REPUBLICANS PREPARE TO DEFEND TRUMP'S EXPECTED ACQUITTALRepublicans prepared to defend their expected acquittal of President DonaldTrump, on Sunday's TV talk shows, after their Senate votes to reject witnesstestimony at his impeachment trial sparked criticism they were aiding acover-up and abdicating their duties.Criticism only intensified late Saturday after U.S. media reported that U.S.officials cited presidential privilege in redacting 24 emails related to Mr.Trump's hold on military assistance to Ukraine, an issue at the heart of hisimpeachment trial for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.Mr. Trump on Saturday claimed his polling numbers were up after the Senatepaved the way for his acquittal next Wednesday.However, according to the RealClearPolitics website, Mr. Trump currently hasa 44.6% approval rating in collated polls, almost exactly the same as whenhe came to office in January 2017.His assertion, made on Twitter, came with Washington also awaiting theresults of Monday's all-important Iowa caucuses.The first vote in the U.S. primary process will be closely watched as a signas to which of 11 Democratic candidates are gaining early momentum tochallenge Trump in November's election.CORONAVIRUS: PAKISTANI STUDENTS IN CHINA CRY FOR HELP IN VIDEOS AS INDIANSGET EVACUATEDAs India flew special Air India jets to evacuate the stranded Indians fromChina amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak, Pakistani students were seenappealing for help and evacuation and slamming the Pakistan government overits refusal to save the lot.The Pakistani government, on the other hand, has said that it will notevacuate its citizens from the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city to show"solidarity" with the Imran Khan government's all-weather ally China.Several students stranded in Wuhan, who saw their Indian counterparts beingevacuated, have released videos on social media slamming their governmentand crying for help.Pakistan also says it would be "irresponsible" to take an "emotionaldecision" and pull out its citizens from China.Last week, Dawn quoted a senior aide to Prime Minister Imran Khan as saying:"We believe that right now, it is in the interest of our loved ones in China[to stay there]. It is in the larger interest of the region, world, countrythat we don't evacuate them now."This is what the World Health Organisation is saying, this is China'spolicy and this is our policy as well. We stand by China in full solidarity.If we act irresponsibly and start evacuating people from there, thisepidemic will spread all over the world like wildfire."China faced deepening isolation over its coronavirus epidemic on Sunday,with the United States and Australia leading a growing list of nations toimpose extraordinary Chinese travel bans.With Britain, Russia and Sweden among the countries confirming their firstinfections, the virus has now spread to more than two dozen nations, sendinggovernments scurrying to limit their exposure.Australia said it was barring entry to non-citizens arriving from China,while Australian citizens who had traveled there would be required to gointo "self-isolation" for two weeks.Vietnam suspended all flights from mainland China effective Saturday, whileRussia announced it would halt visa-free tourism for Chinese nationals andstop issuing them work visas.Similar expansive restrictions have been announced by countries includingItaly, Singapore, and China's northern neighbor Mongolia.The United States, Japan, Britain, Germany and other nations had alreadyadvised their citizens not to travel to China.Thousands of Hong Kong medical workers voted to commence a four-day strikefrom Monday to push the government to close its border with mainland Chinato stop the virus, which has already spread to the financial hub.LONDON POLICE SHOOT MAN OVER 'TERRORISM-RELATED' STABBINGSLondon police shot and killed a man during a "terrorism-related incident"Sunday that involved the stabbings of "a number of people," the Britishcapital's Metropolitan Police said.The police force said the incident happened in the Streatham neighborhood ofsouth London, a bustling residential area that doesn't boast any majorBritish landmarks like areas hit by earlier attacks.The Metropolitan Police tweeted details of the incident on Sunday afternoon,saying "The circumstances are being assessed; the incident has been declaredas terrorist-related."ISRAEL PUTS BRAKES ON WEST BANK ANNEXATION PLANShortly after last week's rollout of the US' contentious Middle East plan,Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government made a triumphant promisethat the Cabinet would vote this weekend to extend Israeli sovereignty oversubstantial parts of the occupied West Bank.But it looks as if the Israelis misread the signals from Washington. TheWhite House, while fully supportive of Netanyahu, was not ready to endorsean immediate unilateral annexation.In the days following Tuesday's unveiling of the plan in Washington, theTrump administration urged Netanyahu to delay any effective annexation ofterritory at least until after the March 2 Israeli elections. It was arequest that one Israeli columnist likened to a birthday boy being told towait to open his gift.The question meant to be put to the Cabinet on Sunday was whether to extendIsraeli sovereignty over all the Jewish settlements throughout the