Chinese authorities extended travel restrictions (FT) aimed at stopping the spread of a SARS-like coronavirus to an area that covers some thirty-six million people. They also shuttered tourist attractions including Beijing’s Forbidden City and canceled this weekend’s public Lunar New Year celebrations in several cities.
 
The World Health Organization decided yesterday that the outbreak does not yet qualify as an international public health emergency, but urged containment and mitigation measures. Medical facilities are struggling to accommodate (SCMP) patients with virus symptoms near the outbreak’s epicenter in Wuhan, where authorities said they plan to build a new medical center within six days. Chinese health officials said today that 26 people have died (NYT) from the outbreak, and 830 cases have been confirmed.

An Amnesty International study of tweets sent to ninety-five female politicians found that one in seven tweets included problematic or abusive content, such as attacks on gender, religion, caste, and marital status. The abuse was found to be substantially higher than it was for female politicians in the United States and the United Kingdom, who were the subjects of a previous study.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, accepted invitations from the White House to visit next week (Haaretz) to discuss an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said.
 
Iraq: Hundreds of thousands of people demanded an end to the U.S. presence (CNN) in Iraq at a march in Baghdad called for by prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The country’s legislature approved a program that offers arms (Al Jazeera) and two weeks of training to civilians who volunteer to support the military, the country’s defense secretary said. The understaffed military has struggled to contain violent attacks across the country.
 
Benin: A radio station owned by an opponent of the country’s president fired its staff (AFP) after it was banned from operating, according to employees. Amnesty International denounced a “climate of censorship and fear” among Benin’s media.

Poland’s Parliament approved a bill allowing politicians to fire judges (AP) who criticize their decisions, and it is expected to be signed into law by President Andrzej Duda. The European Union has said the law violates the democratic separation of powers, and the European Commission filed a suit at the European Court of Justice, asking for a temporary injunction.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Marta Figlerowicz looks at the influence of Poland’s right-wing Law and Justice party.
 
Portugal: A banker named as a suspect in an embezzlement investigation involving Angolan magnate Isabel dos Santos was found dead (FT) in Lisbon under circumstances that police said “pointed to suicide.”

The judge overseeing an extradition case against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou adjourned (CBC) Wanzhou’s four-day hearing without saying when she would issue a decision.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the controversies surrounding Huawei.
 
Brazil: The U.S. government is set to deport (Reuters) a planeload of Brazilians today in the second such flight since October. The number of Brazilians arrested at the U.S.-Mexico border increased more than tenfold in the 2019 fiscal year, compared with the previous fiscal year.

Visa officers were granted expanded powers to block pregnant women (NYT) from visiting the United States if it appears they intend to give birth in the country, according to a new rule. Women visiting for medical treatment must now prove that the treatment is not available in their home countries.

Transparency International’s new annual index found most countries showed little to no improvement in fighting corruption since last year. Somalia ranked as the most corrupt, while Denmark was found to have the least corruption.