UN RECLASSIFIES CANNABIS AS LESS DANGEROUS DRUG

In reviewing a series of World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on marijuana and its derivatives, the CND zeroed-in on the decision to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — where it was listed alongside deadly, addictive opioids, including heroin.

The CND’s 53 Member States voted to removed cannabis – where it had been placed for 59 years – from the strictest control schedules, that even discouraged its use for medical purposes.

With an historic vote of 27 in favour, 25 against, and one abstention, the CND has opened the door to recognizing the medicinal and therapeutic potential of the commonly-used but still largely illegal recreational drug.

Moreover, according to news reports, the decision could also drive additional scientific research into the plant’s long-heralded medicinal properties and act as catalyst for countries to legalize the drug for medicinal use, and reconsider laws on its recreational use.

India has voted with the majority at the United Nations to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from the list of most dangerous substances in the flagship international Convention on narcotic drugs.

Twenty-five countries, including China, Pakistan, and Russia, voted “No”, and there was one abstention – Ukraine.

“With (this) historic vote”, the UN said, “the CND has opened the door to recognizing the medicinal and therapeutic potential of the commonly-used but still largely illegal recreational drug”.

GRIM DAY IN U.S. AS COVID-19 DEATHS AND HOSPITALIZATIONS SET RECORDS

The number of people who have died due to the coronavirus in a single day in the United States has reached a new record as the country reported more than 3,157 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

The grim figure, reported on Wednesday, came as new hospital admissions went past the 100,000-mark, prompting health experts to warn that the numbers are likely to increase.

Wednesday also saw more than 200,000 new infections confirmed in the US, the second time in less than a week, according to Johns Hopkins.

The US has reported almost 14 million coronavirus cases and more than 273,000 deaths.

“We are now in that range, potentially, to start to see 150,000, 200,000 to 250,000 deaths a day from this virus,” Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Al Jazeera.

“So the mortality concerns are real and I do think, unfortunately, that before we see February, we could be close to 40,000 to 50,000 who have died from the virus.”

US President-elect Joe Biden said that on his first day in office he would ask Americans to wear masks for 100 days to help reduce transmission of the virus that is again surging in the country with the world's highest number of deaths and infections.

"I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask. Just 100 days to mask -- not forever," Biden said in excerpts of an interview to be broadcast on CNN later Thursday.

To build trust in vaccines after they are approved, the 78-year-old Biden said he was willing to be vaccinated in public -- following up on similar commitments from former US presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Biden also used the interview to say he had asked the government's top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci to join his COVID team and serve as a chief medical adviser.

US SENATE OKAYS BILL TO DO AWAY WITH COUNTRY CAP ON H-1B VISA

The US Senate has unanimously passed a Bill that eliminates the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrant visas and raises it for family-based visas, a legislation that would hugely benefit hundreds of thousands of Indian professionals in America who have been waiting for years to get their green cards.

The passage of the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act by the Senate on Wednesday comes as a big relief to Indian IT professionals who come to the US on H-1B work visas and their current waiting period for Green Card or permanent residency is running into decades.

Originally passed by the US House of Representatives on July 10, 2019, by a bipartisan 365 to 65 votes, the legislation increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from seven per cent of the total number of such visas available that year to 15 per cent. It was sponsored by Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah in the Senate.

The legislation eliminates the seven per cent cap for employment-based immigrant visas, a provision that will facilitate removal of the massive backlog of Indian IT professionals in the US. It also removes an offset that reduced the number of visas for individuals from China. Because of arbitrary per-country caps, the legal status of Indian IT professionals was constantly in jeopardy.

The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act creates a more merit-based system that levels the playing field for high-skilled immigrants, said Senator Kevin Cranmer.

US SENATE PASSES BILL TO RAISE COUNTRY CAP ON GREEN CARDS, INDIANS MAY BENEFIT

The US Senate on Wednesday passed a legislation raising country limits on the annual grant of Green Cards — permanent residencies — that, when enacted, will stand to benefit hundreds of thousands of Indian-origin applicants who currently face a statistical possibility of waiting for decades for their turn.

