10 must-reads for today

A collision of extreme climate events in Australia has hampered efforts to tackle bush fires. Storms, lightning, thunder and hail in the past week could elevate the fire-danger risk in the coming days.

China's death toll from the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak rose to six yesterday, as the authorities reported a surge in new cases - most of them in Hubei province where Wuhan is located. Outside of mainland China, Taiwan reported its first case yesterday.

Given the increased adoption and potential of artificial intelligence (AI), Singapore has developed a voluntary framework on how it can be used ethically and responsibly - the second edition of which was presented at the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday.

China's new top official in Hong Kong Luo Huining has urged the city to enact national security legislation. His comments could stoke fears that China is looking to tighten its grip on the city after months of pro-democracy protests.

US President Donald Trump has made much of the phase one US-China trade agreement. But the deal is less substantive than it appears to be. It also comes at the expense of other countries, says associate editor Vikram Khanna.

Mothers and their young children can now benefit from a first-of-its-kind programme at Punggol Polyclinic. The Temasek Foundation Integrated Maternal and Child Wellness Hub, which was launched yesterday, provides enhanced health screening services and holistic care for mother and child.

A new programme launched this month by Singapore General Hospital lets patients return home after hip replacement surgery within a day instead of up to five days. The launch of the enhanced recovery programme comes after a successful pilot that began last January.

Technology company Grab is making it harder for its users to earn and use reward points, in what is being seen as a cost-cutting move. Grab is set to reduce the number of points users can earn on a transaction while raising the number of points they need to redeem certain rewards from March 2.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova (above) may have played her last Australian Open. She admitted to not knowing if she would return to Melbourne Park following her 3-6, 4-6 defeat by Croatian Donna Vekic yesterday. The defeat made the 32-year-old wild card an opening-round loser at three straight Major tournaments.

A new platform, the F&B Sustainability Council, has been launched to bring various players in the food and beverage (F&B) industry together for collective action. It will set sustainability targets and allow firms to support one another by pooling resources and sharing best practices.

A pneumonia outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan has widened, with more than 200 people now diagnosed. Here's a timeline of how the virus spread. str.sg/blurb171

Mr Xavier See left school without his O levels and became a dating coach. But a family crisis prompted him to re-evaluate his life. Today, he is the co-founder of an equity fund. str.sg/blurb172