US approves new antibody treatment – for arthritic cats

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved its first treatment to control pain associated with osteoarthritis in cats, which is also the first monoclonal antibody drug approved for any animal species.

by Agence France-Presse
14-01-2022

In this file photo taken on 27 October, 2021, a resident cat looks on at the Mao Thai Thai cat cafe in New Taipei City. – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 13, 2022 approved its first treatment to control pain associated with osteoarthritis in cats, which is also the first monoclonal antibody drug approved for any animal species. 

(Photo by Sam Yeh / AFP) / NO USE AFTER FEBRUARY 12, 2022 20:57:04 GMT –

Good news for senior felines hoping to get a spring back in their step. These lab-grown proteins have grabbed headlines during the pandemic for preventing high-risk people with Covid from getting severely ill.

Not all monoclonal antibodies target pathogens however. Some that are approved for humans with cancer perform other functions, like tagging cancer cells so the immune system can recognize them better and fight them.

Solensia, the new injectable drug approved for cats, works by attaching itself to a protein called nerve growth factor (NGF) that is involved in the regulation of pain.

When frunevetmab, the active ingredient in Solensia, binds to NGF, it prevents the pain signal from reaching the brain.

“Advancements in modern veterinary medicine have been instrumental in extending the lives of many animals, including cats,” said Steven Solomon, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, in a statement.

“But with longer lives come chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis,” he added.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of bones wears thin. Eventually the bones in a joint rub against each other, causing pain and lessening joint movement, and at times leading to bone spurs.

‘GOOD NEWS FOR OLD CATS’

The condition is thought to affect 60 percent of cats aged six years and up, and 90 percent of cats older than 12.

Because cats are not good at directly conveying their symptoms, researchers asked their owners about their animals’ level of impairment doing activities like jumping onto furniture, using their litter box, or grooming, and compared their abilities to before they developed osteoarthritis.

The owners were then asked to assess their cats’ response after receiving treatment.

Overall, the cats in the treatment group had better assessment scores than those who received placebos during randomized clinical trials.

Side effects of the drug, which is injected under the skin by a veterinarian once a month, included vomiting, diarrhea, injection site pain, scabbing on the head and neck, dermatitis and pruritus (itchy skin).

The effects were mild and didn’t require stopping treatment. Zoetis, the drug’s maker, said it should not be used in breeding cats or in those that are pregnant or lactating.

It also should not be taken by humans.

Zoetis declined to comment on its cost but said it would be priced “competitively.”

© Agence France-Presse

Also read: ‘Forgotten’ animals rescued after Indonesia volcano eruption

APARTHEID USA 
Group removing racist language from home deeds that kept families of color from buying homes



By: Alexa Liacko
Posted Jan 14, 2022

MINNEAPOLIS, Mn. — Racist language is written into thousands of home deeds across the United States. Phrases like "no race or nationality other than the Caucasian race” were commonly included in deeds to stop families of color from moving in. In big cities and small towns, the language still exists in those documents today.

Enforcing those words is now illegal, but in many places, the impact the language created is still felt.

The Zackery family has lived in their Minneapolis home for 20 years, but recently, they found their home’s deed contained a racial covenant meant to exclude Black families from moving in.

“It says that ‘no person outside or persons outside of the Caucasian race should own or inhabit the space thereof,’” said Kiarra Zackery.

It’s called a “racial covenant.” In the past, this could legally stop families of color from moving in.

“Your childhood, like all of those good things, it just makes you seem like if I'd been two generations older that I wouldn't have been having the same reality,” said Kiarra Zackery.

“I was disappointed,” said Ulysses Zackery. “Why would that language still exist? Why would that have to exist? And some people say, ‘Well, it's just words,’ but words hurt, and they still do.”

So, they turned to a group called Just Deeds. The nonprofit removes racial covenants from home deeds for free. Despite the covenants no longer having legally binding power, Amy Schutt, the assistant city attorney for the City of Minneapolis, said it’s important to remove language.

“By 1968, with the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act, racial covenants had become illegal, but they remained on the title to properties, here in Minneapolis and across the country,” said Schutt. “And really, no effort was made to address the negative, the negative results of those covenants that had impacted people of color, who lives in our community. I think it's important for folks to realize that when you do nothing to address the problem, we shouldn't be surprised that the problem exists today.”

