These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Briton filmed not wearing mask on MRT train charged with offences including harassment
A man who was filmed not wearing a mask on an MRT train in May appeared in a district court on Friday (July 2) and was handed three charges for offences including harassment. Briton Benjamin Glynn, 39, also faces one charge of being a public nuisance and another for an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act. Glynn is accused of failing to wear a mask while travelling in an MRT train from Raffles Place to Holland Village stations between 11.06pm and 11.31pm on May 7. He allegedly caused annoyance to the public during the trip by declaring: "I will never wear a mask." In a video circulating on social media, the Briton is seen telling the other commuters: "I'm very religious... I hate seeing uncles, granddads with a mask on." He then rejects a mask when a fellow commuter offers him one. The video also shows a commuter leaving her seat when he takes the one next to her. Glynn was at the ground floor lift lobby of the Allsworth Park condominium in Holland Road at around 12.30am on May 9 when he allegedly used threatening words while addressing Assistant Superintendent Alvin Quek Chin Han. The Briton is said to have hurled an obscene word at the police officer and said: "I'm going to...drop you." Glynn was not wearing a mask when he arrived at the State Courts building on Friday morning but put one on when a security officer asked him to do so. Casually dressed in a blue shirt and pink bermuda shorts, he later stood in the dock before District Judge Lorraine Ho with the mask covering only his mouth. The judge then told him to put the mask on properly and he complied. Judge Ho asked Glynn if he would plead guilty or claim trial to his charges. The Briton replied: "I don't understand the options." He also said that he had a "legal counsel" who was seated in the gallery. Glynn was later spotted walking out of the courtroom accompanied by a man dressed in a striped short-sleeved polo T-shirt and trousers. Lawyers handling cases in courtrooms usually wear dark-coloured suits. Glynn removed his mask as he stepped out of the State Courts building minutes later and the pair walked away. Glynn's pretrial conference will be held on July 23. He is now out on bail of $5,000. If convicted of an offence under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, he can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $10,000. And if convicted of harassment, he can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000. Offenders convicted of being a public nuisance can be jailed for up to three months and fined up to $2,000. – The Straits Times
Government must review thresholds of NRP, says FMM
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) proposes that the government review the three thresholds of the National Recovery Plan (NRP) for faster transition to Phase 2 and opening up of more sectors. Its president, Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said to minimise the damage to businesses and the economy, the government should look past the indefinite three key indicators as they may not be easy to achieve. However, one way that will ensure quicker results is for the government to expedite the vaccination process, through various platforms and by including the private sector in the vaccination. "We must speed up vaccination as it has proven to be pivotal in the reopening of economies in many other countries. FMM calls for the urgent review of the three thresholds of the NRP and other critical actions for a faster transition to Phase 2 and opening up of more sectors to minimise the damage to businesses and the economy". Soh said its time the government shifted its focus from reducing cases to driving large-scale vaccination programmes, as that is the only way to return to pre-pandemic times. "Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah on June 30 was quoted in the media saying that the trend of declining Covid-19 cases since June 2021 was actually reversed, based on the Ministry of Health's latest projections for infections to climb in coming weeks. "According to the current Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) projection, Malaysia's average cases have deviated from the curve plotted for an effective reproduction number (Rt) of 0.95 to the current Rt of 1.04. As a result, the average cases are going to hover around 6,000 cases until mid-July," he said. In addition, Soh said the latest monthly edition of the Bloomberg's Covid Resilience Ranking has Malaysia ranked at 51st position out of 53 economies globally. He said it is evident from the study that the speed of vaccination is the key to economies moving back to normalisation which will then enable economies to relax restrictions and minimise the need for lockdowns. "The manufacturing sector is already severely impacted by business closures of the non-essential sectors and the reduced capacity operations of essential sectors. If we still wait to reach the three thresholds before moving into the second phase, businesses may face irreversible consequences," he said. Soh said it is obvious that Malaysia's low ranking is contributed by its lagging vaccination rollout, on-going lockdowns and closed borders. He said the government should consider specific actions for areas under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO). "Given the current trends and the latest projections on cases, we believe that waiting for cases to drop to below 4,000 and the uncertainty of achieving that milestone before the