Humanitarian crisis in Syria is like 'judgement day'

A team of World Health Organization experts is on their way to Beijing, as WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of "concerning instances" of transmission from people who had not been to China. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( Sunday recorded the highest number of deaths from the novel coronavirus. The World Health Organization is on its way to Beijing. In Syria, the humanitarian crisis continues, as millions of civilians grow increasingly desperate on the border with Turkey. And South Korea's "Parasite" made Oscar history in an award show that is consistently criticized for a lack of diversity. --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Coronavirus has deadliest day yet [People wearing masks pass by portraits of Chinese President Xi Jinping and late Chinese chairman Mao Zedong as the country works to contain an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, on a street in Shanghai, China, Feb. 10, 2020.]( Credit: Aly Song/Reuters On Sunday, 97 people died from the novel coronavirus — the [largest number in a single day]( recorded so far. A team of World Health Organization experts is on their way to Beijing, as WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of "concerning instances" of transmission from people who had not been to China. "The detection of a small number of cases may indicate more widespread transmission in other countries; in short, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg," he said in Geneva. But Wu Fan, vice-dean of Shanghai Fudan University Medical school, offered some hope that the outbreak could reach a turning point soon. "The situation is stabilizing," she said. Also: ['Super spreader' brought coronavirus from Singapore to Sussex via France]( And: [Lessons that go beyond the coronavirus outbreak]( Humanitarian crisis in Syria 'like Judgement Day' The [humanitarian crisis in Syria continues]( to escalate as 3 million civilians are caught on the border with Turkey and Syrian forces continue an offensive in Idlib. Turkey's defense ministry has threatened military action against Bashar al-Assad if Syrian forces do not pull back. Aid workers have [described the situation]( as an "unprecedented catastrophe" and displaced people are desperate. "I keep going only for the sake of my children," said a 38-year-old widow with five children. "The situation is so bad, it is like Judgement Day." Last week, Russia reported that Syrian forces had [almost downed a passenger plane]( while responding to an Israeli airstrike near Damascus. Also: [Syrian shellfire 'kills Turkish soldiers in Idlib']( South Korea's 'Parasite' makes Oscars history South Korean film ["Parasite" made history]( as the first non-English language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture Sunday night. Bong Joon Ho also walked away with the top director prize, and the film collected several other accolades. And while the success of the film is historic, what does it mean for an award show often criticized for its [lack of diversity](? And "[Hair Love](" won the Oscar for Best Animated Short, in a charming story of a father styling his daughter's hair. In his acceptance speech, former NFL player Matthew A. Cherry said he wrote the piece "[because ... we wanted to normalize black hair.](" Accompanying the award-winning film maker on the red carpet was DeAndre Arnold, the Texas teen who was [suspended over wearing his hair in dreadlocks](. Also: ['Parasite' winning best picture feels like justice for 'Roma']( ICYMI from The World: [There’s something special about "Parasite](" --------------------------------------------------------------- The Number in the News: 99 German artist Simon Weckert placed 99 smart phones into a red child's wagon and walked with it nonstop along a street in Berlin. His goal was to “hack” the GPS application into thinking there was a traffic jam. Listen to today’s episode of [The Number in the News]( to hear if Weckert’s experiment worked. The Number in the News is The World’s smart speaker show. Host Bianca Hillier produces the daily news show from our studios in Boston. You’ll learn one number you won’t forget and why it’s the news today. [Click here]( to add The Number in the News to your Amazon or Google news briefing. [The US has renewed its support for Venezuela's opposition. What does it mean?]( [Venezuela's disputed President Nicolás Maduro gestures as he speaks during a special session of the National Constituent Assembly to deliver his annual state of the nation speech, in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 14, 2020.]( Credit: Manaure Quintero/Reuters A year after the United States attempted to deliver truckloads of aid to relieve the humanitarian situation in Venezuela, prompting warnings of the politicization of aid, [Washington is renewing its support]( to the country’s embattled opposition. But after an attempted uprising in April by members of the military who backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó and violent clampdowns and arrests of his supporters by government and paramilitary forces, disputed President Nicolás Maduro shows little sign of stepping aside. Also: [Trump proposes 21% cut in US foreign aid in budget proposal — officials]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Morning meme Transatlantic commuters fly high: British Airways appears to have broken the [fastest-ever subsonic New York to London travel time,]( coming in just four hours and 56 minutes — nearly 20 minutes faster than the January 2018 record set by Norwegian Airways. But the top speed comes with a bit of a push from nature — hurricane force winds from Storm Ciara played their role in pushing the plane to speeds of up to 800 mph. --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [TSA destroys musician’s custom-made instrument]( - [Hong Kong strikes over coronavirus]( - [Heavy rain finally hits Australia]( - [Locust swarms in East Africa]( - [Russian foreign minister visits Venezuela]( - [States push back on migrant detention system]( - [Swiss vote on LGBT rights]( - [Sinn Fein on top of the polls ahead of Irish election]( - [The CDC’s global reach]( - [Weibo sees censorship battles after Chinese doctor’s death]( - [Outrage in China over doctor’s death]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. 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