The Zackerys were relieved and excited to go through the simple process of removing the racial covenant from their home deed.

“For me, it's like making my home, our home, on paper, really be our home,” said Kiarra Zackery.

In many neighborhoods where racial covenants were once in place, Schutt said segregation still exists. Neighborhoods that had the restrictive covenants are still mostly White, and those without are still mostly Black.

“Homes that had racial covenants on them have a present-day home value of between four and 15% higher than homes that never had a racial covenant on them,” said Schutt. “Disparity in value was created at the time, and then nothing was done to address the disparity, and so it exists through today. So, I think it's important for folks to realize that when you do nothing to address disparities, they continue.”

Schutt said there are an estimated 8,000 homes across Minneapolis with racial covenants in their home deeds. Patrick Whelan and his wife, Vera, found their Minneapolis home had a racial covenant on it, too.

“I kind of was just taken aback,” said Whelan. “I thought to myself, why did I not know this?”

He and his wife started asking their neighbors to check their deeds. Many of their neighbors found the same thing he did.

“This is a real reason for a huge amount of wealth disparity between races in the united states,” said Whelan.

They went to Just Deeds to get the racial covenant removed. He said the process was simple and only required a form to be filled out. He hopes his neighbors and community will look into their own home deeds to help address the racism of the past.


“It was people who look like me that put racial covenants in place. Well, it's probably people like me that need to make some changes,” said Whelan.

History is going to continue to repeat itself until we decide to interrupt it. But you can't interrupt intentionally, right, if you don't know what the history is,” said Kiarra Zackery.

If you are curious about your own home deed, Mapping Prejudice is a resource you can use to search your own neighborhood.

Additionally, you can connect with Just Deeds HERE.

Up to 30 Percent of Seafood in the U.S. Is Caught by 'Fish Pirates'

BY ORLANDO JENKINSON 

ON 1/14/22 

As much as 30 percent of all seafood in the US is caught illegally by "fish pirates" according to new reporting detailed in the National Geographic documentary Trafficked.

Presented by investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller, the Trafficked episode airing on February 2 follows "fish pirates" and the organizations and authorities around the world trying to stop them.

The episode highlights how illegal fishing has become a multi-billion-dollar black market, putting additional strain on ocean ecosystems already under enormous pressure from legal fishing practices.

"I think shocked is probably the most accurate term," van Zeller told Newsweek when asked to describe her reaction to the findings.

"But when you learn just how easy it is to fish illegally and get away with it, you understand why it's being done so often and so widely. As a former special agent with the National Marine Fisheries Service told me, 'It's like robbing a bank in the middle of the ocean.' In this case it's a bank worth more than 20 billion dollars, which is what the black market for illegal fishing is estimated to bring in. It's the biggest wildlife trade on the planet and yet almost no one seems to be paying attention to it," she said.

The investigative journalist said that among the most shocking truths she explored while filming the episode was how destructive legal fishing practices are too:

"I spent several days out in the Atlantic Ocean, aboard some of these industrial fishing vessels, and what I witnessed was shocking. The nets are gigantic, and when they are reeled in you can see how they just bring everything up. All of the fish within half a mile or so out of the water, all in one swoop. You're literally mining the ocean of all its life. And this is all legal. I think that was the most shocking thing I found during filming this episode of Trafficked. That the impact of illegal fishing is huge, but it still pales in comparison to the effects of industrial legal fishing," she said.

The documentary airs at a time when authorities in the United States are seeking to clamp down on alleged illegal fishing practices that occur around the world, including in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced in a report published on Wednesday (January 12) the US government would impose port restrictions on all Mexican fishing vessels that fish in the Gulf of Mexico.

Effective from February 7, NOAA said the vessels would be "prohibited from entering U.S. ports, and will be denied port access and services."

The decision follows Mexico's identification by NOAA for "illegal, unreported and unregulated" fishing in the region.

"This action by the United States is a result of Mexico's identification for IUU fishing in 2019 and subsequent negative certification in NOAA Fisheries' 2021 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries for its continued failure to combat unauthorized fishing activities by small hulled vessels (called lanchas) in U.S. waters," NOAA said.

Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, were contacted for comment by Newsweek.

New episodes of Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller premiere Wednesdays at 9 P.M. ET/PT on National Geographic. Episodes are also available to stream on Hulu.

Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller. The investigative journalist said that she was "shocked" to learn up to 30 per cent of seafood in the US is caught by so-called "fish pirates".

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONTENT | DISNEY BRANDED TELEVISION

 Pak envoy to US hails Pakistan-born scientist on world's first pig-to-human heart transplant

• After first pig-to-human heart transplant, Ambassador of Pakistan to US Dr Asad Majeed Khan holds virtual meeting with Pakistan-born scientist Dr Mohiuddin. 
• Envoy congratulates scientist for making all Pakistanis proud with landmark medical achievement. 
• Dr Mohiuddin works at centre of xenotransplantation research and is involved in grafting animal organs into dying patients.

---

Ambassador of Pakistan to US Dr Asad Majeed Khan congratulated Dr Mohammad Mohiuddin for achieving "a ground-breaking milestone" in medical history after the world's first pig-to-human heart transplant was done in the US recently.

"In a virtual meeting earlier today I congratulated Dr.Mohammad Mohiuddin on his path breaking transplant surgery in the field of Xenotransplantation," said the Pakistani ambassador in a tweet.

"I told him how proud all Pakistani Americans were on this remarkable achievement by a fellow community member," he wrote.

Dr Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin is a Pakistani-born doctor, who is the director of the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Programme at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. 

His work at the centre of xenotransplantation research involves grafting animal organs into dying patients. The scientist has spent the last 30 years trying to figure out how to increase the chances of survival for terminal patients in need of a heart transplant.

On January 11, Ambassador Asad Majeed Khan had tweeted about the landmark achievement by the Pakistan-born scientist. "A moment of pride for Pakistani American community: Surgeons at Maryland University have successfully transplanted genetically modified pig’s heart into a human being," said the ambassador in a tweet on January 11.

"A ground breaking milestone by a Pakistani American doctor Dr Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin."

Talking to TRT World in November last year, Dr Mohiuddin had said, “Just in the United States, 150,000 people are waiting for different organ transplants. Unfortunately, many of them will die waiting because there’s no alternative available.”

“Our idea is to somehow find that alternative,” he pointed out.

Dr Mohiuddin is a practising Muslim and believes it’s okay to use pig organs if it can help save human life.

Regarding pig hearts, Dr Mohiuddin said, “We don’t want to change that pig into a human. We want to do minimal changes that would be enough for the heart not to go through rejection."

“So the first goal is to keep this pig heart (viable) long enough that a human heart becomes available for transplant," he asserted. "But if a pig heart works fine then there’s no reason to take it out.”

Mohiuddin moved to the US in the early 1990s after graduating from the Dow University of Health Sciences in Karachi. 

US Discourages India From Acquiring Russian S-400 Missile Defence Systems

In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.

All India

Press Trust of India

Updated: January 13, 2022

The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.

Washington:

The US has made clear to India that it is "discouraging" it from proceeding with its acquisition of S-400 missile defence systems from Russia but Washington will have to weigh "important geostrategic considerations" while taking a decision on growing calls for a presidential CAATSA waiver to New Delhi, President Joe Biden's nominee for Coordinator for Sanctions Policy has told lawmakers.

In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the then Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.

The Biden administration has not yet clarified whether it will impose sanctions on India under the provisions of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for procuring the S-400 missile systems.

CAATSA is a tough US law that was brought in 2017 and authorises the US administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia.

James O'Brien, President Biden's nominee for the US State Department's coordinator for sanctions policy was asked at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday if the US experience with Turkey provided any warning or lessons on how to proceed with India.

The US has already imposed sanctions on Turkey under the CAATSA for the purchase of a batch of S-400 missile defence systems from Russia.

Following the US sanctions on Turkey over the procurement of S-400 missile systems, there were apprehensions that Washington may impose similar punitive measures on India. Russia has been one of India's key major suppliers of arms and ammunition.