The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act was passed on Wednesday by unanimous consent. The House of Representatives had passed its own version of the legislation in 2019.

The two bills will now go through a reconciliation process to iron out the differences in the House and Senate versions, and a combined legislation must pass both chambers again before being sent to the White House for the president’s signature and enactment.

“Ending nationality discrimination and levelling the playing field for high-skilled applicants, our legislation will keep families together while helping American companies retain top talent. I urge my colleagues and the President to take the final steps necessary to make these reforms a reality,” said Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Indian American lawmaker who co-sponsored by the House bill.

CHINA IS GREATEST THREAT TO FREEDOM - US INTELLIGENCE CHIEF

The top US intelligence official says China is the "greatest threat to democracy and freedom" since World War Two.

Writing in the Wall St Journal, John Ratcliffe said China was growing its power by stealing US secrets and then replacing US firms in the market.

The Trump administration has taken a hard line on China, imposing tariffs on Chinese goods and accusing Beijing of intellectual property theft.

China has not yet responded.

However, it has responded forcefully to US moves such as the imposition of tariffs and efforts to keep the telecoms giant Huawei out of the American market.

Beijing was preparing for confrontation with the US and intended to dominate the world "economically, militarily and technologically", Mr Ratcliffe warned.

Some of Mr Ratcliffe's comments echo previous interventions by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and FBI chief Christopher Wray.

However, they also come at a time when China has stepped up pressure on US ally Australia, publishing a list of ways it wants Canberra to change its behaviour, slapping tariffs on imports of Australian wine and provoking the Australian government over its rights record in Afghanistan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying had earlier on Wednesday accused the US of "launching various political oppressive campaigns against China", adding that this came "out of strong ideological bias and a strategy to contain China".

"There is a Chinese saying... 'the eye sees what the mind believes'," she said in her daily press conference. "We hope the US will... stop regarding everyone as spies."

US TOUGHENS RULES FOR CHINA PARTY MEMBERS

President Donald Trump’s administration has restricted travel to the US for Chinese Communist Party members and their families, the NY Times newspaper reported on Thursday, a move China condemned as political oppression. New rules limit the validity of travel visas for party members and families to one month and a single entry. Reuters

I WON’T IMMEDIATELY LIFT CHINA TARIFFS: BIDEN

President-elect Joe Biden says he won’t immediately lift tariffs placed by President Donald Trump on many imports from China or break Trump’s initial trade deal.

Biden says he wants to maximise his leverage in future talks with the United States’ geopolitical rival.

Speaking to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, Biden said, “I’m not going to make any immediate moves, and the same applies to the tariffs”. Biden adds in Friedman’s column published Wednesday: “I’m not going to prejudice my options”. Under Trump, the US and China engaged in a yearlong trade war that has been largely frozen since a Phase One deal was reached in January. While some industries have benefited from Trump’s protectionist policies, the policies have been largely panned by the business community and most experts---and most of the cost of tariffs has been borne by American businesses and consumers.

Biden tells Friedman an early priority after his January swearing-in will be to restore relationships with allies to strengthen his negotiating position with China. Biden says key to talks with China is “leverage” and in his view “we don’t have it yet”.

BREXIT: ‘BREAKTHROUGH STILL POSSIBLE’ AS UK-EU TRADE TALKS RESUME

Britain and the EU will resume talks on a post-Brexit trade deal on Friday despite a senior UK government source saying the prospect of a breakthrough is "receding".

Sources suggested Brussels had hardened its stance on how common rules and regulations should be enforced with time running out.

But an EU source told the BBC "there were never any surprises or new demands" from their side.

The current rules end on 31 December.

A senior UK government source told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg that the EU team were "bringing new elements into the negotiation" at the "11th hour".

The source said a breakthrough was "still possible in the next few days but that prospect is receding".

Both sides are urgently seeking compromises in key areas, including fishing rights and competition rules.

