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In today's bulletin: We look at how a world renowned virus expert says February will be pivotal in determining the success of the Wuhan virus containment efforts; life in ground zero through the eyes of a Wuhan resident trapped in a city under lock down; how Singapore is putting a stop to Wuhan virus fake news that are aimed at causing more fear.

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FEBRUARY WILL BE PIVOTAL IN DETERMINING SUCCESS OF WUHAN VIRUS CONTAINMENT EFFORT: EXPERT

In an exclusive interview with Environment Correspondent Audrey Tan, infectious diseases expert Peter Piot said on Friday (Jan 31) that the weeks ahead will be pivotal for scientists looking to determine the severity and virulence of the novel coronavirus originating from Wuhan. "The month of February is going to be very critical, and will tell us if the outbreak is going to be much bigger or not," said Professor Piot, a Belgian microbiologist who co-discovered the Ebola virus.

ST VIDEO: LIFE IN GROUND ZERO

Stuck in Wuhan after travels were banned on Jan 23, Wuhan native Scarlett Li shares her story in the city under lockdown with China Correspondent Elizabeth Law.

LATEST ON WUHAN VIRUS

The WHO's Global Health Emergency declaration aims to curb cross-border infection and hasten response from countries. It is not a vote of no confidence in China, a WHO spokesman said. The death toll rises to 212 with almost 9,700 cases.

In a sign of growing frustration, a relative of a patient infected with the virus beat up a doctor at a hospital in Wuhan.

The seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan may not be the only source of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and the German city of Munich has reported the largest cluster of human-to-human spread outside of China when a Shanghai-based employee infected four other colleagues.

Hotels, luxury shops and attractions around the world that came to rely on a flood of Chinese tourists are facing an even bigger crisis than during the Sars outbreak.

IN SINGAPORE

Political Correspondent Linette Lai reports that Prime Minister Lee Hsien said he was very glad that the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) is in place to stop malicious and deliberate fake news that is intended to foment fear, uncertainty and doubt. He also noted that anti-Chinese sentiments have been reported elsewhere in the world because they are believed to be the cause of the infection. ""I think that's not quite the right approach to take. This is an illness; I don't think the Chinese wished it upon themselves. They are trying very hard to fight it. And I think we should work with them to help make sure this is not a global problem."

Journalist Clara Chong reports that the Singapore government has debunked fake news on five Singaporeans contracting the virus and that Singapore has run out of masks.

Senior Health Correspondent Salma Khalik on who needs to wear a mask and what is the proper way to wear it.

BREXIT PROPELS EUROPEAN UNION INTO UNCHARTED TERRITORY

Global Affairs Correspondent Markus Ziener says that Britain's exit from the European Union will be a blow not only economically for the EU but politically and militarily as well. Talk of a renewed "special relationship" between London and Washington has led some to question if blossoming ties between the two will come at the expense of those with Brussels.

See also: Britain hails new start as it says farewell to EU

DEMOCRATS UNSURE IF THEY CAN UNSEAT DONALD TRUMP: POLL

US Correspondent Charissa Yong reports that Democrats are far less confident of winning back the White House in November than the Republicans who, by a large margin, believe incumbent President Donald Trump will be re-elected. Just 44 per cent of Democratic voters think their party's candidate will win the election, compared to 79 per cent of Republicans who say that Mr Trump will definitely or probably win, the Pew Research Centre found.

Read more: US Democrats' bid for new impeachment witnesses likely to fall short

WOMEN POLITICIANS IN INDIA FACE MORE ONLINE ABUSE THAN WESTERN COUNTERPARTS

India Bureau Chief Nirmala Ganapathy reports that a study by Amnesty International India showed that Indian women politicians experienced substantially higher abuse on social media than their UK and US counterparts. It found that one in every seven tweets regarding Indian women politicians to be "problematic" or "abusive".

Read more: Women's rights a topic at event on South Asian diaspora

THE WIDENING GENERATION GAP IN THAI POLITICS

Indochina Bureau Chief Tan Hui Yee reports that Thailand's "red versus yellow" political divide is fading, but a new fault line is emerging, this time between the young and the old. The dissolution of the Future Forward Party, which is the second largest opposition party in Parliament, will most likely widen this cleavage.

Read more: Thai court to decide on dissolving opposition Future Forward Party over anti-monarchy allegations

INTIMATE CARE IS A GROWING MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY IN SINGAPORE

Lifestyle Journalist Amanda Chai reports that the dainty business of intimate care has been on the rise in recent years. Local waxing chain and industry leader Strip, which started with one outlet here in 2002, now has 16 in Singapore and 53 worldwide - in cities including New York, London, Shanghai and Mumbai.

Read also: Lunch with Sumiko: From one spa, Cynthia Chua now has a $100m empire

IN OTHER NEWS

INDONESIA: Step forward if you have the courage of superheroes. Indonesian authorities are offering a reward to anyone who can rescue a giant saltwater crocodile, by removing a motorbike tyre that has been stuck around its neck for years.

AUSTRALIA: The authorities in Canberra on Friday (Jan 31) declared the first state of emergency in almost two decades as a bush fire bore down on the Australian capital.

MALAYSIA: Malaysia will once again use English to teach mathematics and science subjects. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is also the acting Education Minister, said: "It is very important that we give time for English, particularly in learning science and maths."

See also: Executives and professionals who wish to write with impact can sign up for The Straits Times English MasterClass

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Have a good weekend and we will be back again on Monday.

Ooi Boon