"I believe they are very different circumstances, and, of course, different security partnerships -- but how do you believe we should think about the possibility of sanctioning our friends and not just threats?" Senator Todd Young asked O'Brien, a former career employee of the State Department.

In response, O'Brien said it was difficult to compare the two situations, with a NATO ally that is breaking with legacy defence procurement systems, and then with India, a partner of growing importance, but that has legacy relationships with Russia.

"The administration has made clear that it is discouraging India from proceeding with the acquisitions of Russian equipment, and there are important geostrategic considerations, particularly with (unintelligible) relationship to China. So, I think we have to look at what the balance is,” he said.

“And, of course, India's got some decisions in front of it, so it would be premature to say more. But this is something I look forward to working with you and other interested members," O'Brien said.

India pursues an independent foreign policy and its defence acquisitions are guided by its national security interests, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in November last year, amid apprehensions over the possibility of US sanctions on New Delhi over the procurement of S-400 missile systems from Russia.

The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.

Senator Young said India was currently taking delivery of the Russian S-400 system and was also in the process of acquiring new frigate ships from Russia.

"Both are important systems for the Indians," he said.

"India is a vital ally in our competition against China, and thus, I believe we should resist taking any actions that might drive them away from us and the Quad. I am therefore strongly supportive of waiving CAATSA sanctions against India, given our shared foreign policy interests," he said.

"As most here know, the Indians have a lot of legacy systems from previous decades, and they are interoperable with the Russians' systems. And the Indians seek to defend their land border from Chinese incursions and defend the Indian Ocean from an increasingly adventurous and lawless blue ocean navy in the People's Liberation Army," he said.

Quad - comprising Japan, India, Australia and the United States - is a grouping of four countries. In November 2017, the four countries gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the "Quad" to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.

In the midst of growing global concern over China's expansionist behaviour, the foreign ministers of the Quad member nations met in Tokyo on October 6 and reaffirmed their collective vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

There are growing calls in the US urging the Biden administration to grant the CAATSA waiver to India.

In October last year, two powerful US Senators - Mark Warner of the Democratic Party and John Cornyn of the Republican Party - had urged President Biden not to impose provisions of CAATSA against India for buying the S-400 missile system, arguing that it was in America's national security interest.

“We strongly encourage you to grant a CAATSA waiver to India for its planned purchase of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system. In cases where granting a waiver would advance the national security interests of the US, this waiver authority, as written into the law by Congress, allows the President additional discretion in applying sanctions,” they wrote in a letter to Biden.

Both Warner, Chairman of the Senate Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Cornyn, Senate Minority Whip for the Grand Old Party (GOP), are co-chairs of the powerful Senate India caucus, the only country-specific caucus in the US Senate.

Talking about his visit to India, Senator Tommy Tuberville said, “I was heartened that Prime Minister Modi not only committed the continuing support of our Freedom of Navigation Operations but that India will increase them”.

Tuberville is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Visited the Philippines, Guam, Taiwan, and India. Purpose: listen to our allies and see firsthand the threat China poses to its neighbours, free trade, and democracy. We also discussed the region's response to COVID,” he had said.

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Fighting to Never Forget

Students and professors rally for the future of Youngstown State’s Jewish studies center amid budget cuts, saying its lessons are as important as ever.

By Colleen Flaherty
January 13, 2022

TWITTER/@YSUFACULTY
Supporters of Youngstown State University’s Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies attend a student-led rally on campus Wednesday.

Students at Youngstown State University held a rally Wednesday in support of the campus Center for Judaic and Holocaust Studies. The center’s faculty director, Jacob Ari Labendz, will be laid off in May as part of a larger plan to cut YSU’s academic budget.

The university hasn’t said it will close the Holocaust studies center, which is endowed. But students, alumni and faculty and community members say it can’t function without a dedicated expert at the helm. Currently there are no plans to replace Labendz, the Clayman Assistant Professor of Judaic and Holocaust Studies in the history department.

“White nationalism and anti-Semitism remain a threat to minorities and to take away a resource like the CJHS, as well as Dr. Labendz’s expertise in the subject matter, is a direct threat to the safety of vulnerable populations in Youngstown,” says a petition delivered to YSU administrators during the rally, along with individual student letters of support for the center and Labendz.

