February 13, 2020

Daily News Brief

February 13, 2020

Top of the Agenda

Virus Count in China’s Hubei Province Jumps With New Diagnostic Criteria

Chinese authorities reported a total of 14,480 cases of the new coronavirus, known as COVID-19, yesterday in Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak. The total rose to almost ten times that of the previous day after reporting criteria were broadened (SCMP) to allow clinicians to diagnose the virus. Previously, patients were only diagnosed using special test kits.

The test kits are in short supply across China, so clinicians may now use lung scans (NYT) and other tests to make diagnoses. Although the criteria expansion addresses what was widely considered to be underreporting of the virus, lung scans could result in misdiagnosing seasonal flu as the coronavirus. The World Health Organization announced it is working with experts to determine official diagnostic criteria, while Beijing replaced senior leadership (WaPo) in Hubei Province.  

Analysis

“The coronavirus puts the contradictions at the heart of modern China in plain sight. There is the need to get word out to the population so that people can take preventive steps and react appropriately if they fall ill, but the government is afraid to allow information to be shared widely, as doing so could feed unrest along with the narrative that the leadership has failed the people,” CFR President Richard N. Haass writes for the Washington Post.

“Humanity’s dramatic progress against specific infectious diseases has far outstripped the pace of investment in good health-care systems, responsive governance, dependable infrastructure, and the other more reliable guarantors of health. These basic factors are crucial, when a new disease such as COVID-19 suddenly emerges, in establishing how fast and how far it will spread and how may will perish because of it,” CFR’s Thomas J. Bollyky writes for the Atlantic.

Pacific Rim

EU Suspends Cambodia Trade Benefits Over Human Rights

The European Union suspended tariff waivers (Straits Times) for $1.5 billion worth of Cambodia’s annual exports to the bloc, citing political repression, poor labor rights, and land grabs.

South and Central Asia

Pakistan Sentences Militant Leader for Financing Terrorism

A Pakistan court sentenced Hafiz Saeed (Dawn), who was accused of planning the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, to five and a half years in prison on charges of financing terrorism. Pakistan faces possible sanctions for its lax counterterrorism efforts (WSJ).

India: More than twenty foreign delegates visited Kashmir (VOA) to assess the political situation there after New Delhi revoked the region’s special administrative status.

In Foreign Affairs, Pratap Bhanu Mehta discusses what the decision on Kashmir means for India’s democracy.

Middle East and North Africa

UN Publishes List of Firms Tied to Israeli Settlements

The UN human rights office published a list (UN) of 112 companies with business tied to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The report said that although the settlements were illegal under international law, the companies themselves were not necessarily engaged in illegal activity.

Libya: The UN Security Council passed a resolution (UN) demanding that parties in Libya’s civil war commit to a “lasting cease-fire” based on the terms agreed upon during recent peace talks in Geneva.

Sub-Saharan Africa

WHO Extends Global Health Emergency Status for DRC Ebola Outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo still constitutes an international public health emergency (WHO) and urged sustained commitment to response measures.

This CFR Backgrounder looks at the Ebola virus.

Sudan: The country’s transitional government announced it reached a settlement (AFP) with the families of victims of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which was perpetrated by al-Qaeda militants who trained in Sudan. Compensation for the victims is a prerequisite for Sudan’s removal from the U.S. terrorism blacklist.

Europe

Italian Senate Lifts Salvini’s Immunity

Italy’s Senate voted to lift parliamentary immunity (CNN) for populist party leader Matteo Salvini, allowing him to be tried on charges relating to his treatment of migrants in 2019.

Spain: The former CEO of Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, also known as Pemex, was arrested (WSJ) in Spain, Mexico’s attorney general said. Mexico will seek to extradite the former executive, who is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes.

This CFR Backgrounder looks at the extradition process.

Americas

Protesters Denounce Canadian Gas Pipeline

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to meet with cabinet members today to discuss protests (CBC) against the planned Coastal GasLink pipeline. The protests have halted rail transit across the country, and members of the indigenous Wet’suwet’en Nation have launched a legal challenge (Reuters) against the pipeline, citing environmental concerns.

Amazon Rainforest: Pope Francis ignored a proposal (VOA) to ordain married men and let women serve as deacons in the Amazon, despite support for the measure from local bishops who say it would combat a shortage of clergy members in the region.

United States

Attorney General to Testify on Sentencing Controversy

U.S. Attorney General William Barr has agreed to testify (CNN) in March before the House Intelligence Committee, where he will be questioned about matters including the Justice Department’s intervention in the sentencing of President Donald J. Trump’s longtime ally Roger Stone, which prompted four U.S. prosecutors to resign from Stone’s case this week.

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