An EU source told the BBC's political editor that talks were "extremely sluggish" around the so-called level playing field for competition rules and standards while another EU insider suggested the UK is "posturing".

CORONAVIRUS | DR. ANTHONY FAUCI SAYS U.K. RUSHED APPROVAL OF COVID-19 VACCINE

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, on December 3 said the U.K. was not as rigorous as the U.S. health authorities in its COVID-19 vaccine approval process.

The U.K. on December 2 became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for the coronavirus.

“The U.K. did not do it as carefully,” he told Fox News. “If you go quickly and you do it superficially, people are not going to want to get vaccinated.”

“We really scrutinise the data very carefully to guarantee to the American public that this is a safe and efficacious vaccine,” he said.

We have the gold standard of a regulatory approach with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The U.K. did not do it as carefully and they got a couple of days ahead,” the 79-year-old expert said.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the fastest to go from concept to reality, taking only 10 months to follow the same developmental steps that normally span a decade.

The U.K. has defended its approval process, and said the jab is safe and effective.

“No vaccine would be authorised for supply in the U.K. unless the expected standards of safety, quality and efficacy are met,” the regulator said.

PAKISTAN PM IMRAN KHAN, PRINCE CHARLES TALK OVER PHONE; DISCUSS CLIMATE CHANGE, COVID-19

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and U.K.’s Prince Charles on Thursday spoke over phone and reaffirmed the close bond between the two commonwealth nations as they discussed various issues, including climate change and COVID-19.

The Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Khan agreed on the need for greater global co-operation in dealing with shared global challenges, especially on climate change and protecting the environment, the British High Commission said in a statement.

The U.K. is hosting COP26 (Climate Change Conference) next year and Prince Charles welcomed Pakistan’s resolve to tackle the threat of climate change, reaffirming the U.K.’s support for increased use of renewable energy in Pakistan.

They reaffirmed the close and unique bonds between the two commonwealth nations including how the U.K. and Pakistan show the best of international friendship, it said. Prince Charles, during the call, also condoled the deaths due to COVID-19 in Pakistan, the statement said. Pakistan has reported 8,205 deaths due to COVID-19.

FRANCE TO INVESTIGATE DOZENS OF MOSQUES SUSPECTED OF ‘SEPARATISM’

France will on Thursday start investigating dozens of mosques suspected of fomenting Islamist ideology to combat the rising threat of religious extremism, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

The government has launched what it calls an unprecedented action against “separatism” following several Islamist attacks in France this autumn, including the beheading of a teacher who had shown his class caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad.

Darmanin said 76 mosques out of the more than 2,600 Muslim places of worship had been flagged as possible threats to France’s Republican values and its security. Where suspicions are confirmed, the mosque will be closed down, he said.

“There are in some concentrated areas places of worship which are clearly anti-Republican,” Darmanin told RTL radio, “(where) imams are followed by the intelligence services and where the discourse runs counter to our values.”

Investigators will dig into the mosques’ financing and the background of imams deemed suspicious and search for evidence, among other things, of Koranic schools for young children.

President Emmanuel Macron has warned of the growing menace of ‘Islamist separatism’ and its challenge to the unity of the secular French republic. Core French values such as the freedom of belief, gender equality and the right to blaspheme are threatened in localised areas, he has said.

BANGLADESH BEGINS RELOCATING ROHINGYA REFUGEES TO ISLAND

Authorities in Bangladesh have begun relocating thousands of Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process, officials said Thursday.

The United Nations has also voiced concern that refugees be allowed to make a “free and informed decision” about whether to relocate to the island in the Bay of Bengal.

The island’s facilities are built to accommodate 100,000 people, just a fraction of the million Rohingya Muslims who have fled waves of violent persecution in their native Myanmar and are currently living in crowded, squalid refugee camps.

On Thursday, 11 passenger buses carrying refugees left Cox’s Bazar district on the way to the island, where they are expected to arrive after an overnight stopover, a government official involved with the process said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said “a few thousand” refugees were in the first batch. Authorities in Cox’s Bazar did not say how the refugees were selected for relocation.