TRUMP UNVEILS WEST ASIA PLAN, PALESTINIANS PROTESTU.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday proposed creation of a Palestinianstate with capital in eastern Jerusalem, dependent on Palestinians takingsteps to become self-governing, as part of a peace plan to end decades ofconflict in the region.Senior administration officials said that under Mr. Trump's proposed WestAsia peace plan, the U.S. will recognise Israeli settlements on the occupiedWest Bank.In exchange, Israel would agree to accept a four-year freeze on newsettlement activity while Palestinian statehood is negotiated."Today, Israel has taken a giant step toward peace," Mr. Trump said as heannounced the plan at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu at his side, saying he also sent a letter about it to PalestinianPresident Mahmoud Abbas."This is a historic day," Mr. Netanyahu said, comparing Mr. Trump's peaceplan to former President Harry Truman's 1948 recognition of the state ofIsrael. "On this day, you became the first world leader to recogniseIsrael's sovereignty over areas in Judea and Samaria that are vital to oursecurity and central to our heritage," he added, using the Biblical namesfor the West Bank.The absence of the Palestinians from Mr. Trump's announcement is likely tofuel criticism that the plan tilts toward Israel.U.S. officials said they were braced for initial Palestinian skepticism buthoped that over time they will agree to negotiate.Mr. Trump has endorsed a proposed map outlining the two states, theofficials said. The Palestinian state would be double the size of land thatPalestinians currently control and would be connected by roads, bridges andtunnels, the official said.Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians demonstrated in Gaza and Israeli troopsreinforced positions near a flashpoint site between the Palestinian city ofRamallah and the Jewish settlement of Beit El in the West Bank.DEFYING U.S., U.K. GIVES HUAWEI 5G ROLEPrime Minister Boris Johnson granted Huawei a limited role in Britain's 5Gmobile network on January 28, resisting U.S. pressure to exclude the Chinesecompany from next generation communications over fears Beijing could usethem to spy. Britain had to weigh its "special relationship" with the U.S.against Chinese trade and investment ties which it wants to develop afterleaving the EU.Mr. Johnson, in the biggest test of his post-Brexit foreign policy to date,ruled that "high-risk vendors" would be allowed into the "non-sensitive"parts of 5G networks.However, their involvement will be capped at 35%, they will be excluded fromthe sensitive core, where data is processed, and they will be banned fromall critical networks and locations such as nuclear sites and militarybases, the government said.The decision will dismay President Donald Trump's administration which fearsChina could use Huawei to access Western communications. It warned Londonthat giving Huawei a role would risk intelligence cooperation."This is a UK-specific solution for UK-specific reasons and the decisiondeals with the challenges we face right now," Communications Secretary NickyMorgan said following a meeting of the National Security Council chaired byJohnson.Huawei was not mentioned by name in the British government's statement, butBritish cyber security officials said they had always treated the company asa "high risk" vendor."This evidence-based decision will result in a more advanced, more secureand more cost-effective telecoms infrastructure that is fit for the future.It gives the UK access to world-leading technology and ensures a competitivemarket," Huawei vice president Victor Zhang said.CORONAVIRUS: AIRLINES CUT CHINA FLIGHTS AS COMPANIES RESTRICT TRAVEL ONVIRUS FEARSAirlines including United Airlines Holdings Inc said they were cancelingsome flights to China as demand fell sharply and global companies told theiremployees not to travel on deepening fears over the spread of a flu-likevirus.The coronavirus that originated in the city of Wuhan has killed 106 peoplein China and spread across the world, rattling financial markets.The United States warned that Americans should reconsider visiting China,while Britain advised against all but essential travel to mainland China.South Korea also advised its citizens to stay away.Facebook Inc became the first major U.S. company to announce a travelsuspension after the U.S. government's warning, saying it had askedemployees to halt non-essential travel to mainland China and to work fromhome if they had traveled there.Chicago-based United said it was suspending 24 U.S. flights to Beijing, HongKong and Shanghai between February 1 and February 8 due to a significantdrop in demand.Europe's biggest bank, HSBC Holdings PLC, banned all staff travel toChinese-ruled Hong Kong for two weeks and to mainland China until furthernotice, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.The