BitGou: Monday Morning Briefing: Kobe Bryant's death leaves sports world stunned

Top Stories

Kobe Bryant, one of the NBA’s all-time greatest players and an athlete of global renown, was killed at age 41 in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven on board. Bryant became one of the greatest players in basketball, a transcendent star who went straight from high school to the game’s biggest stage and brought “Showtime” back to the Los Angeles Lakers for two glittering decades. He called his daughter Gianna “Mambacita” after his own court nickname, confident she would follow in his footsteps and become a professional basketball player.

The death toll from a coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 81, as the government extended the Lunar New Year holiday and more big businesses shut down or told staff to work from home in an effort to curb the spread. Malaysia imposed a temporary ban on Chinese nationals arriving from the city of Wuhan and surrounding Hubei province to stem the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Residents of China’s Hubei province will be also banned from entering Hong Kong from Monday as China tries to halt the rapid spread of the outbreak. Here are more facts on the virus, called 2019-nCoV, which can be transmitted among humans and belongs to the same coronavirus family as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Exclusive: Sweeping cyberattacks targeting governments and other organizations in Europe and the Middle East are believed to be the work of hackers acting in the interests of the Turkish government, three senior Western security officials said. The hackers have attacked at least 30 organizations, including government ministries, embassies and security services as well as companies and other groups, according to a Reuters review of public internet records.

Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial is expected to continue, following last week’s testimony by actress Annabella Sciorra that the former Hollywood mogul violently raped her in her Manhattan apartment in the early 1990s. Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two other women, Mimi Haleyi and Jessica Mann.

Teen sensation Billie Eilish swept the Grammy Awards on Sunday, winning all four top prizes - album, song, record of the year and best new artist - in a rare feat at the music industry’s highest honors. Rapper Nipsey Hussle, who was slain in March of last year, won two posthumous Grammy Awards on Sunday and was remembered at the Awards with a tribute medley that had audience members on their feet, dancing and in tears. Here is a list of winners in key categories.

Impeachment

Trump’s impeachment trial enters a pivotal week as his lawyers resume their defense following a fresh report that could intensify pressure on Senate Republicans to call former national security adviser John Bolton to testify.

Trump is expected to disclose details of his long-delayed Middle East peace proposal to Israeli leaders, as he attempts to generate some momentum toward resolving one of the world’s most intractable problems. On Tuesday, Trump will deliver joint remarks with Netanyahu at the White House, where the president may reveal details of his peace proposal.

Democratic presidential nomination

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden appear locked in a tight race for the Democratic presidential nomination, as both campaigned in Iowa with only days left until the first contest. New polling released on Sunday showed Sanders leading in New Hampshire and tied with Biden in Iowa, the first two states to weigh in the Democratic primary. Gaining momentum at the right time has historically been key to helping a candidate secure the nomination. Iowans do not use paper ballots, but instead hold meetings across the state to pick their choice for president.

Trump and the Democrats hoping to unseat him as president all say they want to reform the criminal justice system in the United States, which held 2.3 million people behind bars in 2019. Here is a look at the criminal justice platforms for leading Democrats running for the presidential nomination as well as Trump’s record during his first term in office.

Business

Exclusive: Regulator probes board role in Credit Suisse spying scandal

The Credit Suisse spying debacle risks tipping the bank into a crisis that could engulf its top executives. Switzerland’s market supervisor is scrutinizing Credit Suisse’s oversight of chief executive Tidjane Thiam and his top lieutenants as part of a probe into corporate espionage, two people with direct knowledge of the investigation said.

6 min read

Trump's 'massive' U.S.-UK trade deal faces big hurdles

Britain is the United States’ closest ally but their long friendship may be sorely tested as the two countries try to forge a new trade agreement after Britain’s exit from the European Union. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Saturday in London that he was optimistic that a bilateral deal with Britain could be reached as soon as this year.

7 min read

AbbVie-Allergan $63 billion deal aided by Nestle, AstraZeneca buys

U.S. drugmaker AbbVie’s $63 billion tie-up with Allergan is getting help from Nestle and AstraZeneca buying up products the Irish-domiciled company is shedding to placate regulators.

4 min read

EU to rule on $120 billion United Technologies, Raytheon deal by February 28

EU antitrust enforcers will rule by Feb. 28 whether to approve United Technologies and U.S. contractor Raytheon’s bid to create a $121 billion aerospace and defense giant, a filing on the European Commission website showed. The EU antitrust watchdog can clear the deal with or without concessions during its preliminary review or open a five-month long investigation into the deal if it has deep concerns.

2 min read