World News Roundup: Coronavirus cases outside China; Malaysia yet to decide on a new search for MH370 and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Coronavirus cases outside China may be 'tip of the iceberg': WHO

People across China trickled back to work on Monday after an extended Lunar New Year holiday as the government eased restrictions imposed to counter the coronavirus, but the World Health Organization said the number of cases outside China could be just "the tip of the iceberg". The death toll from the epidemic rose to 908, all but two in mainland China, on Sunday as 97 more fatalities were recorded - the largest number in a single day since the outbreak was detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December.

Malaysia says yet to decide on a new search for MH370

Malaysia on Monday said it has yet to decide on launching a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which went missing with 239 people on board nearly six years ago, following a report that a new effort to find the plane could be mounted. Malaysia's ministry of transport said it had not received any new credible evidence to initiate a new search.

Taiwan again scrambles jets to intercept Chinese planes, tensions spike

Taiwan's air force scrambled for the second day in a row on Monday to intercept Chinese jets that approached the island claimed by Beijing as its own, as tensions between the two took on a potentially dangerous military dimension. Taiwan's Defence Ministry said Chinese jets, accompanying H-6 bombers, briefly crossed an unofficial mid-line in the Taiwan Strait that separates the two, prompting its air force to rush to intercept and give verbal warnings to leave.

Sixty more people confirmed with coronavirus on a cruise ship in Japan: TBS TV

Testing aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has found 60 more confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, domestic broadcaster TBS TV said via Twitter. That brings total cases on the ship docked in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, to 130, according to TBS. The liner was placed on a two-week quarantine on arriving at Yokohama on Feb. 3.

Mourners leave flowers at Thai shopping mall after the mass shooting

Mourners left flowers and written messages in front of the Terminal 21 shopping center in northeastern Thailand on Monday after a soldier's shooting rampage in which at least 29 people were killed. Soldiers, mall staff and volunteers cleaned bloodstains from the front of the mall in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, while others laid wreaths.

Sinn Fein eyes government, Irish unity poll after election surge

Sinn Fein on Monday demanded inclusion in Ireland's next government after a record election showing, a move that would raise its central goal of reunification with Northern Ireland toward the top of the agenda in Dublin for the first time. The left-wing Irish nationalist party stunned the establishment by beating the two center-right parties that have led every government in the country's history, almost doubling its vote share from the last election to 24%. EU's top diplomat under fire again for 'Greta syndrome' remark

The European Commission had to apologize again on Monday for comment by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who had questioned young people's commitment to the fight against climate change, referring to it as "Greta syndrome". Speaking in Brussels on Wednesday, Borrell said he had doubts about young people's genuine engagement to tackling climate change, and questioned whether they were ready to change their lifestyles to help compensate miners and others who will be most affected by measures to cut carbon emissions.

NATO's image worsens sharply in France, the United States, study shows

NATO's public image in the United States and France worsened sharply last year, according to a Pew Research Center study, after U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron questioned the value of the Western alliance. Positive views of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which relies on the commitment of its allies to collective defense, fell to 52% in the United States last year, from 64% in 2018, the study released on Monday said.

Merkel protegee Kramp-Karrenbauer won't run for chancellor: source

The woman who had been expected to become Germany's next chancellor has decided not to run for the top job, a source in her Christian Democratic party (CDU) said on Monday, throwing into confusion the race to succeed Angela Merkel. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is CDU leader and a protegee of the chancellor but has faced growing doubts over her ability to replace Merkel, who has led Germany for 15 years but plans to stand down at the next federal election, due in autumn 2021.

Girl's drowning sparks water riot in thirsty South African township

Eight-year-old Musa and her older sister Moleboheng trudged down the ravine with buckets and drum bottles to fetch water from a filthy stream because they were thirsty and tired of waiting for trucks meant to deliver emergency water that never showed up. But Musa never returned, her mother Phindile Mbele recalled, choking back tears. The little girl drowned in the stream, which is thick with sewage, mud and algae, probably pulled down by a strong underwater current.

(With inputs from agencies.)