essential economic sector list is expanded and workforce capacity is increased will effectively kill the manufacturing industry. "FMM suggests targeted lockdowns at the highest infection areas and those with lower cases should be allowed to operate without any distinction between essential and non-essential sectors," he said. As for areas under EMCO including in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Soh said, the government must consider a few things within these two weeks. Among which are to prioritise mass testing of everyone including foreign workers and undocumented ones; Confirmed vaccination appointments for all under the National Immunisation Programme (NIP) and the Public-Private Partnership Covid-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS) so Industries affected can restart operations after the EMCO period; companies with the Miti CIMS approval under the warm idle mode should be allowed to operate at 10 per cent capacity as it is very costly to switch the machinery and equipment off and on. He said the government should accelerate and expedite the NIP, including the immunisation of the economic sectors via PIKAS, facilitating mobile clinics through mobile trucks and buses apart from the current Common Use PPVs and On-site PPVs and also allow a parallel vaccination programme by private hospitals and clinics and for the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) to accept WHO-approved vaccines without imposing additional requirements so that the private sector can purchase vaccines not used by the NIP and expedite the vaccination process for all. "If the delivery of vaccine is a constraint, the current threshold of at least 10 percent to be fully vaccinated should be reviewed to 10 per cent with at least one vaccine dose and for companies that opt for private immunisation, they should be allowed to claim the cost from their HRD levy and be allowed for tax deduction where applicable. "We also strongly support the need to fix a ceiling price for the private immunisation depending on the cost of the vaccine to avoid any profiteering by the parties involved," Soh said. – New Straits Times
Doctors arrive in capital amid surge in cases
While the government is upbeat about its Phuket reopening scheme, health personnel in Greater Bangkok are struggling to deal with a surge of new Covid-19 infections and deaths. Hospitals are experiencing a shortage of intensive care unit (ICU) beds and staff to take care of patients in serious condition. The Public Health Ministry has mobilised 144 newly-graduated doctors from several provinces to help take care of patients amid the shortage of medical personnel in Bangkok. A welcoming event was organised on Thursday for the doctors who specialise in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, infectious diseases and critical care medicine. "I would like to say sorry [for calling you to come] and thank you for your help," said Thongchai Kiratihatthayakon, deputy permanent secretary for public health, during the ceremony. "Now, Bangkok and the surrounding provinces are in a real crisis, patients are beginning to die at home. "We do not want Thailand to be the same as Europe last year when many patients were allowed to die at home because there were no beds at hospitals," he said. "Some of you might think why it has to be you [to be sent]," Dr Thongchai said. "It is because we really want your help, and your rectors see that you are the best. Now [the outbreak] is not manageable, that's why we want you all." Siriraj Hospital, Ramathibodi Hospital, Vajira Hospital, Thammasat University Hospital, and the field hospital at Mongkutwattana Hospital have shortages of ICU beds for patients with severe symptoms, and they plan to increase the number of beds. In light of this, more medical personnel are needed to look after patients, Dr Thongchai said. "In our life, we have never experienced something like World War II but we are now in a war where all countries around the world are struggling to fight against this disease," he said. "You are our strength." He said this is the first time the Public Health Ministry has had to mobilise doctors for a special purpose. "If we do not do this, many people will be left to die in their homes," he said. "In Thailand, this should not be so, we should not be forced to choose which patient will survive and which one will be left to die." The graduate doctors have been vaccinated against Covid-19, and they will receive remuneration and allowances according to ministerial regulations, he said. A record 57 deaths and 5,533 new cases were reported across the kingdom over the past 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry said on Thursday. The second-highest daily toll was 53 on Wednesday, when the country logged 4,786 new infections. Of the cases reported on Thursday, 99%, or 5,489, were among the public while 44 were among prison inmates. Bangkok had the most fatalities with 34, while Samut Prakan reported nine, Pathum Thani three, Nakhon Pathom and Nakhon Nayok two each, and one each in Chiang Rai, Chaiyaphum, Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Samut Sakhon and Suphan Buri. Meanwhile, Apisamai Srirangson, assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said an exodus of workers from closed construction sites in Bangkok has led to an increase in infections detected in 32 provinces. "This prompts provinces to issue strict orders for local people and officials to be on the highest alert," she said. "People are not prohibited from returning home, but they must act responsibly towards their relatives." – Bangkok Post
