These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
Get up to speed with what’s happening in the fastest growing region in the world.
Dengue infections hit 500 weekly with total this year exceeding 6,200
The surge in dengue fever continues, with 500 people diagnosed last week – the highest number in more than three years. It brought the number of people infected this year to more than 6,200, which exceeds the sum of the past two years. There were 2,767 infections in 2017 and 3,285 in 2018. With slightly more than one in three people diagnosed with dengue ending up in hospital for three to four days, it means an average of 24 people may have been admitted to hospital every day last week for the mosquito-borne disease. – Straits Times
Expert: Issue temporary suspension order to all factories, chemical plants in Pasir Gudang
The Department of Environment (DOE) and the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) should issue a temporary suspension order to all factories and chemical plants operating in Pasir Gudang, Johor, said an expert. While this move may cause factories to incur huge losses, it is also an option that will potentially help the government narrow down the cause of the recent ongoing air pollution affecting 111 schools in the district. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Chemical Engineering Department's Professor Dr Wan Ramli Wan Daud said the pollution in Pasir Gudang is possibly caused by past improper disposal of toxic waste through burying or concealing under the soil that has brought about the current air pollution. – New Straits Times
Sharia certification demand rises as halal lifestyle boom
Demand for sharia certification is on the rise as businesses, including hospitals, adjust to the Islamic lifestyle increasingly being adopted by Muslims in Indonesia, an official at the National Sharia Board of the Indonesian Ulema Council (DSN-MUI) has said. The head of DSN-MUI’s sharia business and economy department said that at least 10 hospitals were in the process of obtaining sharia certification as Muslims increasingly want services and products aligned with Islamic principles. “There is increasing demand from people who want to adopt the halal lifestyle, so there should be (authorities) who set up the standards,” Moch. Bukhori Muslim told The Jakarta Post recently. – The Jakarta Post
HCM City to fill in wells to prevent land subsidence
A number of wells that have been supplying large quantities of water in Ho Chi Minh City are being filled up since the city’s 100,000 or so wells have been identified as one of the main reasons for land subsidence. Filling wells is much easier than shoring up high-rise buildings built on weak foundations. However, it will take several years to fill in the existing drilled wells, while huge investments are required to build the pipeline networks to bring clean water to the city’s residents. – Vietnam News
Locsin says Philippines not allowing China to fish in EEZ
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Wednesday that the Philippines is not allowing China to fish in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea. “That’s right, I’m saying, we’re not,” Locsin said when asked in an ABS-CBN News Channel interview. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said he had an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016 allowing Chinese access to the Philippine’s EEZ. But Locsin said “he may have said it because he was given the impression that there is a level of beyond allowable catch, that if there is a surplus, you can share it to the foreign fishermen.” – The Philippine Daily Inquirer