The petition notes that a self-declared white nationalist threatened the Youngstown Jewish Community Center with gun violence in 2019 and was later convicted of the crime. It also says the campus center faced a separate, emailed bomb threat last year.
‘Holocaust Studies Matter’

“In a world still reeling from its legacy—and in a climate that weaponizes the memory of Nazism to make facile political and personal gains—Holocaust studies matter,” the petition says. “In a world where individuals try to deny or debate the Shoah as an actual historical event, Holocaust studies matter. In a time when religious and cultural minorities face growing threats from white nationalists, Holocaust studies matter. History begs careful and sensitive inquiry and, through its analysis, teaches lessons in the present day that matter.”

In addition to campus groups, organizations such as the American Historical Association, the Islamic Society of Greater Youngstown and the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation have asked the university to restore Labendz’s position.

The historians’ letter to YSU, for instance, says that the university “has so far made no announcement regarding how (or even if) it intends to continue the center or use its endowment. Given this center’s various roles within and beyond the university, diminishing its activities runs counter to YSU’s stated commitment to greater community engagement and to improving diversity, equity and inclusion.”

The letter also questions that the decision to shrink core liberal arts departments such as history, calling it an “especially odd move at a time when civic leaders from all corners of the political landscape have lamented the level of historical knowledge of American citizens. In addition, overwhelming evidence shows that employers seek the kind of skills a history degree can provide.”

Wednesday’s protest is one of several that students, alumni and faculty members have planned since YSU announced plans in November to lay off at least nine full-time professors, some of them tenured, and shutter 26 academic programs. YSU engaged with Gray Associates, a program evaluation and data analytics firm, prior to making these cuts, and has said that 10 affected programs “have no students and three others have just one. In all, about 90 students—less than 1 percent of all YSU students—are enrolled in the programs that will be eliminated.”

During the academic review, programs were grouped into five viability categories, from “Grow+” to “Sunset.” Labendz’s center wasn’t part of the review process, but history, his home department, was designated a “growth” category. It remains unclear to him and his supporters why he was targeted for nonrenewal.
‘A Detriment to the Students and the Community’

Mustansir Mir, a tenured professor of Islamic studies at YSU, also received a notice of retrenchment last fall. Mir did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he is referenced in a joint open letter to YSU from two local Islamic and Jewish groups, which also expresses support for Labendz. The letter says Mir is the only full-time faculty expert in religion remaining in the department of humanities and social sciences after previous faculty departures and that his loss “will mean the end of the study of religious traditions around the world at YSU, something that clearly will be a detriment to the students and the community at large.”

Studying the historical lessons of the Holocaust is “equally as crucial,” the joint letter continues. “During these perilous, polarized times, where we are seeing a substantial uptick in anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and political misappropriation of Holocaust history, it is more vital now than ever that a pedagogically qualified historian be present on campus to teach about and direct programming on this material.”

Labendz, who attended the student-led rally in support of the center, said, “I do understand that the people running the university believe, in good faith, in the very big decisions they’re making for the university. But I’m hoping they make different ones. And I’m hoping that they involve faculty in a more meaningful way, moving forward.” Most of all, he said, “I just hope that the center can keep doing its work. [The center has] been around for decades and I’d like it to be around for decades more, particularly given what we’re seeing in the political arena today, which includes but is not limited to what are apparently increased manifestations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.”

He added, “We’ve had incidents in Youngstown, and I think we need to be prepared to not only talk about hatred, but to talk about the communities that are being targeted and spread awareness of what they’re like, what they value and what their histories are.”

Labendz will have the opportunity to appeal his layoff, but he said he’s not yet sure how to fight for his position when he’s only ever received positive reviews and kudos. His contract ends May 15, but he said the university has already agreed to let him stay on until the end of that month to hold a center symposium he’s planning.

YSU says that cutting Labendz, Mir and other professors and programs is necessary due to decreased enrollment—some 11 percent over all in three years—and a projected $10 million structural deficit next year. The university balanced the budget this year due to an influx of COVID-19–related funding, but it says it can’t count on that kind of help in the long run.

“While these are difficult decisions, they are necessary to further position us for success in the post-pandemic era,” President Jim Tressel said in a statement.