British-based lender, which has the largest presence among foreign banksin China, also asked staff who have recently visited the country to undergoa self-imposed 14-day quarantine. The virus has an incubation period of upto 14 days.U.S. rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc imposed similar measures, according to amemo seen by Reuters.In South Korea, home appliances maker LG Electronics Inc put a complete banon travel to China and has advised employees on business trips in thecountry to return home as quickly as possible, a company spokeswoman said.South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc said it was urging employees to avoidall non-essential travel to China, while banking group Standard CharteredPLC restricted travel to both mainland China and Hong Kong.In Germany, auto supplier Webasto, which has 11 sites in China, including inWuhan, has halted all corporate travel to and from China after an employeewas infected.Japan's Honda Motor Co Ltd said it recommended employees avoid travel toChina, while Nissan Motor Co Ltd said it plans to evacuate its Japanesestaff and their families in Wuhan via a government-chartered flight.CARIBBEAN EARTHQUAKE OF 7.7 PROMPTS OFFICE EVACUATIONS IN MIAMIA powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake has struck in the Caribbean, promptingbrief tsunami warnings and office evacuations as far away as Florida.The quake hit between Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), the US Geological Survey (USGS) said on Tuesday.Buildings shook and tremors were felt across the Caribbean, but there wereno immediate reports of casualties.Some offices were temporarily evacuated in Miami and parts of Jamaica.Warnings by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) were later withdrawn.The PTWC initially said "hazardous tsunami waves" were possible for coastslocated within 300km (186 miles) of the earthquake's epicentre.This included parts of Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islandsand Jamaica, it said. But in an update at around 20:45 GMT, the PTWC saidthe "tsunami threat had now largely passed".Seismologist Dr Lucy Jones tweeted: "The M7.7 Jamaican quake producedsideways motion on the fault, so the tsunami risk is low."ISRAEL'S PM NETANYAHU INDICTED ON GRAFT CHARGESIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formally indicted oncorruption charges on Tuesday, hours after he withdrew his request forparliamentary immunity in the three graft cases against him, becoming thefirst sitting premier to face criminal charges.Netanyahu, 70, has been charged with bribery and fraud and breach of trustin three separate corruption cases. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblitsubmitted the indictment in Jerusalem District Court.Netanyahu will be the first sitting prime minister to face trial in thecountry's history. A trial date has not been set yet, but the legal processcould possibly take years."The indictment was filed a short time ago. as is required by law,"Mandelblit's office stated.A spokesperson for the Justice Ministry said once a member of Knesset(Israeli parliament) rescinds his immunity request, he must be treated likeany other citizen and the ministry has to immediately file indictmentagainst him with the court.Under Israeli law, Netanyahu does not have to resign upon indictment.He only has to resign if he is convicted and that conviction is upheldthrough the appeals process.ISLAMOPHOBIA RAMPANT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, NOT IN REAL LIFE: STUDYWith an aim to dispel the myth that the vast majority of people in the USare anti-Muslim, researchers say that the hatred Muslim candidates seeonline may be different than what they experience on the campaign trail.Islamophobia was rampant on social media during the 2018 US midtermelections.In a study, the researchers found that the majority of anti-Muslim tweetsrelated to the 2018 midterm elections were sent by either a select fewthought leaders with large followings on social media, or by bots-softwarethat autonomously tweets or retweets content.Additionally, Muslim candidates' face-to-face experiences with constituentswere generally more positive than what they experienced online."People retweet these messages of hate because they feel like they'rejumping on the bandwagon where they think everyone feels that way," saidShaheen Pasha, an assistant teaching professor at Pennsylvania StateUniversity.In reality, it's just a handful of people and a lot of bots who are creatingthis content."These hateful messages are snowballing even though the majority of peoplemay not agree or actually feel that way," she added.According to the researchers, Islamophobia ramped up on social media asMuslim candidates ran for seats in the US Senate and House ofRepresentatives in the 2018 midterm elections.