worst wave of coronavirus pandemic. It is recording a record daily death toll that is bringing the total figure close to 100,000.

Another 1,401 people were announced on Friday to have died within 28 days of testing positive, bringing the total to 95,981.

More than 38,500 people were in hospital with Covid -- 78 per cent more than during the first peak last year.

On average, one in 55 people have got the virus in England, rising to one in 35 in London, said chief medical officer Chris Whitty.

Hospitals are still under the threat of being overwhelmed even as government races to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible. Vallance said there was "increasing evidence" that the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Pfizer vaccines being used in Britain were both effective against the new strain.

(With AFP inputs)

UK Prime Minister on Friday said that there was 'some evidence' that the new coronavirus variant in the UK was more transmissible and more deadly. "It also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant.

UK Prime Minister on Friday said that there was 'some evidence' that the new coronavirus variant in the UK was more transmissible and more deadly. "It also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant... may be associated with a higher degree of mortality," he said at a Downing Street news conference. Chief government scientist Patrick Vallance said the new variant could be around 30 per cent more deadly, although he stressed that only sparse data was available. He said that for a 60-year-old man, around 10 in 1,000 would be expected to die after catching the original strain. But that rises to "13 or 14" for the new strain. "You will see that across the different age groups as well, a similar sort of relative increase in the risk," he added. Britain is currently experiencing third and worst wave of coronavirus pandemic. It is recording a record daily death toll that is bringing the total figure close to 100,000. Another 1,401 people were announced on Friday to have died within 28 days of testing positive, bringing the total to 95,981. More than 38,500 people were in hospital with Covid -- 78 per cent more than during the first peak last year. On average, one in 55 people have got the virus in England, rising to one in 35 in London, said chief medical officer Chris Whitty. Hospitals are still under the threat of being overwhelmed even as government races to vaccinate as many vulnerable people as possible. Vallance said there was "increasing evidence" that the AstraZeneca/Oxford and Pfizer vaccines being used in Britain were both effective against the new strain. (With AFP inputs)

UK coronavirus strain can be more deadly: Boris Johnson

Imams across Britain are helping to dispel notions of danger surrounding COVID-19 vaccine. The religious leaders are reaching out to people through their Friday sermons and influentials standing within the community.

Qari Asim, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) which is leading a campaign to reassure its faithful, is among those publically advocating that the inoculations are compatible with Islamic practices.

"We are confident that the two vaccines that have been used in the UK, Oxford AstraZeneca and Pfizer, are permissible from an Islamic perspective," he told AFP.

"The hesitancy, the anxiety (and) concern is driven by misinformation, conspiracy theories, fake news and rumours." he added.

Britain is the hardest-hit country in Europe with 95,000 deaths due to the pandemic. A biggest-ever vaccination effort is underway to end cycles of lockdowns and restrictions.

However, a report from the scientific committee advising the government showed stronger mistrust of vaccines among ethnic minorities than the rest of the UK population.&nbsp;

It highlighted that 72 percent of Black survey respondents were unlikely or very unlikely to get the vaccine.&nbsp;

Among those from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds, the figure was 42 per cent.

Imams are particularly trying to dispel notion that the vaccines contain pork gelatin or alcohol. Pork and alcohol are banned in Islam. Falsehoods like vaccines being able to modify DNA are doing rounds.

Britain has an estimated 2.8 million Muslims

Asim said it was "legitimate" to question whether things were permissible under Islam but without paying attention to unfounded claims.

Misinformation around the coronavirus is all the more dangerous given several studies have shown that it can impact minorities disproportionately.&nbsp;

"These are precisely the communities we should be trying to target," said Nighat Arif, a general practitioner based in Chesham, near London.&nbsp;

When she received her vaccination, she posted a video in Urdu on social media aimed at the language's speakers living in Britain.

"I'm hoping that because they see someone who looks like them, who is a practising Muslim, wears a hijab, someone who is Asian who speaks their language, that's more relatable than something that's coming through from the government," she added.

Arif is still surprised by the refusal of certain patients to be inoculated, noting they will often get vaccinated to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia or to visit Pakistan or India.

She blames conspiracy theories spread online, which contribute to the science behind the process "being lost".

Imams across Britain are helping to dispel notions of danger surrounding COVID-19 vaccine. The religious leaders are reaching out to people through their Friday sermons and influentials standing within the community.

Imams across Britain are helping to dispel notions of danger surrounding COVID-19 vaccine. The religious leaders are reaching out to people through their Friday sermons and influentials standing within the community. Qari Asim, chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) which is leading a campaign to reassure its faithful, is among those publically advocating that the inoculations are compatible with Islamic practices. "We are confident that the two vaccines that have been used in the UK, Oxford AstraZeneca and Pfizer, are permissible from an Islamic perspective," he told AFP. "The hesitancy, the anxiety (and) concern is driven by misinformation, conspiracy theories, fake news and rumours." he added. Britain is the hardest-hit country in Europe with 95,000 deaths due to the pandemic. A biggest-ever vaccination effort is underway to end cycles of lockdowns and restrictions. However, a report from the scientific committee advising the government showed stronger mistrust of vaccines among ethnic minorities than the rest of the UK population. It highlighted that 72 percent of Black survey respondents were unlikely or very unlikely to get the vaccine. Among those from Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds, the figure was 42 per cent. Imams are particularly trying to dispel notion that the vaccines contain pork gelatin or alcohol. Pork and alcohol are banned in Islam. Falsehoods like vaccines being able to modify DNA are doing rounds. Britain has an estimated 2.8 million Muslims Asim said it was "legitimate" to question whether things were permissible under Islam but without paying attention to unfounded claims. Misinformation around the coronavirus is all the more dangerous given several studies have shown that it can impact minorities disproportionately. "These are precisely the communities we should be trying to target," said Nighat Arif, a general practitioner based in Chesham, near London. When she received her vaccination, she posted a video in Urdu on social media aimed at the language's speakers living in Britain. "I'm hoping that because they see someone who looks like them, who is a practising Muslim, wears a hijab, someone who is Asian who speaks their language, that's more relatable than something that's coming through from the government," she added. Arif is still surprised by the refusal of certain patients to be inoculated, noting they will often get vaccinated to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia or to visit Pakistan or India. She blames conspiracy theories spread online, which contribute to the science behind the process "being lost".

