BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: the coronavirus death toll has again risen bringing today’s tally to 563. In further coronavirus news, two cruises ships holding 5,400 people on board have been quarantined in Japan and Hong Kong.
A Canadian businessman has been sentenced to 30 days in jail after he told a court he had burned 1 million Canadian dollars in cash. His reason for doing so was to avoid paying child support to his ex-wife.
In the UK, ministers are racing against the clock to pass legislation that will end automatic early release for terror offence prisoners. A Southampton shopkeeper is to be released at the end of the month, something ministers hope to stop.
Iran’s Supreme Leader has said Trump’s peace deal will be dead before he is. And calls the so-called ‘Deal of the Century’ an ‘American plot’.
Entertainment, Hollywood screen legend, Kirk Douglas has died aged 103. The news of his death was announced by his son, Micheal Douglas via Instagram.
All this and more in today’s news briefing – A daily roundup of all the news headlines that you need to know, summarised as part of WTX News Briefing.
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China new virus deaths rise to 563, two cruise ships isolated
Arab News says 73 more coronavirus deaths were reported by China on Thursday, raising the total to 563. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appealed for more funds to help countries battle the spread of the disease that has led health officials in Asia to quarantine two cruise ships with some 5,400 people on board. 
The ships in Japan and Hong Kong are caught up in a global health emergency that seems to worsen by the day.
The WHO has asked for $675 million to help countries stop the spreading of the virus. The director-general acknowledged it was a lot to ask for but told a news briefing that “it’s much less than the bill we will face if we do not invest in preparedness now.”
Read the full story on Arab News
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Canadian businessman says burned $1m in cash to avoid paying ex-wife child support
Fox News reports a Canadian businessman has been thrown in jail for 30 days after telling a judge he burned 1 million Canadian dollars in cash — in two separate bonfires — so he didn’t have to pay his wife spousal and child support.
In an Ottawa Superior Court hearing last week, Bruce McConville, 55, told a judge he withdrew 1 million Canadian dollars in 25 separate withdrawals from six separate bank accounts. He claims he then burned the cash in bonfires – $743,000 on Sept. 23 and $296,000 on Dec. 15, Ottawa Citizen reported.
But the judge didn’t seem to believe McConville’s version of events.
“I don’t believe you. I don’t trust you. I don’t think you’re honest,” the judge said. “I find what you have done to be morally reprehensible because what you claim to have done willfully and directly undermines the interests of your children.”
Read the full story on Fox News
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Race to stop terror convict shopkeeper’s release
BBC News reports ministers are aiming to pass emergency legislation to block the automatic early release of convicted terror offenders before the next prisoner is freed in three weeks, it has emerged. 
Sunderland shopkeeper Mohammed Zahir Kahn, 42, is due to be released on 28 February after serving half his sentence for encouraging terrorism.
An official said the legislation would be introduced to the Commons on Tuesday.
The legislation follows recent knife attacks in London by men convicted of terror offences.
On Sunday, Sudesh Amman, 20, stabbed two people on Streatham High Roud, south London before he was shot dead by police. He had been released from jail 10 days earlier having served half of his sentence and was under police surveillance.
Read the full story on BBC News
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‘Deal of the Century’ will die before Trump does, Iran’s Khamenei tweets dubbing the arrangement an ‘American plot’
RT News says US President Donald Trump’s much-touted peace plan for Israel and Palestine will not outlive him, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said, after the deal was widely rejected throughout the Muslim world. 
“The American plot of the ‘Deal of the Century’ will die before Trump dies,” Khamenei wrote on his official Twitter account on Wednesday.
He vowed that Iran will continue “standing up and fighting for the Palestinian people and Palestinian groups.”
Khamenei earlier blasted Trump’s plan as “devilish and vicious” and said that Muslim nations will never allow it to be implemented.
Read the full story on RT News
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Spartacus actor Kirk Douglas dies aged 103
SKY News says Micheal Douglas posted on Instagram: “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103. 
“To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the golden age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.
“Kirk’s life was well-lived, and he leaves a legacy in film that will endure for generations to come, and a history as a renowned philanthropist who worked to aid the public and bring peace to the planet,” he added, saying he was “so proud” to be his father’s son.
Read the full story on SKY News
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