IRANIAN FM: TEHRAN STILL WILLING TO NEGOTIATE WITH USIran is not ruling out negotiations with the United States even after anAmerican drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, the country'sforeign minister said in an interview released Saturday.Mohammed Javad Zarif told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that he would"never rule out the possibility that people will change their approach andrecognize the realities," in an interview conducted Friday in Tehran.There has been growing tension between Washington and Tehran since in 2018,when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear dealwith Iran. The U.S. has since reimposed tough sanctions that have crippledIran's economy.But Zarif suggested Iran was still willing to talk, though reiterated hiscountry's previous demand that first the U.S. would have to lift sanctions."For us, it doesn't matter who is sitting in the White House, what mattersis how they behave," he said, according to Der Spiegel."The Trump administration can correct its past, lift the sanctions and comeback to the negotiating table. We're still at the negotiating table. They'rethe ones who left."CHINA CORONAVIRUS SPREAD IS ACCELERATING, XI JINPING WARNSThe number of reported deaths from a viral outbreak in China has risen to54, with authorities in hard-hit Hubei province on Sunday reporting 13 newfatalities and 323 new confirmed cases.The latest numbers from Hubei, the epicentre of the contagion, would put thenationwide total of confirmed infections at 1,610, based on figurespreviously released by the central government.President Xi Jinping warned Saturday that China faced a "grave situation" asauthorities raced to contain a respiratory illness that has caused thewidespread abandonment of Lunar New Year celebrations nationwide andoverwhelmed health facilities in Hubei.The contagion remained centred on the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan,which accounted for seven of the new deaths and 46 of the new confirmedcases, said the Hubei Health Commission.Wuhan and more than a dozen other cities in the province have been lockeddown in a rapidly expanding quarantine effort marked by transport shutdownsand other restrictions on movement.Hundreds of military doctors have been sent to Hubei and authorities arerushing to build a pair of field hospitals to deal with the crisis aspatients swamp local medical facilities.TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST PEACE PLAN WILL BE HISTORIC: NETANYAHUIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday said he expected U.S.President Donald Trump's peace plan for the Middle East to be "historic"ahead of a trip to Washington."An opportunity such as this comes once in history and cannot be missed...Iam full of hope that we are on the verge of a historic moment in the annalsof our state," Mr. Netanyahu, who has been invited to meet Mr. Trump at theWhite House on Tuesday to discuss the plan, said in a statement.President Trump on Thursday said he will release his long-delayed planbefore meeting Mr. Netanyahu in Washington. "It's a great plan. It's a planthat really would work," he said. Prime Minister Netanyahu's political rivalBenny Gantz has also received an invitation to attend the White House talks.Mr. Gantz told a news conference in Tel Aviv on Saturday that the "peaceplan devised by President Trump will go down in history as a meaningfullandmark".He expected the initiative to allow "different players in the Middle East tofinally move ahead towards an historic regional agreement". The Palestinianleadership was not invited and has already rejected Mr. Trump's plan amidtense relations with the U.S. President over his recognition of Jerusalem asIsrael's undivided capital."This step only reaffirms our absolute rejection of what the U.S.Administration has done so far, particularly the recognition of Jerusalem asIsrael's capital," Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas' spokesman said in astatement earlier this week.HK DECLARES VIRUS EMERGENCYHong Kong leader Carrie Lam declared a virus emergency on Saturday,announcing measures to limit links with mainland China and prevent thespread of the new coronavirus that has claimed 41 lives.Flights and high speed rail trips between Hong Kong and Wuhan, the epicentreof the outbreak, will be halted. Schools that are currently on Lunar NewYear holidays will remain closed until February 17 and education authoritieshave asked universities to extend leave for students.Hong Kong's health authorities have confirmed five coronavirus cases, alllinked to Wuhan, with a further 122 persons being treated as suspected ofhaving the disease.Lam said all official visits to the mainland and official Lunar New Yearcelebrations would be scrapped immediately. But she rejected calls for atemporary ban on all arrivals from the mainland and said it would beimpractical to shut down all border crossings with the mainland.Lam also said she had sought assistance from China's State Council to ensurethere were adequate supplies of masks.Lam is dealing with the health issue as she faces broader tensions afterseven months of sometimes violent anti-government protests."I hereby urge all citizens stay united to fight against the epidemic toprotect all Hong Kong people's health and safety," she said.BOEING 777X: WORLD'S LARGEST TWIN-ENGINE JET COMPLETES FIRST FLIGHTBoeing has successfully completed the first test flight of the