China reported 394 new cases of the coronavirus yesterday, its lowest daily total (Reuters) since January 23, reflecting new reporting criteria (Straits Times) in Hubei Province, the outbreak’s epicenter, that only include diagnoses confirmed by lab tests. It was the second time in a month that the reporting criteria were changed.

More than 2,100 people have died from the virus worldwide, including two passengers (Kyodo) aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan and a man in South Korea (Yonhap). Hundreds of passengers are exiting Diamond Princess this week after a quarantine; over six hundred on board had confirmed cases of the coronavirus. 

Indian and U.S. trade negotiators have agreed not to rush into a trade deal, the Hindustan Times reports. U.S. President Donald J. Trump was reportedly considering signing such a deal while visiting India next week, but the two sides disagreed on issues including market access and data localization.
 
CFR’s Alyssa Ayres breaks down U.S.-India trade tensions.
 
Sri Lanka: The country will withdraw its cosponsorship (AP) of a 2015 UN resolution calling for investigations into crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa announced. Rajapaksa oversaw a military crackdown on rebel fighters during the conflict.

Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi announced he will seek a vote of confidence (Reuters) for his chosen cabinet next week. Former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi, who resigned in November but continues to serve in a caretaker capacity, said he would quit the role if Allawi’s government failed to win support by March 2.
 
CFR’s Steven A. Cook writes that Iraqis, rather than U.S. lawmakers, should determine Iraq’s future.
 
Tunisia: Prime Minister-designate Elyes Fakhfakh announced a deal to govern in coalition (Reuters) with the country’s moderate Islamist Ennahda party, likely avoiding an early election.

At least twelve Somali soldiers died after al-Shabab militants attacked (Al Jazeera) two military bases using an explosive-laden vehicle.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at al-Shabab.
 
Mali: The International Criminal Court rejected an appeal (AP) from alleged Islamist extremist Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud, allowing Al Hassan to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Timbuktu from 2012 to 2013.

A shooter targeted two hookah bars in the western German city of Hanau, killing at least nine people. The attack (DW) is being investigated for a far-right motive, German prosecutors said.
 
UK: The Home Office announced a new points-based immigration system that penalizes low-skilled workers (BBC) applying for visas

The Canadian rail firm Via Rail said it temporarily laid off (CBC) nearly one thousand workers due to disruptions in rail lines caused by protests against the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
 
Mexico: Former President Enrique Pena Nieto is under investigation as part of a government anticorruption probe of bribes allegedly exchanged for business contracts with the state-run oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, a senior official told the Wall Street Journal.

The Pentagon’s top policy official, John Rood, resigned at President Trump’s request, according to Rood’s resignation letter (CNN), while Trump named (NYT) U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell the new acting director of national intelligence. 

A University of Rochester–led research team found evidence that natural sources of methane emissions, such as the ocean bed and mud volcanoes, are responsible for a smaller share (Nature) of the greenhouses gases in the atmosphere than previously thought, suggesting emissions caused by fossil fuels have been underestimated (NYT) by 25 to 40 percent.