10 must-reads for today

Deaths from Covid-19 in Indonesia passed 1,000 yesterday, as cases previously contained within the capital of Jakarta have now flared up across the country. The province of East Java and four others outside Java have seen rising fatality rates among confirmed cases, ranging from 8.5 per cent to 11.8 per cent.

Singapore's strict safe distancing measures have helped to reduce the number of coronavirus cases in the local community, and could be further eased if all goes well until June 1, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong. But this must be done in a "very calibrated, very careful way" to prevent cases from surging, he added.

South Korea is combing through mobile phone data and credit card records in an all-out effort to reach people potentially exposed to the coronavirus in a new cluster outbreak linked to clubs in Seoul's nightlife district Itaewon, as the number of infections rose to 102. The total number of cases stands at 10,936, with 258 deaths.

Taiwanese rated the United States more favourably than mainland China by a nearly two-to-one margin, according to a survey, with younger respondents showing that preference by a wide margin.

The tightened rules of India's Ministry of Commerce to prevent "opportunistic takeovers" of Indian companies come at a time when the country's economy badly needs whatever external infusions of capital it can get, says associate editor Vikram Khanna.

Singapore is working closely with the Chinese city of Chongqing to keep supply chains open amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said yesterday. Both sides also inked eight agreements in areas including financial services, trade in food products, transport and logistics.

Millionaire venture capitalist Ozi Amanat and his wife Asema Ahmed have donated 1,000 meals to migrant workers in quarantine through the charity Free Food For All. Mr Ozi said he was inspired by a recent Twitter message by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who thanked those who donated meals to the needy during Ramadan.

Ocean Tankers, the shipping arm of troubled oil trader Hin Leong Trading, has withdrawn its application for a debt moratorium and asked for Ernst & Young (EY) to be appointed its interim judicial manager, as it seeks to stabilise its business. The High Court approved the appointment of EY's Angela Ee Meng Yen and Purandar Janampalli Rao as interim judicial managers.

With his regular work dried up owing to the coronavirus crisis, athletics coach Khoo Zhihao earns about 40 per cent less now as venue ambassador - one of the 500 temporary jobs created by national agency Sport Singapore. But the 36-year-old is not complaining.

The circuit breaker measures mean people cannot visit places of interest. But in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH), they can now explore Sentosa - virtually. The long-running, popular life-simulation video game series now has a re-creation of Sentosa, dubbed Sentosa Crossing. It is the first ACNH island getaway by a Singapore brand, according to Sentosa Development Corporation.

After modernising his family's 73-year-old sugar-making business, Mr John Cheng is helping food start-ups - one produces milk in the laboratory, while another does vertical fish farming - to break into the market. str.sg/blurb367

Watch videos by vlogger Nas Daily that explore how people around the world celebrate Ramadan, or play video game Two Point Hospital, where you have to manage everything from staff recruitment to building toilets. str.sg/blurb368