The university hasn’t declared financial exigency, however, which is academe’s widely followed standard—based on American Association of University Professors guidelines—for eliminating tenured professors. At the same time it is making cuts to academics, the university is increasing funding for athletics by some $885,000 to add three new Division I sports, buying land around campus and considering building a new student center, according to the National Education Association–affiliated faculty union. The group has asked for an audit of university finances, thus far unsuccessfully.

Mark Vopat, professor of philosophy at YSU and faculty union spokesperson, said, “We’re not saying that some of these programs didn’t need to be pared down. Some of them were done.” Yet “there are all these other places in the university where we’re not clear where the money is going, or what kind of cuts are being made.”

More than surplus academics, Vopat said that YSU suffers from “a lack of vision … A budget isn’t a vision.”

“Some of this seems to be happening without a vision for what the university is supposed to look like or going to look like,” Vopat continued. “Something like Judaic and Holocaust studies, and Islamic studies, for that matter—these are important issues right now, right?”

Citing news about public figures comparing wearing face masks or getting vaccinated against COVID-19 to elements of the Holocaust, Vopat said students need to learn precisely why such analogies are misguided.

“These are things students should have access to.”

US College Spends More on Marketing Than Financial Aid


By Suzanne Smalley
January 13, 2022

The largest private college in Michigan is a nonprofit that spends more on marketing than on financial aid and graduates fewer than a quarter of its students, according to a joint investigation from the Detroit Free Press and ProPublica that was published Wednesday.

Federal data shows that Baker College’s graduation rate is well below the national average for private four-year schools and is the third lowest among 26 private four-year schools in Michigan. Ten years after enrolling at Baker, fewer than half of former students made more than $28,000 a year.

Baker has an unusual oversight structure in which the university president also serves on the Board of Trustees, the Free Press and ProPublica reported. A retired Baker president served as the board chair until recently, earning more than $1 million a year for part-time work, the investigation showed. Boards are typically used to counterbalance university administrations and check their power, making the Baker arrangement highly unusual.

Baker officials told the Free Press and ProPublica that its open enrollment policy, under which it accepts most applicants with a high school degree or GED, is to blame for its low graduation rate. Baker has stressed its commitment to improving student outcomes and reducing debt but has not said how it does so, the Free Press and ProPublica reported.

Baker spent $9.7 million on marketing in the 2019–20 school year, which its president, Bart Daig, has previously said was justified because many of the programs Baker offers are not well-known.

Tony Blair: Iraqis 'disgusted' at knighthood being offered to war architect

A petition calling for the former prime minister to have his knighthood withdrawn has collected almost three quarters of a million signatures

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks during a news conference in London on 6 July 2016, following the release of the Iraq Inquiry report (AFP)

By Alex MacDonald

Published date: 5 January 2022 

Iraqi campaigners and politicians have expressed their "disgust" at the decision by the British government to award a knighthood to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, citing his involvement in the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation.

The anger comes as a petition launched in the UK calling for the former Labour leader to have the honour withdrawn reached over 700,000 signatures.

Blair has been accused of war crimes over his role in the invasion of Iraq, which toppled longtime ruler Saddam Hussein and led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, widespread internecine violence and ongoing instability in Iraq and beyond.

There was further anger on Wednesday after it was claimed by Blair's former defence secretary Geoff Hoon that he had been told to "burn" a memo from the British attorney general which cast doubt on the legality of the Iraq war.

Anti-war protesters march down Whitehall in London on 22 March 2003 to demonstrate against the invasion of Iraq by the United Kingdom and United States (AFP)

Rami al-Sakini, an Iraqi MP and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Middle East Eye that the knighthood should be withdrawn.

"Of course this is neither appropriate nor correct," said Sakini, who is an MP for the southern city of Basra, which fell under British administration following the invasion.

"Especially for Tony Blair, who participated in the occupation of Iraq and was a major reason for wasting the resources of this country."

Sakini, whose Sairoun party won the largest number of seats in Iraq's parliamentary elections last October, said giving Blair the title was effectively "honouring the violation" that was the Iraq war.