occupiedWest Bank as well as over a large, strategic swath of territory along theborder with Jordan. The annexation was expected to be approved easily.But the Cabinet did not meet and the vote never happened. Now the turnaboutis proving embarrassing for Netanyahu so close to the election - and some ofhis fellow right-wing politicians fear it could cost them votes.Israeli government officials were left to offer somewhat dubiousexplanations.No Cabinet meeting or vote had actually been scheduled, they said, eventhough the same officials had issued a clear statement to that effect soonafter the plan was announced. The only meeting Netanyahu convened with someof his ministers Sunday was to discuss national preparedness for thecoronavirus outbreak.Israeli officials are now saying it is not clear when the Cabinet will meetthis week or whether any vote will take place."If he doesn't bring any dividends on the ground - meaning annexation - itcan boomerang," Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the HebrewUniversity of Jerusalem, said of Netanyahu.BEIJING YET TO ACCEPT US HELPWashington: China has been more transparent about the coronavirus than ithas been in previous crises but Beijing has not yet accepted a US offer ofhelp from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and otherhealth professionals to contain the epidemic, White House national securityadviser Robert O'Brien said on Sunday. "We have not heard back yet from theChinese on those offers but we are prepared to continue to cooperate withthem," O'Brien said. "We've got tremendous expertise. This is a worldwideconcern. We want to help our Chinese colleagues if we can and we've made theoffer and we'll see if they accept the offer." While they have not beeninvited to China, CDC officials are in neighboring Kazakhstan to help guardagainst spread of the virus, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said onSunday during a visit there.RUSSIA SCEPTICAL ABOUT US PLAN FOR MIDDLE EASTA Middle East peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump contravenesseveral United Nations resolutions, Russian news agencies cited a Kremlinspokesman as saying on Sunday, questioning the plan's feasibility.The Palestinian Authority has cut all ties with the United States andIsrael, including those relating to security, after rejecting the MiddleEast peace plan put forward by Trump. "We see the reaction from thePalestinians, we see the reaction of a wide range of Arab states which havesided with the Palestinians in rejecting the plan. This, obviously, makesone think about its feasibility," Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying.Meanwhile, several people protested near the US embassy in Lebanon againstUS President Donald Trump's Middle East plan. The demonstrators, bothPalestinian refugees and Lebanese, chanted slogans and flew flags assecurity forces blocked off a road to the diplomatic compound.Some protesters tried to dismantle a razor-wire barrier but no major clashestook place. "The deal of the century shall not pass," read a huge banner inthe colours of the Palestinian flag, referring to the plan unveiled by Trumpon Tuesday.A call to protest circulating on social media dubbed the plan "the deal ofshame". Palestinians began taking refuge in Lebanon with the creation ofIsrael in 1948, setting up camps that have since transformed into bustlingurban districts. Around 1,74,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 campsacross Lebanon.BATTLE TO BEAT TRUMP BEGINS AS IOWA VOTESThe first event that will help decide the candidates for US president is totake place with Monday's Iowa caucuses.Democratic and Republican voters will choose their preferred nominees forthe White House race.While victory in Iowa doesn't guarantee anyone the nomination, it can helpgive them crucial momentum.The path appears clear for Donald Trump to be the Republican nominee, butthere are still 11 people running for the Democratic nomination.Many have spent the past few weeks vigorously campaigning in the Midweststate, which is always the first to vote. The primaries contest goes onuntil early June, and moves on to New Hampshire next Tuesday.Iowa, to some extent, provides a glimpse of what went wrong for Democrats in2016.In the last election, more than 200 US counties flipped from supportingPresident Barack Obama in 2012 to backing Mr Trump - and 31 of thosecounties were in Iowa.Democrats will be hoping to lure back those floating voters in 2020. Andwhile we won't know until November whether they have been successful, we mayget a glimpse of where the land lies on Monday.As the primary season curtain-raiser, Iowa can help shape perceptions amongvoters. A win here can help give a candidate momentum early in the race (asit did in 1976 with Jimmy Carter) and erase any doubts about theirviability.IRAQ STIR GOES ON DESPITE NEW PM-DESIGNATEFurious anti-government youth dug in their heels in Iraq's capital and southon Sunday, rejecting the previous evening's nomination of Mohammad Allawi asPrime Minister after months of demonstrations and political paralysis.Mass rallies have rocked Iraq since October with protesters demandingaccountability for corruption and recent bloodshed."Mohammad Allawi is rejected, by order of the people!" read a new sign hungin the holy city of Najaf on Sunday. Protests were held in different partsof the country.