American retailerMacy's announces it will close 125 stores over the next three years, citing competition from online sellers, includingAmazon.(USA Today)
Russia says it will temporarily block Chinese citizens beginning on February 20 from entering its territory as authorities look to stem the spread of the pandemic.(Radio Free Europe)
U.S. federal officials charge Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, a Mexican citizen, inMiami for allegedly acting on behalf of a Russian agent who recruited him to collect information about the U.S. government and met repeatedly with him in Moscow.(The New York Times)(Politico)
A Dutch appeal court reinstates order forRussia to pay$50 billion overYukos.(NBC)
A court inDenmark sentences a former public employee to six-and-a-half years in prison for embezzling $17 million inDanish government funds intended for the poor. She will not appeal the sentence, according to her lawyer.(Reuters)
Archeologists announce an articulatedNeanderthal skeleton was unearthed inShanidar Cave,Iraq, the first discovery of its type in over a decade. They argue the find provided further proof that Neanderthalsburied their dead, as it was next to a site where similar bodies were found surrounded bypollen clumps.(BBC News)