Let's move on from impeachment, visiting U.S. Senators tell Ukraine's leader - Reuters

KIEV (Reuters) - A group of three U.S. Senators visited Kiev on Friday to convey a message of continued bipartisan support for Ukraine after it got entangled last year in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

U.S. Senators Ron Johnson, John Barrasso and Chris Murphy attend a news briefing following their meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kiev, Ukraine, February 14, 2020. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

The United States has been the most powerful backer of Ukraine in its standoff with Russia over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and support for separatist fighters in a simmering conflict in the eastern Donbass region.

But their relationship was tested after Trump froze nearly $400 million in security aid and pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate one of the Republican president’s Democratic rivals, former vice president Joe Biden.

Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House of Representatives but was acquitted this month in the Republican-led Senate.

“I think we all are confident that President Zelenskiy does not want to be involved in U.S. politics, and we hope that any pressure (that) existed in the past to do so is over,” Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said after meeting the Ukrainian leader..

“Our message is we want to put this impeachment question behind us, and we want to be moving together, Republicans and Democrats, in supporting Ukraine.”

Murphy was accompanied to Kiev by Republican Senators Ron Johnson and John Barrasso.

In a statement, posted on his office’s website, Zelenskiy said he wanted to change Ukraine’s global image so that people did not associate the country with corruption.

At the heart of the impeachment case was a transcript of a July 25 telephone call in which Trump asked Zelenskiy to work with U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to investigate Biden.

The fallout from the impeachment trial continued in Washington this week, as Trump said the military may consider disciplining former National Security Council aide Alexander Vindman, who testified in the case.

Asked if he regretted sending Giuliani to Ukraine last year, Trump said on Thursday in a radio interview: “No, not at all.” He also defended engaging Giuliani, a former New York mayor.

“Rudy is a high-quality guy,” he said in an interview that aired on iHeart Radio.

Trump also said he may stop allowing government aides to listen in on his telephone calls with foreign leaders.

Barr this week acknowledged that the U.S. Department of Justice was accepting and reviewing information from Giuliani ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, sparking concern from Democrats and some legal experts.

Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Gareth Jones

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2020-02-14 15:32:00Z
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Cruise from hell finally disembarks in Cambodia amid coronavirus fears - New York Post

The cruise from hell finally ended in Cambodia on Friday for elated and relieved passengers whose ship had been turned away from ports around Asia amid fears they could be carrying the coronavirus.

After being rejected from docking at five ports, passengers on the MS Westerdam were welcomed to Cambodia, a staunch Beijing ally whose authoritarian leader handed them flowers when they disembarked.

Prime Minister Hun Sen agreed to let the Holland America Line vessel dock at the port of Sihanoukville after Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Guam had barred the ship earlier.

“Today, although Cambodia is a poor country, Cambodia has always joined the international community to solve the problems that the world and our region are facing,” the strongman said as the first passengers emerged after two weeks at sea.

“How wonderful it is to be here. Thank you very much to the prime minister. He has a wonderful heart,” said Anna Marie Melon, from Queensland, Australia, who was among the roughly 100 tourists who were greeted warmly after their ordeal.

Waving a rose she received from the leader, she added: “I’m very excited (to be here)!”

The Westerdam, with 2,257 passengers and crew on board, was supposed to go on a 14-day cruise around East Asia — beginning in Hong Kong on Feb. 1 and ending on Saturday in Yokohama, Japan.

But despite having no confirmed cases of coronavirus, the ship was turned away over fears it was carrying someone with the new pathogen, which has killed almost 1,400 people and infected over 64,000, mostly in China.

Dozens of ecstatic passengers took advantage of their newfound freedom by visiting a nearby beach, hugging the country’s ruler and cheering as they headed to waiting buses.

One man even knelt down and kissed the ground.

“Cambodia pays more attention to human rights … we respect the rights of the more than 2,000 people on the boat,” Hun Sen said, adding that all the passengers would be allowed to disembark after no cases of the coronavirus were found aboard.

Some 20 passengers had reported stomach aches or fever, but tests for the virus done at the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh showed none had the illness.