UK Imams work to combat coronavirus vaccine disinformation

An enormous trench being dug by Wagner, the Russian-backed mercenaries in war-torn Libya is threatening to derail UN-brokered peace deal, said CNN. The peace deal insists that all foreign fighters should leave Libya by this Saturday. However, the kilometres-long trench by Russian proxies suggests that they intend to further fortify their position.

Libya has seen conflict between internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA has dominant presence in eastern Libya and enjoys support from Russia and UAE.

On Friday, CNN published satellite images that showed construction of 'dozens of kilometers' long trench being dug from coastal region around Sirte. The trench extends to al-Jufra, a stronghold of Wagner mercenaries in the south. The trench is apparently being dug to repel attack against LNA defensive lines.

As per UN data, the conflict between GNA and LNA has caused 2000 deaths and has further shattered oil-rich, strategically important middle eastern nation.

"I don't think anyone digging a trench today and making these reinforcements is leaving anytime soon," GNA Defense Minister Salaheddin Al-Namroush told CNN.&nbsp;

An enormous trench being dug by Wagner, the Russian-backed mercenaries in war-torn Libya is threatening to derail UN-brokered peace deal, said CNN. The peace deal insists that all foreign fighters should leave Libya by this Saturday.

An enormous trench being dug by Wagner, the Russian-backed mercenaries in war-torn Libya is threatening to derail UN-brokered peace deal, said CNN. The peace deal insists that all foreign fighters should leave Libya by this Saturday. However, the kilometres-long trench by Russian proxies suggests that they intend to further fortify their position. Libya has seen conflict between internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA has dominant presence in eastern Libya and enjoys support from Russia and UAE. On Friday, CNN published satellite images that showed construction of 'dozens of kilometers' long trench being dug from coastal region around Sirte. The trench extends to al-Jufra, a stronghold of Wagner mercenaries in the south. The trench is apparently being dug to repel attack against LNA defensive lines. As per UN data, the conflict between GNA and LNA has caused 2000 deaths and has further shattered oil-rich, strategically important middle eastern nation. "I don't think anyone digging a trench today and making these reinforcements is leaving anytime soon," GNA Defense Minister Salaheddin Al-Namroush told CNN.

Libya: Huge trench by Russian proxies may derail peace process, says report

Nature is full of wonders and though we have studied it closely across millennia, it will be plain stupid for humans to claim the title of 'know-it-all' species. New discoveries amaze us each day. And this exactly what has happened yet again. Two female ray fish have given birth to pups without a male ray fish being present in their ranks. The news has created quite a stir in scientific community and beyond.&nbsp;

The female fish, named Nibble and Spot are at display at SEA Life Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand. They of the Eagle Ray type.

Both of them delivered pups on New Year's Eve. Both Eagle rays had not been with a male for two years. And this is what is causing the amazement.

At present, theories are being raised but there appears to be no confirmation in this specific case. However, this may change later.

The curator of the museum thinks that the rays gave birth without a male as they had stored the sperms from their last encounter.

But there is another argument.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/mars-glaciers-give-insights-on-the-planets-many-ice-ages-358330">Mars' glaciers give insights on the planet's many ice ages</a>

Adele Dutilloy, a fisheries modeller at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) was mentioned by the Guardian as saying that this was the case of Parthinongenesis.

A Parthinogenesis (virgin birth) is a natural process in which an egg develops into an embryo without being fertilised. Dutilloy said sperm storage was uncommon in rays.

This suggests that the case may be first instance of such a birth in Eagle rays being documented.

Nature is full of wonders and though we have studied it closely across millennia, it will be plain stupid for humans to claim the title of 'know-it-all' species.

Nature is full of wonders and though we have studied it closely across millennia, it will be plain stupid for humans to claim the title of 'know-it-all' species. New discoveries amaze us each day. And this exactly what has happened yet again. Two female ray fish have given birth to pups without a male ray fish being present in their ranks. The news has created quite a stir in scientific community and beyond. The female fish, named Nibble and Spot are at display at SEA Life Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand. They of the Eagle Ray type. Both of them delivered pups on New Year's Eve. Both Eagle rays had not been with a male for two years. And this is what is causing the amazement. At present, theories are being raised but there appears to be no confirmation in this specific case. However, this may change later. The curator of the museum thinks that the rays gave birth without a male as they had stored the sperms from their last encounter. But there is another argument. Also Read | Mars' glaciers give insights on the planet's many ice ages Adele Dutilloy, a fisheries modeller at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) was mentioned by the Guardian as saying that this was the case of Parthinongenesis. A Parthinogenesis (virgin birth) is a natural process in which an egg develops into an embryo without being fertilised. Dutilloy said sperm storage was uncommon in rays. This suggests that the case may be first instance of such a birth in Eagle rays being documented.

Two female ray fish give birth without males, baffle scientists

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Zee News Rajasthan

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Manas Joshi

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