The actions of British forces in Basra have repeatedly come in for criticism with claims of willful killings, detainee abuse, and what the International Criminal Court has deemed "credible allegations of torture and rape".

Apart from the initial violence, many have argued that the subsequent chaos provoked by the invasion led to the rise of the Islamic State group, who capture vast swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and have launched terror attacks around the world that have led to thousands of deaths.

Ali al-Baroodi, a teacher and campaigner in the former IS stronghold of Mosul - which was obliterated in 2017 in a foreign-backed campaign to defeat the militant group - told MEE that honouring Blair was "disgusting" referring to him as "B-Liar" as many anti-war campaigners have done.

"It's horrendous news to be honest," he said.

'A crime against humanity'

On Tuesday, Blair's successor as Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, said that the former prime minister "deserves" to be knighted and cited a number of domestic reforms he introduced during his time in office, 1997-2007.

Speaking to ITV, Starmer said he understood many held "strong views" about the Iraq war, but said that this did "not detract from the fact that Tony Blair was a very successful prime minister of this country and made a huge difference to the lives of millions of people in this country.”

But for Iraqis, and many others across the globe, the 2003 invasion has come to be seen as an outrage.

Kamal Jabir, a politician with the Civil Democratic Alliance, and a former freedom fighter against Saddam Hussein in the 80s and 90s, said: "With millions of caring world citizens l stood firm in objecting the 2003 war against Iraq - I was hoping that Tony Blair as one of the young leaders of the Labour Party would have the courage and the wisdom not to follow [US President] George Bush’s wrong decision to invade Iraq using false and fabricated intelligence to justify an ugly and unfair war that paved the way to the rise of the present corrupt and Islamic extremist parties and gangs in Iraq."

'The 2003 war against Iraq was a crime against humanity - therefore Blair should be tried instead of getting rewarded'

- Kamal Jabir, Civil Democratic Alliance

Although Blair was leader of the Labour Party through three UK election victories, his reputation since leaving office has slumped heavily and continued scrutiny has been poured on the justification for the war.

The new revelations by Hoon, which come from his recently published memoirs, suggest that a "very long and very detailed legal opinion” from Attorney General Peter Goldsmith indicated that the invasion was on shaky legal ground.

“It was not exactly the ringing endorsement that the chief of the defence staff [Mike Boyce] was looking for, and in any event, I was not strictly allowed to show it to him or even discuss it with him,” wrote Hoon.

“Moreover, when my principal private secretary, Peter Watkins, called [Blair's chief of staff] Jonathan Powell in Downing St and asked what he should now do with the document, he was told in no uncertain terms that he should ‘burn it’.”

He said the legal document was not burned, but eventually locked away in a Ministry of Defence safe and is "probably still there."

A poll released by the British polling agency YouGov on Tuesday suggested the UK public was overwhelmingly opposed to the former premier being knighted.

According to the poll, 62 percent of the public either "tend to" or "strongly" disapprove of Blair receiving the honour, with only 14 percent in favour.

Meanwhile, 56 percent of Labour Party voters also disapproved.

Jabir told MEE that virtually the entire political establishment in the UK and US now accepted that the war had been wrong and that the damage caused in "wasted" lives had been incalculable.

"The 2003 war against Iraq was a crime against humanity - therefore Blair should be tried instead of getting rewarded," he said.

"Looks like the moral compass among the leaders in the UK is fading away like every other country in the world."

Shark Attacks More Likely During Full Moon, Study Finds

BY ROBYN WHITE ON 1/13/22 

Sharks are more likely to attack humans during a full moon, a study has found.

While the exact cause for this remains unclear, the research shows a clear connection between a shark's behavior and the lunar phase.

The scientists, from the University of Florida and Louisiana State University, used shark attack data between 1970-2016 from across the globe to test for a relationship between shark attacks and the full moon. Their findings are published in the Frontiers in Marine Science.

A series of tests were run across shark attacks that occurred in North America (1,095 attacks), Australia (307 attacks), Africa (280 attacks), and the Pacific Ocean Islands (260 attacks). These four groups were selected based on having more than 100 reported shark attacks in their coastal waters.

Findings confirmed that more shark attacks "than were expected" occurred when lunar illumination was more than 50 percent, while all instances of fewer shark attacks than expected happened at less than 50 percent.

