| We’re covering the growing repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak, the addition of Michael Bloomberg to this week’s Democratic debate, and a bankruptcy filing by the Boy Scouts of America. | |  By Chris Stanford | | | At a hospital in Wuhan, China, the city where the coronavirus outbreak originated. More than 73,000 people in Asia have caught the virus. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images | | | The fatality rate of the new coronavirus is far higher than that of the seasonal flu, according to a new analysis from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. | | | Yesterday: Americans flown home from a contaminated cruise ship in Japan said they were unaware until late that some evacuees were infected. “I didn’t know until we were in the air,” said Carol Montgomery. “I saw an area of plastic sheeting and tape.” | | | Another angle: HSBC, one of Hong Kong’s most important banks, said today that it would cut 35,000 jobs over the next three years, in part because of disruptions caused by the outbreak. On Monday, Apple cut its quarterly sales expectations and warned that the virus threatened global supply chains. | | | Mr. Bloomberg had failed to qualify for past debates in part because the Democratic National Committee had set a threshold for campaign contributions, which he is not accepting. The elimination of that requirement — a change criticized by Mr. Bloomberg’s rivals — allowed him to join Wednesday’s event in Las Vegas. Nevada’s caucuses are Saturday. | | | “The Daily”: Today’s episode is about Mr. Bloomberg’s history of political and charitable contributions. | | | The bodies of two U.S. troops who were killed in Afghanistan arrived at Dover Air Force Base last week. Doug Mills/The New York Times | | | When the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and toppled the Taliban’s government, much of Afghan society welcomed American troops. | | | After 18 years, that good will has long faded. Some Afghan soldiers have turned on their American partners, in so-called green-on-blue attacks. Two U.S. soldiers were killed this month in such an assault. | | | Yesterday: A Taliban spokesman confirmed that the insurgents had agreed to the terms of a deal and that the signing would happen this month. | | | The U.S. effort to prevent the use of the Chinese company’s equipment in the next generation of wireless networks has largely failed, as European leaders discount American warnings that Huawei represents a security threat. | | | The U.S. said it will stop sharing intelligence with any country that uses Huawei equipment, but Britain appears to be paying no price for its decision to let the company into parts of its network. Germany looks poised to follow suit. | | | What’s next: The Trump administration is attempting to cut off Huawei from American technology, but the company is still outcompeting its few rivals. | | | Quotable: “Many of us in Europe agree that there are significant dangers with Huawei, and the U.S. for at least a year has been telling us, do not use Huawei. Are you offering an alternative?” said Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Estonia’s former president. “What is it that we should do other than not use Huawei?” | | | Brian Otieno for The New York Times | | | Three decades of crises have left Somalia’s government incapable of providing even basic services. So young Somalis have sprung into action as volunteer medics, road-builders, educators and more. | | | After a deadly truck bombing in Mogadishu in December, volunteers including Dr. Amina Abdulkadir Isack, above right, tracked the victims, called their families and collected donations. “It showed us we could do something to save lives,” she said. | | | PAID POST: A Message From XBrand | | Renewable Energy in Today's Age | | Look around you...All of the things that you love about this planet can be used to power it. the sun, rain, wind, tides and waves. We are creating renewable enery that benefits you and our planet, more efficiently and inexpensively. Recharge today with something different. | | | | Learn More | | | | Bankruptcy filing for Boy Scouts: Facing a surge of legal costs over its handling of sexual abuse allegations, the Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy protection today. It was unclear how the process would affect the 110-year-old organization, which has 2.4 million participants. | | | Tim Gruber for The New York Times | | | Snapshot: Above, County Road JJ outside Arcadia, Wis., where a school bus slid off the road last fall. Throughout much of the Midwest and South, the rural transportation system is crumbling, and as supersize vehicles bear heavier loads, maintenance budgets can’t keep up. | | | What we’re reading: This collection of letters to The Guardian. “British newspapers’ letters pages are a peculiar sort of joy,” writes Peter Robins, an editor in our London newsroom. “Recently, readers of The Guardian have been debating how old you have to be before it’s eccentric to keep boiling up your annual 18-pound batch of homemade marmalade. Bidding started at 77 and has escalated rapidly.” | | | David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews | | | Read: “Apeirogon,” the latest novel from Colum McCann, examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of two grieving fathers. | | | Abdi Latif Dahir is The Times’s East Africa correspondent. A Kenyan of Somali descent, he reports in and about several countries. We reached him in Nairobi, Kenya, to talk about his article mentioned above, about young Somalis. | | | This is such a powerful story of resilience and hope. How did you find it? | | | Late last year, there was a big attack in Mogadishu, the worst by Al Shabab in two years. And one thing stood out. Almost all the news stories mentioned that a lot of students had died, young people who wanted to be doctors or were studying other specialties that would help the country. | | | On Jan. 1, I flew to Mogadishu, to follow up on the attack and to write about these students and what they mean to Somalia. | | | Beydan Pastry, a coffee house in Mogadishu. Brian Otieno for The New York Times | | | I went to this crisis center. They were collecting the names of the victims and reaching out to their families. I wanted to sit among them and see what it was like. They were checking in, asking the families, how are you today? | | | And maybe they’d hear that the hospital bill had been paid so that was OK, but the family hadn’t eaten breakfast that day. So they would corral someone to get food over to them. | | | I wanted to write about the chutzpah to invent these systems, to stay strong with all that was happening. | | | People could rattle off all these names of people they’ve known who’ve been killed. But then they would say, we want to stay here and be the ones to fix this country. They’re creating tech hubs, and restaurants and delivery services that are thriving. Because of the attacks on hotels and restaurants, it’s safer to stay home, have friends over and order a meal. | | | How is it being the East Africa correspondent? | | | I’ve had the job since November. It’s incredible. This is a dynamic, evolving region that’s changing socially, geopolitically, economically. It’s a great place to be a journalist. Honestly, you could write a story every hour. | | | That’s it for this briefing. See you next time. | | Thank you
Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford provided the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. | | | Were you sent this briefing by a friend? Sign up here to get the Morning Briefing. | | |