“We don’t have wealth like a rich country but we have sympathy for the passengers stranded on the ship,” he said. “If Cambodia did not allow this ship to dock here, where should this ship go?

“I want to inform Cambodians and the world that I coming here even for a short time means this is no time for discrimination and to be scared, but a time for everyone to be in solidarity to solve the problems we are facing now,” added Hun Sen, who has been in power for 35 years.

Joe Spaziani, 74, from Florida, said: “Your country did a great job. Did a wonderful job. Thank you very much. We appreciate it very much.”

He and many fellow passengers wore a krama, a traditional Cambodian scarf, around their necks.

“Cambodia alone, even the United States, Guam, did not let us land, but Cambodia did, so that’s wonderful. Absolutely wonderful,” Spaziani added. “We appreciate it very, very much. It’s been a long struggle and we appreciate everyone being here.”

US Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy called the disembarking activities “heartwarming sights … with Cambodian hospitality on full display.”

He tweeted that “joint operation ‘Homeward Bound’ is underway!”

With Post wires

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2020-02-14 14:43:00Z
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World Health Organization Provides Update On Coronavirus | NBC News (Live Stream) - NBC News

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1. World Health Organization Provides Update On Coronavirus | NBC News (Live Stream)  NBC News
2. Watch: World Health Organization holds press conference on the coronavirus outbreak  CNBC
3. Watch live: World Health Organization provides update on coronavirus  NBC News
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2020-02-14 14:24:27Z
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Coronavirus live updates: China tries to get back to work; Hong Kong pledges $3.2 billion to fight virus - CNBC

This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

Total confirmed cases: More than 64,000
Total deaths: At least 1,380

9:03 am: Virus risk to US is 'very low,' but that could change 'rapidly,' Azar says

The American public's risk of getting infected with the new coronavirus is "very low" but that could change "rapidly," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CNBC. "We're deploying the full force of the U.S. government to protect the health and safety of the American people," Azar said. Health officials have confirmed 15 U.S. cases of COVID-19. Azar said people can protect themselves from the virus by washing their hands with soap and water, avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth. — Lovelace

8:48 am: Drugmaker says outbreak will likely continue for a few months and drag on its revenue

8:20 am: IMF chief says next two weeks will be critical for China

The next two weeks will be crucial in determining the economic impact of the coronavirus, says International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. In that time, factories are due to reopen in China, which would give a "better understanding on the resilience of China and on that basis, the spillover for the rest of the world," Georgieva said. She said the IMF was also watching how the new coronavirus was spreading outside of China, stating that it was "not a major issue for now" but if it spreads into "weak health system countries, for example in Africa" that may change. — McKeever

7:20 am: Businesses in China try to return to work

Two weeks after the Lunar New Year holiday was originally supposed to end, Chinese businesses are still hobbling as the country deals with disruptions from a highly contagious virus. The new coronavirus that began to grab national attention in mid-January has killed more than 1,300 people in mainland China. More than half of the provinces delayed the resumption of work from the first week of February by at least a week in an effort to keep people from interacting and spreading the virus. In many places, businesses were scheduled to resume work last Monday, but a variety of data indicates progress has been slow as the virus remains an unresolved concern. Many local governments have also imposed strict restrictions on entering certain areas and requiring quarantines of at least two weeks for people who have returned from out of town. — Cheng

7:10 am: Hong Kong pledges $3.2 billion to contain virus

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday pledged handouts totaling $3.2 billion to the Hospital Authority and businesses grappling with the coronavirus outbreak that has piled further pressure on the Chinese-ruled city's battered economy. Lam said the government would provide $605 million to the Hospital Authority in addition to a series of one-off payments to retailers and others impacted by the outbreak. Hong Kong has 56 confirmed cases of the virus, including one death. The package will need to be approved by the city's Legislative Council. — Reuters

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (orange)—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S., emerging from the surface of cells (green) cultured in the lab.

