Duty Editor: Huw Griffith Tel: +852 2829 6211 -- TOP STORIES -- + Virus closes schools; IMF warns over growth + New cruise ship fears as California tests passengers + Boost for Biden as Bloomberg quits race + Passengers stranded as UK airline collapses + Former UN chief Perez de Cuellar dead at 100 Health-virus,WRAP ROME Almost 300 million students worldwide face weeks at home with Italy with latest to shut schools over the deadly new coronavirus, as the IMF urges an all-out, global offensive against the epidemic. 700 words 0530 GMT. Picture. Video. Graphic US-politics-vote,WRAP WASHINGTON Joe Biden, counted out just days ago, takes control of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination after racking up stunning primary victories over Bernie Sanders and earning the endorsement of deep-pocketed billionaire Michael Bloomberg. 800 words moved by Chris Lefkow. Picture. Graphic. Video Health-virus-US-LosAngeles LOS ANGELES California declares a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus as a cruise ship is held off the coast over fears of a new outbreak. 700 words 0600 GMT by Jocelyn Zablit. Picture Britain-aviation-bankruptcy-virus-Flybe,WRAP LONDON One of Britain's biggest airlines, Flybe, collapses with passengers left stranded as the coronavirus epidemic takes a heavy toll on airlines around the world. 500 words 0630 GMT. File picture Peru-politics-UN-PerezdeCuellar,OBIT LIMA Former UN chief Javier Perez de Cuellar, who was known for his peace-making efforts including brokering a ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq war, dies in his native Peru, aged 100, his son says. 550 words 0700 GMT. File Picture -- CORONAVIRUS -- Health-virus-consumer-panic,FOCUS HONG KONG Shelves stripped bare, surgical masks stolen and thousands queueing for medical supplies -- panic-buying is criss-crossing the globe with the coronavirus, defying repeated calls for calm and disrupting supply chains. 650 words moved by Ross Adkin. Picture. Video. Health-virus-China-politics,FOCUS BEIJING From being ostracised by the international community as the centre of the deadly coronavirus outbreak, China is reframing itself as a global expert that can help hard-hit regions as it now tries to avoid importing cases from abroad. 700 words 0730 GMT by Helen Roxburgh. Picture. Video. Health-virus-China-Wuhan,FOCUS WUHAN, China The young couple stepped from a Chinese bullet train onto the deserted platform of Wuhan Station and into the epicentre of the world's coronavirus epidemic, home at last after more than 40 days in limbo. 750 words moved by Dan Martin. Video. Picture. Health-virus-China-hospital,INTERVIEW BEIJING One month after makeshift hospitals opened to chaos and confusion at the epicentre of China's coronavirus epidemic, frontline doctor Ma Yonggang can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. 600 words moved by Laurie Chen. Picture. Video. US-economy-bank-rate-virus-health,WRAP WASHINGTON The coronavirus outbreak has already disrupted travel and access to goods for US industry, and businesses nationwide sounded the warning that things could get worse, the Federal Reserve says. 550 words moved by Heather Scott -- US POLITICS -- US-politics-vote-Democrats-Warren,FOCUS WASHINGTON Elizabeth Warren rose in the Democratic presidential nomination race on proactive policy strengths but her campaign eventually slipped into political quicksand, and she was overshadowed by two rivals. 650 words moved by Michael Mathes. Picture US-politics-vote-Bloomberg-social,FOCUS NEW YORK US media tycoon Michael Bloomberg quits the Democratic presidential race and endorses frontrunner Joe Biden, after blowing more than half a billion dollars on a gamble that failed to inspire voters. 650 words moved by Peter Hutchison. Picture. Video US-politics-vote-Biden-Sanders,FOCUS WASHINGTON The battle for the Democratic US presidential nomination is now set -- two 70-something white men with little in common politically but their determination to defeat Donald Trump in November are going to duke it out. Here's how they compare. 700 words moved by Paul Handley. Picture Also moved: US-politics-vote-Biden-Sanders-Vermont,SCENE US-health-abortion-politics-court,WRAP WASHINGTON The US Supreme Court hears arguments in a major abortion case for the first time since President Donald Trump appointed two new conservative justices -- with the future of the procedure potentially hanging in the balance. 700 words moved by Charlotte Plantive. Picture. Video. -- AMERICAS -- Brazil-weather-climate-flood,FOCUS GUARAJA, Brazil Violent rain has killed scores of people and forced thousands from their homes this year in Brazil's most populous states, a disaster experts blame on climate upheaval but also rampant urbanization. 600 words moved by Paula Ramon. Picture. Video -- FINANCE AND BUSINESS -- OPEC-oil-market VIENNA Ministers from the OPEC group of oil-producing countries meet in Vienna to try to overcome their divisions on how to react to the fall in oil prices in the wake of the novel coronavirus epidemic. 550 words moved by Benoit Pelegrin US-Indonesia-Ethiopia-accident-aviation-Boeing,ANALYSIS NEW YORK One year after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX that killed 157 people and triggered the worst crisis in Boeing's history, the aviation giant is at a crossroads. 650 words 0600 GMT by Luc Olinga. Picture Also moving: US-accident-aviation-Ethiopia,PROFILE -- ASIA -- ICC-Afghanistan-war-crimes THE HAGUE International war crimes judges are set to hand down a ruling on appeal whether a probe into abuses in Afghanistan will go ahead, including possible atrocities committed by US forces. 500 words moved by Jan Hennop -- MIDDLE EAST and EUROPE -- Syria-conflict-Russia-Turkey,WRAP MOSCOW The leaders of Russia and Turkey meet in Moscow in a bid to ease tensions that have threatened to bring their two countries into direct conflict in Syria. 700 words moved by Michael Mainville. Picture. Video Also moved: Syria-Russia-Turkey-conflict-Idlib,FOCUS Yemen-Huthis-society-women,FOCUS DUBAI In Yemen's north, Huthi rebels are shutting down restaurants where men and women mingle, policing men's hairstyles and enforcing dress codes in a bid to impose their own moral order on Yemenis who have already endured five years of grinding conflict. 900 words moved by Sarah Stewart. Picture. Video Netherlands-Ukraine-Russia-MH17-trial,ADVANCER THE HAGUE Four defendants will go on trial next week in the Netherlands over the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, giving families hope of justice even if the suspects are not in the dock. 700 words moved by Danny Kemp. File picture. Also moved: Netherlands-Ukraine-Russia-MH17-trial,Q&A -- SPORT -- India-women-animal-polo,PHOTOESSAY IMPHAL, India Laishram Thadoi's face is a picture of concentration as she adjusts her helmet and prepares to play a polo tournament in Manipur, one of a group of women players challenging the rural region's traditions in the sport. 550 words moved by Xavier Galiana. Picture. Video afp