Must-reads

The healthcare subsidy system is being revamped to ensure that those who need financial help the most get more of it. This comes with the rising consumption of healthcare services as the population ages, and Singapore looking to strengthen its healthcare system.

Crowd control measures to ensure safe distancing will be introduced during the Qing Ming Festival, with visits to some sites limited to two per household. The Chinese tomb-sweeping festival falls on April 4. The National Environment Agency said crowds are expected to peak on Good Friday, on April 2, and on the weekends between March 20 and April 18.

A woman, 48, died yesterday after a fire broke out in an 11th storey Housing Board flat containing a "vast accumulation of combustible items". A man, 20, believed to be her son, was rescued after firefighters forced their way in. They tried to revive the woman, but she was later pronounced dead. About 30 people were evacuated from Block 456 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has scrapped plans for an interim report from a team that visited China's Wuhan city to probe the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported. The WHO team returned recently from its visit there, saying it had no clear finding on the genesis of the virus.

Ahead of International Women's Day, meet four women who are shaking up the drinks industry here - Singapore's first female brew master, a pair of industry veterans whose new bar is getting awards buzz, and a young upstart who is making headway with Asia's first non-alcoholic aperitif.

Singapore retailers began the year on a gloomy note with sales falling 6.1 per cent in January from the same month a year ago, according to Department of Statistics data. The decline in January was partially due to higher sales recorded in January last year, when Chinese New Year was celebrated. This year, the festival was in February.