Source: NIAID-RML

6:30 am: China's Xi says country must fix loopholes exposed during coronavirus outbreak

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the ruling Communist Party to repair loopholes and weaknesses exposed during the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported Friday, citing state television. His comments came shortly after China's National Health Commission reported an additional 121 deaths nationwide, with 5,090 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The flu-like COVID-19 virus was found to have killed a total of 1,380 people in mainland China as of Thursday evening after the health commission said it had removed 108 deaths from the total figure due to a double-count in Hubei province — the epicenter of the outbreak. It is the second day in a row that the province made significant changes to its count, fueling doubts many have about the accuracy of China's tally. The White House does "not have high confidence in the information coming out of China," a senior U.S. administration official told CNBC on Thursday.

5:50 am: China's top auto industry body reportedly expects auto sales to tumble more than 10% in the first half of 2020

Auto sales in China are expected to fall more than 10% in the first six months of the year as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported Friday, citing China's top auto industry body. "We predict auto sales will drop more than 10% in the first half of this year, and around 5% for the whole year if the epidemic is effectively contained before April," Fu Bingfeng, executive vice chairman at China's Association of Automobile Manufacturers, told Reuters in an interview published Friday. CAAM's latest forecast reflects a much weaker outlook for auto sales in the world's largest auto market than it had initially projected. Last month, the industry body said it expected auto sales were likely to dip 2% in 2020.

Read CNBC's coverage from CNBC's Asia-Pacific team overnight here: China says six health workers have died, Singapore warns of recession. All times above are in Eastern time.

— Reuters and CNBC's Hannah Miller, Vicky McKeever, Sam Meredith, Weizhen Tan, Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.

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2020-02-14 13:19:00Z
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Coronavirus death toll mounts in China as U.S. braces for long fight, more cases - CBS News

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the new coronavirus, which has killed almost 1,400 people and is still spreading in China, could be around for at least another year. With the Chinese government reporting 121 more deaths and more than 5,000 new cases Thursday alone, the illness dubbed COVID-19 didn't even appear to have peaked.

Chinese health officials in the epicenter province of Hubei changed the way they officially diagnosed the disease this week, leading early Thursday to a sudden, alarming jump of about 14,000 new cases recorded in the region. But the person in charge of managing emergencies for the World Health Organization said that jump in the Chinese statistics did not indicate "a significant change in the trajectory of the outbreak."

It wasn't necessarily the "tip of an iceberg," said the WHO's Mike Ryan.

While the disease takes a fast-mounting toll, and sparks increasing scenes of draconian control measures being enforced in mainland China, there have been only three deaths blamed on it elsewhere; one each in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The U.S. has 15 confirmed cases, but none are said to be suffering serious symptoms.

A couple wear masks as they embrace amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus on Valentine's Day in Hong Kong, China, February 14, 2020. TYRONE SIU/REUTERS

Meanwhile, in the U.S. and around the world, evacuees flown back to their countries from Hubei province and put under immediate two-week quarantines continue to be released back into public life after being cleared of the disease.

Passengers from a cruise ship that was denied entry by five countries over fears of the virus finally disembarked Friday in Cambodia, expressing deep gratitude to the country's leader as he welcomed them with roses.

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2020-02-14 12:08:00Z
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Coronavirus: Senior Chinese officials 'removed' as death toll rises- BBC News - BBC News

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1. Coronavirus: Senior Chinese officials 'removed' as death toll rises- BBC News  BBC News
2. Coronavirus cases rise to more than 64,000 globally  CNN International
3. China coronavirus deaths and cases spike - BBC News  BBC News
4. The Coronavirus Story is Too Big for China to Spin  The New York Times
5. The System for Diagnosing Epidemics Is Failing  Bloomberg
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2020-02-14 10:57:15Z
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Cruise Ship Passengers Disembark After Being Stranded At Sea Over Virus Fears - NPR

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A passenger, right, is hugged by Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen after she disembarked from the MS Westerdam, at the port of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Friday. Heng Sinith/AP hide caption

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Heng Sinith/AP

Passengers and crew aboard a cruise ship denied entry at several Asian ports in recent days due to fears of coronavirus, cheered as they were finally allowed to disembark in Cambodia on Friday.

The MS Westerdam with nearly 1,500 passengers aboard had been rebuffed by Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and the U.S. territory of Guam before ultimately being allowed to dock at the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville.