world'slargest twin-engined jet, the 777X.It comes as the firm attempts to boost its image after its 737 Max plane wasgrounded last year following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.The flight took off near Seattle and lasted four hours. Two attempts werecalled off this week due to high winds.Further tests are needed before the aircraft enters service with Emiratesnext year.The 252-foot-long passenger jet had been due to launch this year but hasbeen delayed by some technical difficulties.The 777X is a larger and more efficient version of Boeing's successful 777mini-jumbo. Standout features include folding wingtips and the world'slargest commercial engines.THREE ANTI-GOVT DEMONSTRATORS SHOT DEAD IN BAGHDADThree protesters were shot dead on Saturday in Iraq's capital and south,medics said, as demonstrators clashed with security forces clearing streetsand squares occupied for months by protesters.One demonstrator was killed in the capital Baghdad and two others were shotin the southern flashpoint city of Nasiriyah, medics in each city said.Iraqi security forces raided Baghdad's main protest site at Tahrir Square onSaturday, firing live rounds and tear gas at anti-government demonstratorswho have camped out there for months.The clashes took place after authorities began removing concrete barriersnear Tahrir Square and across at least one main bridge over the Tigris Riverin Baghdad.In the southern city of Basra, security forces raided the mainanti-government sit-in overnight and deployed in force to stop protestersgathering there again, security sources said.The police arrested at least 16 protesters in Basra, they said. The actionsappeared to be an attempt to fully clear out anti-government sit-ins and endmonths of popular demonstrations that have called for the removal of Iraq'sentire ruling elite.NEPAL CAN MEDIATE BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN: KATHMANDUNepal is a neutral country and can play a mediating role between India andPakistan if necessary, a powerful government source said here on Saturday,delinking concerns about terrorism from the question of revival of the SouthAsian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)."Dialogue is a must in resolving differences and if necessary Nepal canmediate as we are independent, peace loving, friendly and neutral in theregion. We love truth and facts and can be instrumental in finding a bettersolution," said the highly placed source who also urged India and Pakistanto invest in direct channels of communication.In this context, he reposed faith on the potential of the SAARC inaddressing regional issues arguing that it would be better for the region torevive the SAARC, and in every meeting with India, Nepal has raised thisissue. "There is no relation between SAARC and terrorism. Terrorism is auniversal threat but we maintain there is no relationship between terrorismand the (future of) SAARC," he said.The Nepal government source also pointed out the need for dialogue betweenIndia and Nepal to deal with the border dispute in the Kalapani region inUttarakhand. "We believe that together we can resolve any problem on thebasis of facts, evidences, truth and address the issues that truthindicates," said the official declaring that Nepal had "the courage toaccept the truth."The official's comments further added to the sentiments expressed by ForeignMinister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali who hinted to a group of visiting Indianjournalists here on Friday that the example of India-Bangladesh borderresolution could be attempted to firm up India-Nepal border as well.NOT MEETING FATF OBLIGATIONS WOULD BE DEVASTATING FOR PAKISTAN ECONOMICREFORM PROGRAM: U.S.Not meeting the obligations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) wouldhave a devastating impact on Pakistan's economic reform program, a top USdiplomat said.Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wellsmade the comments on Friday, a day after Pakistan Foreign Minister ShahMahmood Qureshi said the country should be taken off the FATF's 'grey list'as it has made considerable progress on the requirements of theinternational terror financing watchdog.Obviously, if Pakistan were not to meet FATF obligations or were to fail andbe blacklisted, that would be devastating for Pakistan's economic reformprogram and for its ability to attract investors, Ms. Wells told reportershere.We've been pleased to see progress by Pakistan towards fulfilling FATFobligations, said Ms. Wells, who has just returned from her trip to theregion, including a visit to Islamabad.She was responding to a question if the funding by the InternationalMonetary Fund could get affected if Pakistan does not meet the FATFregulations or the rules.There is a meeting underway currently in Beijing where Pakistan ispresenting its actions to the task force. So I defer to that task force tomake its evaluation, she said.But the more evidence of Pakistan's seriousness in both documenting itseconomy and in shrinking the space for militants to be able to takeadvantage of Pakistan's either banking system or territory, the moreconfidence that the international community and business community will havein working with Pakistan, Ms. Wells said.A Pakistani delegation led by Minister for Economic Affairs Division HammadAzhar is in Beijing to brief the financial task force about the steps takenby Islamabad to implement the recommendations made by the FATF.