10 must-reads for today

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was called a threat to the people "who put their lives at risk to assist the United States" on the first day of his extradition trial in London. A lawyer for the US said that the case has little to do with freedom of the press. Instead, he tried to narrow the focus of the US charges down to the harm to secret agents caused by WikiLeaks.

Just hours after resigning as Malaysia's prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was back at the helm yesterday as interim leader of a government that no longer commands a majority in Parliament. Malaysia's King accepted the resignation but appointed him caretaker Prime Minister.

Eight Asean leaders will gather in Las Vegas on March 14 for a US-Asean summit characterised by some analysts as an olive branch from the United States after President Donald Trump skipped the meetings for two years in a row. "The United States wants to reaffirm its commitment to the region because they got some flak for that," one diplomat said.

Chinese diplomats are in damage control mode in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, but longstanding mistrust prevents their messages from getting across to the West, says global affairs correspondent Benjamin Kang Lim.

Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli has accepted the recommendations on a skills framework for Islamic religious teachers. These include a talent development programme and a common salary guideline.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan has pledged to do more for cabbies and private-hire car drivers should the coronavirus outbreak drag on for longer than expected. Earnings have plunged as much as 30 per cent for some drivers as the outbreak enters its sixth week.

The Court of Appeal has ruled in a landmark case that virtual currency exchange operator Quoine must pay damages for wrongfully reversing seven trades on its platform. The court yesterday rejected Quoine's argument that it was entitled to unilaterally cancel the orders on the basis that the transactions were a mistake.

Core inflation slowed sharply last month, with prices likely to stay down in the months ahead in the light of lingering economic uncertainty underpinned in part by the coronavirus outbreak. Core inflation came in at 0.3 per cent compared with the same month last year.

New Geylang International chairman Thomas Gay wants them to be high-fliers once more. The Singapore Premier League football team have hired leading local forwards Khairul Nizam from Warriors FC and Iqbal Hussain from Hougang United to beef up their strike force.

The Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) will run from May 15 to 31, with lots of programmes featuring big international names and myriad collaborations between Singapore and overseas groups.

Mr Wang, who declined to reveal his full name, was Singapore's third coronavirus patient, while his father was the first. Both were here from Wuhan on a family holiday. The younger man tells us what happened. str.sg/blurb233

"Well, cleaning is a dirty job. But if we don't do it, who will?" says Madam Jun Tay, who has been working overtime in recent weeks with her team, cleaning and disinfecting places "tainted" by the coronavirus. str.sg/blurb234