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Hundreds of people began disembarking a cruise ship quarantined in Japan as criticism mounted of the country's handling of an onboard outbreak of the new coronavirus that has infected more than 540 people. The death toll from the coronavirus in mainland China passed 2,000 but the number of new cases there fell for a second straight day, offering a sliver of hope and helping Asian shares and U.S. stock futures rise.

Michael Bloomberg will make a high-risk debut on the Democratic debate stage in Nevada, joining five presidential rivals who have been eagerly awaiting their chance to confront the free-spending and fast-rising billionaire. The nationally televised debate will give many voters their first unscripted look at Bloomberg.

A New York jury began deliberations in the rape trial of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Regardless of the verdict, Weinstein’s legal problems are far from over. The producer has pleaded not guilty to raping Jessica Mann, a one-time aspiring actress, and sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi. He faces life in prison if convicted of the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault.

As Republican President Donald Trump seeks a second term in November, Americans’ interest in voting is growing faster in large cities dominated by Democrats than in conservative rural areas. If the trend lasts until Election Day on Nov. 3, it would be a reversal from the 2016 election when rural turnout outpaced voting in urban areas, helping Trump narrowly win the White House.

China has revoked the press credentials of three journalists of the Wall Street Journal after the newspaper declined to apologize for a column with a headline calling China the “real sick man of Asia”, the foreign ministry said. Spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing made “stern representations” to the paper over the Feb. 3 column, which China criticized as racist and denigrating its efforts to combat a coronavirus epidemic, but the paper had failed to apologize or investigate those responsible.

World

For all the relief felt in other parts of eastern Australia as torrential rain in the past few weeks doused wildfires and filled reservoirs, the tiny township of Murrurundi, one of the driest places in the country, just can’t seem to catch a break. The struggling farming community of less than 900 people saw the rain falling in surrounding hills, but the three weeks of drizzle it has received was barely enough for families desperate to fill their water tanks.

Authorities in Indian Kashmir are cracking down on virtual private network apps used to circumvent a months-long ban on social media, police said, as part of a broader effort to quell unrest over the withdrawal of the region’s autonomy. Social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are still blocked, even after the government restored limited mobile data service and the internet in Kashmir.

One of Hong Kong’s most experienced judges has warned that a storm over the rule of law has “broken out in full force” in the protest-hit Asian financial hub, urging people to treasure the system. In a rare comment, Justice Kemal Bokhary of the city’s highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, built on a high-profile 2012 statement that a legal storm of “unprecedented ferocity” threatened the former British colony.

The bells of London’s Westminster Abbey will ring out for Prince Andrew’s 60th birthday on Wednesday even though he has stepped down from public life following a backlash about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The birthdays of senior members of the royal family, including Andrew’s, are traditionally celebrated with bell ringing at the Abbey. The bells will chime at 13:00 GMT.