These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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4 new community Covid-19 patients linked to Bukit Panjang transport hub cluster
Four new coronavirus patients in the community announced on Thursday (July 30) are linked to the Covid-19 cluster at the Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub, said the Ministry of Health (MOH). The cluster, first announced last Friday, now has eight patients with Thursday’s update. The four new patients are a Singaporean and three work permit holders. They were asymptomatic and detected as part of proactive case finding of people working in a new workplace cluster that has emerged. All four tested positive on Wednesday but test results showed that they were likely to have past infections, and are no longer infectious, said MOH. The earlier four patients linked to the transport hub cluster are all bus drivers, transport operator SMRT said on Sunday. Meanwhile, a FairPrice outlet, Watsons, the My Briyani House eatery and McDonald’s in Hillion Mall, which is linked to the transport hub, were added to the list of places visited by infectious coronavirus patients. – The Straits Times
Agong performs Aidiladha prayers at Tengku Ampuan Afzan mosque
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah joined congregants at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Mosque here today to perform Aidiladha prayers. His Majesty, accompanied by the Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, arrived at the mosque at 8.25am and was received by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and Pahang state government leaders. Also present was the Agong's son, the Regent of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah. Father and son were dressed in matching grey baju Melayu. The prayer was led by the Chief Imam of the mosque, Mohd Hafiz Suhaili, while the sermon was read by Kuantan Kadi, Abdul Aziz Abd Karim. The King also witnessed the sacrificial slaughter of nine cows in the compound of the mosque before departing. – New Straits Times
'Cocaine in Boss for dentistry'
Police officers have claimed that illicit chemical substances, including cocaine, found in Red Bull scion Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya in the 2012 hit-and-run case were used for his dental treatment, according to a House committee. The committee had on Thursday invited officials for questioning regarding the hit-and-run case. Natchanon Srikokuea, spokesman of the committee, told a press briefing on Thursday the panel had questioned officers who handled the case as to why they did not press charges related to illicit drug use against Mr Vorayuth despite a positive blood test proving the use of narcotics. The officers told the committee they did not press the charge because a dentist confirmed he had administered medicines which had cocaine as a component for dental treatment. When Mr Vorayuth drank alcohol, it mixed with the medicines which caused some chemical substances in the body to be released, Mr Natchanon quoted the police as saying. However, the police did not provide clear details and had no medical documents to prove that chemical substances found in Mr Vorayuth's body were the result of dental treatment, Mr Natchanon said, adding it was just a verbal explanation. – Bangkok Post
Govt urged to step up efforts against exploitation of fishermen amid COVID-19
Plan International Indonesia Foundation (Plan Indonesia) has called on the government to improve its multi stakeholder efforts in combating exploitative practices and trafficking in the fishing industry amid COVID-19. Concerns have mounted over the vulnerability of Indonesian workers to exploitation, following several reports of alleged abuse and violence against Indonesian fishing crew members on foreign vessels. Plan Indonesia program director Romatio Wulandari said the pandemic had led to a rise in human trafficking at sea because of economic uncertainties for fishers, who often had to travel further for their catch. “World Day against Trafficking in Persons [July 30] reminds us that we need to work collaboratively to end this modern-day slavery in the fishing industry,” Romatio said in a webinar on Thursday. The Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister said the government was in the process of ratifying the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention No. 188/2007, which would be used to reinforce the protection of fishers’ fundamental rights. – The Jakarta Post
‘Dishonesty, falsification’ seen in PhilHealth records
Government auditors said they found “dishonesty and falsification” in the financial records of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) that were intended to conceal the true financial condition of the state insurer. Documents obtained by the Inquirer indicated that PhilHealth Senior Vice President Renato Limsiaco Jr. may have been responsible for the unexplained changes in the financial records uncovered by the Commission on Audit (COA) and in-house auditors. Limsiaco was also linked to the allegedly irregular release of a special P30-billion reimbursement fund for hospitals taking care of COVID-19 patients. Among the dubious items that PhilHealth’s own auditors found was the “restatement,” or bump, in its net income in 2018, from P11.6 billion to P21.02 billion, supposedly due to the decrease in the benefit claims of its members. They also saw that PhilHealth’s time deposits ballooned from P1 billion to P70 billion from 2018 to 2019 along with a spike of P35 billion in payable benefit claims for the same period without a clear explanation. – INQUIRER.net
Việt Nam a rising star in gloomy global economy: WB
Experts from the World Bank said Việt Nam was a rising star amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ranking the country 5th fastest growing economy. World Bank Lead Economist and Program Leader for Việt Nam Jacques Morisset said: “Việt Nam has a chance to spend more and spend better to boost local production at this time,” during an online meeting held by the World Bank on Thursday to discuss the 'new normal' for Việt Nam. He said while the fiscal accounts have deteriorated due to lower revenue, the government was able to absorb the shock, thanks to the accumulation of reserves and the use of contingent funds, limiting the use of new borrowing. Though the local economy has nonetheless been hit by the COVID-19 crisis, with the GDP growth rate of 1.8 per cent, the breakdown by sectors indicates that the agro-forestry-fisheries sector recorded a growth rate of 1.2 per cent and contributed 11.9 per cent to the overall economic growth, the industrial sector expanded by 3 per cent (73.1 per cent of GDP), while the services sector grew by only 0.6 per cent (15 per cent of GDP). – Viet Nam News
Desperation mounts as garment workers await resolution
A 47-year-old-woman sat on a bamboo bed in front of her rented room in Sitbou commune’s Prek Tapring village recalling the growing difficulties in her daily life after the garment factory in which she was employed had failed to pay workers for months, eventually shutting down. “Starting from when the factory was closed, I have not had enough money for daily expenses,” Lim Sophat said. “So, I borrowed US$400 from my relatives since the factory has had problems for nearly eight months.” Dignity Knitter and Eco Base, which have the same owner that are located in Takhmao, suspended operations in March after failing to pay workers for three months before finally closing in June. – The Cambodia Daily