Thousands of residents evacuate amid Taal Volcano unrest
More than 1,000 people have fled their homes after Taal Volcano spewed a kilometre-high phreatomagmatic plume, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Friday. A total of 1,392 persons have so far been affected by the volcanic eruption, including 1,282 individuals now in 11 evacuation centres. “The volcano island is of course off-limits and the high-risk barangays are being evacuated by the LGUs based on the recommendation of PHIVOLCS,” NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal told reporters. The NDRRMC said there were 13 barangays affected by the volcanic activity. These were: Poblacion, Sinturisan in San Nicolas; Gulod, Buso Buso, Bugaan West, Bugaan East in Laurel; Subic Ilaya, Banyaga, Bilibinwang in Agoncillo; Apacay in Taal; Luyos, Boot in Tanauan City; and San Sebastian in Balete. Alert Level 3 was raised over the Taal Volcano on Thursday due to “magmatic unrest” at its main crater. Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said the military has deployed various assets to affected areas around Taal Volcano. “Given the lessons and experience last year with Taal Volcano, we are better prepared to assist the LGUs who are as well learned and prepared with their Incident Management Teams,” he said. “We have placed more personnel on alert and ready for immediate deployment. Communications equipment were also deployed,” he added. – INQUIRER.net
International visitors to Viet Nam drop 97.6%
Viet Nam recorded only 88,200 international visitors in the first half of 2021, plunging 97.6 per cent year on year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). The GSO attributed the nosedive to the continuation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures, including the closure of borders for international tourism, noting that most of the foreign arrivals are experts and technical workers performing duties at projects in Viet Nam. During the period, the number of Asian visitors fell 97.2 per cent year on year but still made up 88 per cent of all international arrivals. Sharing the same trend, those from Europe plummeted 99 per cent, the Americas 99 per cent, Oceania 99.4 per cent, and Africa 94.5 per cent. The Politburo has recently approved the consideration of welcoming foreign visitors with “vaccine passports” to some tourism hubs able to control COVID-19 transmissions like the island city of Phu Quoc in Kien Giang province on a trial basis. At a recent meeting with Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen, Kien Giang Province People’s Committee proposed a pilot “closed quarantine tourism” model for foreign travellers who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It also suggested vaccinating the entire population of Phu Quoc within 2021 to ensure safety for local residents and staff at tourist sites when the resort island opens for international guests. Tourism is a key industry of Phu Quoc, which has seen annual growth of 28 per cent in the total visitor number and over 45 per cent in international arrivals. However, it has been hit hard since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out last year, with total tourists and foreign holidaymakers dropping 30.6 per cent and 76.1 per cent year on year in 2020, respectively. – Viet Nam News
Not going bankrupt: PM Hun Sen reassures Covid-hit Kingdom
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday assured the public the Kingdom is not facing insolvency despite the economy contracting for the first time in three decades last year. Cambodia has deployed around $3 billion in reserve funds for relief during lockdowns, cash assistance, medical equipment and other necessities, the prime minister said during a meeting of the National Committee for Combating Covid-19. More than 1,000 new cases were confirmed yesterday and the Ministry of Health warned that the country is at a “red line”. Any further escalation or increased transmission of the “Delta” variant could result in a second round of lockdowns. The quarantine period for those testing positive for Delta and Delta Plus variants has been extended to 21 days. “No country seems to have avoided community transmission, even North Korea,” the prime minister said. He stressed the government would continue caring for financially vulnerable families and business sectors affected by the crisis. He also said the government will continue paying state salaries to civil servants and armed forces bi-monthly as usual. The 2021 national budget allocated $719 million for pandemic-related relief and recovery intervention, compared with $823 million in 2020. The Kingdom spent 1.4 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on a social security net, Moody’s Analytics reported last month, adding it doled out more than any other country in ASEAN in its relief to the vulnerable during the pandemic in relationship to its GDP. The government has spent more than $335 million in direct aid to more than 700,000 households during the pandemic. At a bare minimum, individuals received at least $30 to $40 per month, but the National Social Protection Council (NSPC) told Khmer Times last month that “the smallest demographic received that amount”. Households with just one child are small in number, said NSPC Secretary-General Chan Narith. The Cambodian economy shrank by 3.1 percent last year and is projected to grow by 4 percent this year, according to the World Bank. This forecast is underpinned by continued vaccination efforts, an end to lockdowns and the manufacturing sector being able to meet US demand for goods, particularly garments. The bank’s downside scenario projects the economy will grow at a more modest 1 percent in 2021. Earlier this week, for the ninth time, the government renewed its measures to help cushion the impact of the pandemic on the country’s labour force and the poor. This time around the government said it has extended its financial support programmes for another three months to help the garment and textile industry, tourism sector and poor people from July to September 2021. It said Covid-19 continues to evolve and spread alarmingly with the recent mutations of the virus, which has increased socio-economic pressures in many parts of the world, including Cambodia. – Khmer Times