Although none of the passengers or crew aboard had reported any symptoms of COVID-19, the pneumonia-like disease caused by the novel coronavirus, concern of contagion had forced them to remain at sea after the vessel docked in Hong Kong on Feb. 1.

Nothing to fear, we are all about peace and love: #Cambodian PM Hun Sen personally welcomes passengers of #Westerdam, the cruise ship earlier turned away by Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and Guam. #coronavirus pic cr Hun Sen's FB page pic.twitter.com/HXlRiY56qT

— Tan Hui Yee (@Tan_Hui_Yee) February 14, 2020

Cambodia's authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen, said he allowed the Westerdam to call in his country for humanitarian reasons and greeted the passengers as they disembarked.

"How wonderful it is to be here. Thank you very much to the prime minister. He has a wonderful heart," said Anna Marie Melon, from Queensland, Australia, according to The Associated Press. "I'm very excited (to be here)," she said as she waved a rose Hun Sen handed to her.

Disembarking day #Westerdam #sihanoukville #Cambodia pic.twitter.com/94QInSYvvG

— Chan Thul Prak (@prakchanthul) February 14, 2020

"Cambodia alone, even the United States, Guam, did not let us land, but Cambodia did, so that's wonderful. Absolutely wonderful," Joe Spaziani, 74, of Florida told local reporters. "We appreciate it very very much. It's been a long struggle and we appreciate everyone being here."

Holland America, which operates the Westerdam, said in a statement on Thursday that 20 samples taken aboard the ship had come back negative for coronavirus infection after being tested by the Pasteur Laboratory in Phnom Penh.

"We also extend our deepest gratitude to President Trump, Cambodia's Honorable Prime Minister Hun Sen, Canadian Foreign Minister [François-Philippe] Champagne, elected officials across the country and governments around the world for providing support and being effective allies in bringing our guests home," Stein Kruse, Group CEO, Holland America Group and Carnival UK, said in the statement.

Aboard another cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, passengers were celebrating Valentine's Day in quarantine as they remained shipbound at the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo. Nearly 220 people aboard the ship carrying 3,700 passengers and crew have been diagnosed with coronavirus infection.

Enlarge this image

Military medics arrive at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, on Thursday. On orders of the Central Military Commission, 11 transport aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force sent medics and supplies. Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images hide caption

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Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images

In China, where the virus was first identified in December, health officials reported 5,090 new infections and 121 new deaths, bringing the total number of cases in China since the outbreak began to 55,748, with 1,380 deaths. In its announcement on Thursday, the National Health Commission said the new toll takes account of some deaths in Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic, that were previously double counted.

According to the World Health Organization's latest situation report on Thursday, there have been another 447 confirmed cases in 24 other countries outside of China, with one additional death.

The figures from China were the second batch released after Hubei changed the diagnostic criteria for the disease, adding patients who were showing symptoms of COVID-19 but that either had not been tested for the virus or had previously tested negative. The change, apparently in response to a scarcity of test kits and concerns about their reliability, caused a sharp uptick in cases.

The World Health Organization on Thursday took pains to dispel concerns that the sudden increase resulting from the revised criteria in Hubei meant any shift in the mortality or severity of the epidemic.

"This does not represent a significant change in the trajectory of the outbreak," said Mark Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies program.

Meanwhile, a Chinese state-owned biotech company announced Thursday that antibodies harvested from the plasma of patients who had recovered from COVID-19 was showing promise as a possible treatment for the disease.

China National Biotec Group said it had detected antibodies to the novel coronavirus in plasma of people who had been infected but recovered. They used the antibodies to treat patients in critical condition, with significant results, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The report said the company sent a team to collect plasma from patients in the central city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began and where the largest number of coronavirus cases are still found, on Jan. 20.

It said three critically ill patients in the Jiangxia District of Wuhan received the treatment on Feb. 8 and that currently "more than 10" critically ill patients were being similarly treated.

"According to clinical results, 12 to 24 hours after the patients received the treatment, they have shown improved clinical symptoms, with main inflammatory indexes decreased significantly and some key indexes such as blood oxygen saturation improving comprehensively," Xinhua reported.

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2020-02-14 10:13:00Z
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