Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on Feb 14

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Friday, Feb 14.


Coronavirus: 8 new cases in Singapore, including 5 more linked to Grace Assembly church, 1 linked to DBS case

The Grace Assembly of God church's premises in Tanglin. Five of the eight new coronavirus cases in Singapore are linked to the church. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

The new cases include a 54-year-old man who is a National University of Singapore professor.

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Coronavirus: All classes at affected NUS professor's faculty to be conducted online

All classes at the National University of Singapore's School of Design and Environment will be conducted online from Feb 14, 2020, after one of its professors became ill with the new coronavirus. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

The professor's last contact with students was on Feb 5.

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Cruise lines skipping Singapore, cancelling Asian sailings amid port closures and coronavirus fears

Major cruise lines are cancelling their sailings from Singapore or pulling out of Asia entirely amid fears over the spread of the coronavirus. PHOTO: CELEBRITY CRUISES

Travellers who had booked a regional cruise on the Sapphire Princess were informed of its cancellation only the day before.

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Coronavirus: Nurses suffer discomfort from wearing protective goggles; new face shields to undergo pilot testing

A nurse (right) dons the new face shield prototype that leverages on 3D-printing technology, and another wears the currently in use face visor, at the Centre for Healthcare Innovation, on Feb 13, 2020. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

The prototypes are slated to be rolled out for pilot testing on Feb 21.

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Coronavirus: Bug could infect two-thirds of globe, research shows

A woman wearing a mask is seen at a subway station in Shanghai, China. PHOTO: REUTERS

There could eventually be billions more infections than the current official tally of about 60,000.

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Part of Orchard Road to be pedestrianised, Istana Park expanded as part of revamp

The National Parks Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority proposed enhancements to refresh Singapore's shopping belt at an exhibition at The URA Centre on Feb 13, 2020. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Proposed enhancements also include increased greenery along Orchard Road.

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US Senate votes to limit Trump's warmaking ability in Iran

Trump talks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. PHOTO: NYTIMES

Mr Trump is nearly certain to issue a veto, with lawmakers lacking the two-thirds majority to overturn it.

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Malaysia's Anwar reaffirms that he will be PM, after Apec

Anwar Ibrahim speaks during an interview with Reuters in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. PHOTO: REUTERS

Malaysia plays host this year for the November event.

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Twitter to set up engineering centre in Singapore and hire people for 65 high-tech roles

Twitter set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore in 2015 and the following year, established its first international data science team here. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

The 65 new hires in the next few years will be in product engineering, software engineering, data engineering and data science.

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'There will be dad and mum': Vladimir Putin rules out Russia legalising gay marriage

Putin speaks during a working group meeting on the Russian Constitution outside Moscow, Feb 13, 2020. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

"As long as I'm president this will not happen."

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