BREXIT DEAL OFFICIALLY BECOMES UK LAW, QUEEN GIVES ROYAL ASSENTBritain’s exit deal with the European Union has officially become a lawThursday a few days ahead of the country’s departure from the bloc. OnWednesday, the legislation passed its final parliamentary stage, after overthree years of bitter wrangling over how, when and even if Brexit shouldtake place.Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday also formally approved the landmark law. “HerMajesty the Queen has now granted #RoyalAssent to the #BrexitBill whichtherefore becomes the #BrexitAct,” Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said onTwitter.Britain is due to leave the bloc at 2300 GMT on January 31. A consent votein the EU Parliament will take place on Jan 29. Prime Minister Boris Johnsonis also likely to formally sign the Withdrawal Agreement in the coming days.CHINA VIRUS 'TOO EARLY' FOR EMERGENCY DECLARATION: WHOThe viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people and promptedChinese authorities to effectively shut down three cities is not yet aglobal health emergency, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.The U.N. health agency issued its evaluation after Chinese authorities movedto lock down three cities indefinitely earlier in the day and canceled majorpublic celebrations and gatherings in Beijing during the Lunar New Yearholiday period to try to contain the evolving outbreak.During a news conference in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus said that while the epidemic was clearly a crisis in China, “ithas not yet become a global health emergency. It may yet become one.”The steps taken by China to shut down cities with more than 18 millionpeople are unprecedented in public health, as countries typically shy awayfrom such extreme measures. Tedros said that while WHO’s role is to providescience-based recommendations, “at the end of the day, a sovereign countryhas the autonomy to do what it thinks is right.”The decision n ot to declare a global emergency “should not be taken as asign that WHO does not think the situation is serious or that we’re nottaking it seriously. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Tedros said.“WHO is following this outbreak every minute of every day.”"It’s too early to consider this as a public health emergency ofinternational concern,” Didier Houssin, the chair of the emergency advisorycommittee, said, noting that the panel “was very divided, almost 50-50.”WHO defines a global emergency as an “extraordinary event” that constitutesa risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.Previous global emergencies have been declared for the emergence of Zikavirus in the Americas, the swine flu pandemic, and polio.TRUMP ADMINISTRATION STEPS UP SCRUTINY OF PREGNANT VISA APPLICANTSThe State Department on Thursday moved to empower its visa officers to blockpregnant women abroad from visiting the United States in an effort to stop“birth tourism” — trips designed to obtain citizenship for their children.The new rule, to take effect Friday, will give discretion to consularofficers abroad to reject women they believe are entering the United Statesspecifically to gain citizenship for their child by giving birth. The visascovered by the new rule are issued to those seeking to visit for pleasure,for medical treatment or to see friends and family.Conservatives have long railed against what they call “anchor babies” bornon US soil and used by their parents to bring in other family members.President Donald Trump has also criticized the constitutional provision thatgrants citizenship to most babies born on U.S. soil.It is not clear whether “birth tourism” is a significant phenomenon or that“anchor babies” do lead to substantial immigration, but many conservativesbelieve both issues are real and serious. The Trump administration hasrepeatedly moved to allay such concerns.“Birth tourism poses risks to national security,” Carl Risch, assistantsecretary for consular affairs at the State Department, wrote in the finalrule. “The birth tourism industry is also rife with criminal activity,including international criminal schemes.”The rule would raise the burden of proof for pregnant women applying fortourist visas by outlining that giving birth in the country “is animpermissible basis” for visiting the United States. Even if the women saythey are entering the country for medical treatment — a legitimate factorfor visa eligibility — an applicant would need to prove that she has enoughmoney to pay for such treatment to the satisfaction of the officer.