Chinland Defense Force ‘kills 40 police and soldiers’ in fresh clashes
Resistance fighters in Hakha and Falam say they killed around 40 regime soldiers and police officers on Tuesday, as fierce clashes continued in Chin State even while a temporary ceasefire was observed in the southern town of Mindat. Roughly half of the casualties happened when the Hakha branch of the Chinland Defense Force (CDF) attacked the Bonzum Police Station in the morning. Soldiers and police were killed during five hours of fighting there, the CDF said. One CDF fighter was injured in the clash, the group added. The attack was a response to the local police force’s illegal logging in the area, its support of the military dictatorship and its threats against the general public, a CDF spokesperson told Myanmar Now. “The situation is calm now. But yesterday evening they picked up the bodies of the dead and they took back their injured personnel,” the spokesperson said on Wednesday. About 40 soldiers and policemen in two trucks were deployed to the area after the clash, he added. In Falam on the same day there was a mutual shootout between the local CDF chapter and regime forces that lasted for about two hours. Members of the CDF were met with a large number of regime forces but killed 20 and injured many others, the group said. Four members of the CDF were killed and three others were injured, the Falam chapter of the group said in a statement. Following intense fighting in Mindat, the regime reached a ceasefire agreement with CDF fighters there on June 23. Tens of thousands of people were displaced in the township amid fighting last month. Chin State has emerged as one of the strongholds of guerrilla-style resistance to mass killings by the junta. Civilians have also taken up arms to attack regime targets in Kanpetlet, Thantlang, and Tedim. According to the CDF, the Myanmar military has suffered heavy casualties at the hands of locals who are familiar with the state’s mountainous terrain and well-trained at shooting their hunting rifles. “The current situation in Hakha is that the death toll from the military council’s side has risen to 56 since May 2,” the spokesperson said. “And 215 members of the junta’s forces have been killed in the whole of Chin State.” “On the CDF’s side, if the casualties in Falam are added, a total of 35 CDF members have been killed,” he said. He added that fighting was likely to continue and urged the public to be vigilant and avoid sharing unsubstantiated news on social media. Myanmar Now has been unable to independently confirm the number of casualties from the fighting in Chin State. – Myanmar NOW
Indonesia to get 3 million COVID vaccines from the Netherlands
The Netherlands has decided to donate 3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indonesia following a meeting between Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Dutch counterpart, Sigrid Kaag. "At my meeting with the Dutch foreign minister, one of the concrete results we have achieved is the Dutch government's decision to donate 3 million vaccines to Indonesia," Marsudi said while addressing an online media briefing from The Hague on Thursday. The Netherlands will soon send the vaccines to Indonesia, she said without elaborating on the vaccine brand. Indonesia also received 998,400 COVID-19 vaccines from Japan on Thursday, she informed. The vaccines were a part of the 2 million doses of vaccine that Japan has pledged to Indonesia. The second batch of the vaccine aid from Japan will arrive in Indonesia in the not-so-distant future, Marsudi said. The minister said she is also trying to secure vaccines from Britain through a dose-sharing scheme. "My meeting with British foreign minister has resulted in a vaccine commitment (on the part of the British government). We will discuss details of its consignment time later on," she informed. The Netherlands has been the last country to pledge COVID-19 vaccines to Indonesia. Indonesia will receive 2.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a virtual press conference that ANTARA joined from Jakarta on Thursday. The Australian government has donated 77 million Australian dollars to help Indonesia procure at least 10 million vaccine doses through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility, he informed. The US government has also promised to provide Indonesia four million Moderna vaccines thanks to the efforts of Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, he added. As of June 20, 2021, Indonesia has received 104,728,400 COVID-19 vaccines, comprising 94.5 million Sinovac vaccines, 8.228 million AstraZeneca vaccines, and 2 million Sinopharm vaccines. Indonesia currently has 43 million COVID-19 vaccines in stock, which will suffice for 30 million citizens, Sadikin said. Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo is seeking to boost Indonesia's daily vaccination rate to one million doses by July this year. – AntaraNews.Com