KINI ROUNDUP | Key headlines you may have missed yesterday, in brief.

1. Acting education minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad (photo) has again pushed for the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English, saying mastery of English is a vital element of education.

2. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was declaring the coronavirus outbreak that has killed 213 people in China a global emergency, as cases spread to at least 18 countries.

3. Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said that Malaysia is doing more than what’s recommended by WHO in preventing the novel coronavirus outbreak from spreading.

4. Sri Maha Mariamman Temple Devasthanam chairperson R Nadarajah said the Batu Caves temple committee will hold Thaipusam celebrations next Saturday as it has yet to receive any advice from the government on whether the celebration should be suspended.

5. Umasundari Sambanthan, wife of the late MIC president VT Sambanthan, passed away aged 90. She was the last surviving dignitary to be present when Tunku Abdul Rahman made the momentous call of "Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka" to hail Malaya's independence on Aug 31, 1957.

6. M Indira Gandhi's lawyers have described inspector-general of police Abdul Hamid Bador's admission on knowing the whereabouts of their client's ex-husband Muhammad Ridhuan Abdullah as shocking and accused the police chief of being in contempt of court for failing to execute the Federal Court's order to arrest the father and return the child, Prasana Diksa, to her mother.

7. The defendant being sued over the death of Franco-Irish teenager Nora Anne Quoirin claimed that the deceased’s parents should bear ultimate responsibility for the tragedy.

8. The United Kingdom voted on June 23, 2016, to leave the European Union and it finally left at 2300 GMT on Jan 31 after what has been a tortuous road in and out of membership.