“If an applicant’s responses to this line of questions are not credible,that may give consular officers reason to question whether the applicantqualifies for a visa,” Risch said in the rule.RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT FAST-TRACKS VLADIMIR PUTIN’S CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGESIt’s only been a week since Russia’s president addressed the country in hisState of the Nation speech. He proposed a range of constitutional changes,which analysts agree could pave the way for Vladimir Putin’s own politicalfuture, since the Russian leader cannot serve a third consecutive term aspresident under the current rules.The constitutional changes broaden the powers of both houses of parliamentand could weaken the role of the president. The State Council, an advisorybody made up of regional leaders and governors, will also be included in theconstitution, though it is unclear what function it will have.Putin said in his speech that there should be “the broadest possible publicdiscussion” of the suggested changes. He also said there should be a vote onthem.But since Putin made the proposals on January 15, a working group on theconstitutional amendments has already made suggestions to the president, whoimmediately put a draft law on the changes to the Duma, Russia’s lower houseof parliament. The Duma voted in favor of the draft law on Thursday, andwill likely pass the measures in second reading in February.When Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was asked about the “rush”surrounding the constitutional changes this week, he said the president’sinitiatives are always a priority. Though he couldn’t specify when all theamendments would be passed, he said that “we obviously won’t be putting themon the back burner.”PAKISTAN CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL TRAINING LAUNCH OF NUCLEAR-CAPABLE BALLISTICMISSILEPakistan on Thursday conducted a successful training launch ofnuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile ‘Ghaznavi’, which canstrike targets up to 290km.“The training launch was part of Field Training Exercise of Army StrategicForces Command aimed at rehearsing operational readiness procedures duringday and night,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wingof the army, said in a statement.The ‘Ghaznavi’ missile is capable of delivering multiple types of warheadsup to a range of 290km, the statement said.The launch was witnessed by Lt. Gen. Nadeem Zaki Manj, Director GeneralStrategic Plans Division, Commander Army Strategic Forces Command, seniorofficers from Strategic Plans Division, Army Strategic Forces Command,Scientists and Engineers of the strategic organisations, according to thestate-run Radio Pakistan.“Director General Strategic Plans Division appreciated the operationalpreparedness of Army Strategic Forces Command for displaying a very highstandard of proficiency in handling and operating the weapon system,” thestatement said.He also “expressed full confidence in the robust Strategic Command andControl System and the capability of Strategic Forces”, it added.ICJ ORDERS MYANMAR TO PREVENT ROHINGYA GENOCIDEThe International Court of Justice Thursday ruled that it has the right andthe preliminary jurisdiction to hear a case seeking emergency measures toprevent Myanmar from committing genocide against its Rohingya minority.The United Nations’ top court ordered Myanmar take all measures in its powerto prevent genocide against the Rohingya. The court’s president, JudgeAbdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, said the International Court of Justice “is of theopinion that the Rohingya in Myanmar remain extremely vulnerable,” reportedAP. The court has ordered Myanmar to report back within four months on thesteps it had taken to comply with its decision.The court was hearing a case brought by the African nation of Gambia onbehalf of Muslim nations that accuse Myanmar of holding a genocidal campaignagainst the country’s Rohingya Muslims in violation of a 1948 convention.Presiding Judge Yusuf Abdulqawi, in the first minutes of reading the court’sdecision, said the court does have sufficient jurisdiction to decide on therequest for emergency measures in the case, which was brought by Gambia,reported Reuters. “The court concludes that prima facie it has jurisdictionunder the Genocide Convention,” he said.INTERNET SECURITY PRINCIPLES TO HELP PROTECT 1 BN USERSThe World Economic Forum on Thursday announced new Internet securityprinciples, developed by a group of leading ISPs and multilateralorganisations, to help protect up to one billion users.Unveiling the new initiative here at its 50th annual meeting, the WEF saidBT, Deutsche Telekom, Du Telecom, Europol, Global Cyber Alliance, InternetSociety, Korea Telecom, Proximus, Saudi Telcom, Singtel, Telstra and ITUendorse these new principles combatting high-volume cyberattacks, protectingup to one billion consumers in 180 countries.SWITZERLAND MINTS WORLD’S SMALLEST GOLD COINNo joke: Switzerland has minted a gold coin so small you’d need to look veryclosely to see Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue at you.State-owned Swissmint said on Thursday that the 2.96-millimetre (0.12-inch)gold coin is the smallest in the world.It weighs 0.063 grams (1/500th of an ounce) and has a nominal value of ¼Swiss francs (USD 0.26).Swissmint said the coin, of which just 999 have been made, will be sold for199 francs with a special magnifying glass so owners can see the famousphysicist on its face.