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The Singapore Airshow, billed as Asia's largest aerospace and defence event, opened yesterday to a much smaller crowd than in previous years, though Experia Events chairman Vincent Chong said the event is still expected to draw 40,000 trade visitors.
TOP OF THE NEWS
2 S'pore to see fewer tourists
It is going to be a bumpy ride for tourism, with the Singapore Tourism Board projecting a 25 per cent to 30 per cent drop in visitor arrivals this year, as the deadly coronavirus continues its spread. This is steeper than the 19 per cent decline in 2003 after the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome.
WORLD
Thai army chief Apirat Kongsompong apologised yesterday for the horrific weekend mass shooting where a rogue soldier killed 29 people and injured 58 others. Gen Apirat also promised to take care of the victims and their families, including unconditional employment for their children.
WORLD
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suffered electoral defeat in India's capital Delhi, with a small party helmed by a social activist-turned-politician returning to power. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal won 63 seats, while the BJP won seven in a bitterly contested election.
WORLD
The Unites States has charged four Chinese military hackers in the 2017 breach of the Equifax credit reporting agency that affected nearly 150 million American citizens. But China's Foreign Ministry has denied the allegations.
OPINION
China's growth is likely to slow and supply chains are being hit as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. But no two pandemics are alike, so beware of making undue comparisons with past outbreaks, says associate editor Vikram Khanna.
HOME
Dengue infections are on the rise, even as Singapore fights to contain the new coronavirus. The 1,723 cases in the first five weeks of the year are 60 per cent higher than the 1,057 infections diagnosed over the same period last year.
BUSINESS
Singapore banks and finance companies that ventured to China are taking precautions to protect their staff and customers there, going as far as to temporarily close outlets. While analysts said the outbreak is unlikely to hit Singapore banks in the long term, some raised concerns about its impact.
SPORT
Real Sociedad fans have had plenty to cheer, with their side's surge up the La Liga table to sixth and a place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Especially pleasing would have been that six of the starting line-up in Sunday's 2-1 derby win over Bilbao were youth-team graduates, who complement foreign stars such as match winner Alexander Isak (centre).
LIFE
With the coronavirus outbreak, some masked iPhone users have struggled to unlock their devices using facial recognition. Apple should also look into implementing on-display fingerprint sensors, says Trevor Tan.
Straits Times Digital
VIDEO
Contact-tracing teams
As the coronavirus spreads, the Health Ministry's contact-tracing teams work two shifts, seven days a week, to find close contacts of patients. We find out how the process is carried out. str.sg/blurb213
PODCAST
Bookmark This
With Valentine's Day around the corner, journalists Olivia Ho and Toh Wen Li chat about love poems across the spectrum, whether it is John Donne or Joshua Ip, or budding romances or broken hearts. str.sg/blurb214
