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More than 300 American passengers have been flown home from a cruise ship after two weeks under quarantine off Japan, including 14 found to have coronavirus who were kept isolated on the flight. Australia will evacuate more than 200 of its citizens onboard a coronavirus-stricken cruise ship being held under quarantine in the Japanese port of Yokohama, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. With the coronavirus outbreak in China continuing to spread, McDonald’s, Starbucks and other fast-food companies are ramping up “contactless” pickup and delivery services to keep their workers and customers safe, the companies said.

Israel’s prime minister hailed what he called efforts by friendly states to stop the International Criminal Court opening an investigation into alleged war crimes against Palestinians. The court’s chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in December there was enough evidence for an investigation into thousands of killings - but asked the court to rule on whether it had the jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories.

Hardliners are set to tighten control of Iran this week in a parliamentary election stacked in their favor, as the leadership closes ranks in a deepening confrontation with Washington. Big gains by security hawks would confirm the political demise of the country’s pragmatist politicians, weakened by Washington’s decision to quit a 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions in a move that stifled rapprochement with the West.

It is dark when Abisoye Adeniyi leaves home on the packed Lagos mainland, weaving through cars and minibuses. She reaches her bus stop as the sun rises. The 23-year-old Nigerian lawyer used to hop on a motorbike – known locally as an okada – for a quick ride to the bus that carries her from the mainland, where most of Lagos’s 20 million residents live, to work in the island business district. Since the bikes, along with motorized yellow rickshaws, became illegal in most of the city on Feb. 1, Adeniyi has added a 30-minute walk to her journey. Lagos state governor outlawed the loosely regulated motorbikes and rickshaws, citing safety and security concerns.

U.S.

More than 1,000 former Justice Department officials on Sunday called for Attorney General William Barr to resign over his handling of the trial of a longtime adviser of President Trump. The former officials, who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, criticized Barr for overruling his own prosecutors in a case that has prompted accusations that the Trump administration is weakening the rule of law.

Mississippi urged thousands of people in the Pearl River flood plain to evacuate as the river reached its highest level in 37 years near the state capital and was not expected to recede for days. Governor Tate Reeves had declared a state of emergency on Saturday as managers of the Ross Barnett Reservoir just upstream from the state capital of Jackson warned they had to start releasing more water into the Pearl River because it had reached capacity.

Battle of Iwo Jima 75 years on. This month marks the 75th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Iwo Jima, which saw some of the bloodiest fighting of World War Two take place on a small Japanese island 1,200 km (745 miles) south of Tokyo. Iwo Jima was the first native Japanese soil to be invaded during the Allied advance. Located halfway between Tokyo and Guam, it was regarded as a strategic outpost.

Team LeBron beat Team Giannis by two points at the 69th NBA All-Star game at a packed United Center that fell silent for eight seconds before tip-off as about 21,000 fans joined hands to pay their respects to global sports icon Kobe Bryant. The silence was broken by a string of thunderous “Kobe, Kobe, Kobe” chants that rocked the stadium as the crowd honored Bryant, who wore the No. 8 and No. 24 during a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers that was highlighted by five NBA championships.