News Headlines - 27 February 2020

▽PM Abe asks all schools in Japan to temporarily close over coronavirus

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday the government will request all elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan to close from Monday until the end of a spring break through early April amid concern over the spread of the new coronavirus... Abe also asked schools to take the best possible steps to prevent infection, such as minimizing the number of participants, if they are to hold entrance exams and graduation ceremonies in the coming weeks.

▽Iranian vice president said infected with coronavirus | The Times of Israel

A state-owned newspaper in Iran says Masoumeh Ebtekar, a vice president in the Islamic Republic and a spokeswoman for the 1979 Islamic revolutionary hostage-takers, has the new coronavirus.

▽Malaysia parliament to vote for a prime minister on Monday - Nikkei Asian Review

The Malaysian parliament will vote to pick a prime minister on March 2, and a snap election will be called if no one emerges a clear winner, interim premier Mahathir Mohamad announced on Thursday.

▽Thai court dissolves opposition party Future Forward | The Guardian

One of Thailand’s most popular opposition parties has been disbanded after it was found to have violated electoral rules by receiving an illegal loan, a decision analysts say is likely to heighten political tensions.
The constitutional court dissolved Future Forward on Friday and banned 16 of its leaders from politics for 10 years... Future Forward’s anti-establishment message, and its charismatic leader, the billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, appealed especially to younger voters. But the party has been dogged by legal charges, which it says are politically motivated.

▽Uzbekistan: Karimova makes fresh bid to buy freedom | Eurasianet

The imprisoned daughter of Uzbekistan’s late president has said in a statement that she is prepared to relinquish claims to $686 million held in frozen Swiss banks accounts in exchange for clemency in her case.
Gulnara Karimova said in a letter addressed to the Uzbek president, and posted to Instagram on February 25 by her daughter, Iman Karimova, that $131 million were already being released for charitable use in Uzbekistan.