A full moon occurs at 100 percent illumination.

"Anytime an observed number of shark attacks was significantly lower than the expected number, it was during very low lunar illumination, whereas anytime an observed number of shark attacks was significantly higher than the expected number, it was during high lunar illumination phases," the study said.

Great white sharks in particular, were found to have attacked less when the lunar illumination was between 0 percent and 10 percent.

Researchers have found a link between the lunar phases and shark attack risk.

"If lunar light indeed has a direct effect on shark behavior, the significant moon phase effect detected for white sharks may be explained by this species' habit of feeding mostly at or near the water surface, targeting meso- and epipelagic prey items," the study said.

Shark attacks are incredibly rare, however according to the research it is "well-documented" that more occur when the moon is in a fuller phase.

In 2020, the International Shark Attack File, run by Florida Museum, recorded 129 shark-human interactions. This included 57 unprovoked attacks, 10 of which were fatal. Three of these were in the U.S., six in Australia and one in Saint Martin.

"Our findings contribute to a fuller understanding of shark behavior, which may help risk management in the future," the study said. "Ultimately, moon phase and lunar illumination will not likely be a strong predictor that alone can forecast risk of shark attack. Local environmental variables are expected to continue to be more practical information for assessing risk.

"However, the results here strongly support the idea that moon phase does play a role in overall risk of shark attack, and if future studies are able to consider local and regional environmental conditions along with lunar illumination, both understating shark attacks and forecasting risk may improve."

The research concludes that while preventing all shark attacks worldwide remains an "unlikely goal," a continued understanding of shark biology, ecology, and environmental interactions should help to develop better estimates of attack risk.

US to return looted Veiled Head of a Female antiquity to Libya

$1.2m piece had been stolen from a tomb in north African country and bought by billionaire Michael Steinhardt

'Veiled Head of a Female', a marble antiquity dating back to 350 BCE

 valued at about $1.2 million. Handout

Ahmed Maher

Jan 13, 2022

American prosecutors and law enforcement officers have announced they are to return an ancient antiquity to Libya after investigators concluded that smugglers had stolen the marble artefact from its country of origin.

“It is with great pleasure that we are returning the Veiled Head of a Female back to the nation of Libya, from where it was looted during civil unrest,” said Erik Rosenblatt, deputy special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations in New York.

“Though this antiquity has a monetary value of more than $1.2 million, it is the historical and sentimental value of the antiquities that renders it priceless to the people of Libya.”

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Chastised US tycoon returns $70m of looted antiquities from Iraq, Lebanon and beyond

A long investigation last month concluded that New York billionaire Michael H Steinhardt bought the antiquity in 2000. It came from a tomb in the ancient city of Cyrene, modern day Shahhat, in north-eastern Libya.

Prosecutors have worked over the past five years with investigators from several countries including Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Turkey and Lebanon.

They said Mr Steinhardt – whose net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $1.2 billion – has owned and traded more than 1,000 antiquities since 1987 and his art collection has been valued at about $200m.

American billionaire Michael Steinhardt has agreed to turn over $70 million worth of stolen antiquities and will be subject to an unprecedented lifetime ban on acquiring such items. AP

His lawyers said he agreed to surrender 180 stolen antiquities valued at $70m. Mr Steinhardt, 81, from Brooklyn, has been banned for life from acquiring antiquities.

“I’m committed to ensuring transactions in the art industry are legal and those peddling in stolen or looted antiquities are shut down," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. "While the million-dollar price-tag on this relic is impressive, you can’t put a price on a country’s cultural heritage.

The Veiled Head of a Female is the first object of the looted collection from 11 countries to be repatriated.

A Neolithic mask (C) loaned by Michael Steinhardt is displayed at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. AP

The antiquities had been trafficked for years by 12 illicit networks and appeared on the international art market without legal paperwork.

New York state laws allow prosecutors to return stolen property such as antiquities to its rightful owners irrespective of when the theft took place.

The US is one of the first countries to sign and ratify the 1970 Unesco Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

Unesco estimates the illegal trading in antiquities and cultural valuables rakes is worth about $10bn a year.

Updated: January 13th 2022, 2:18 AM