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.
Stay informed with The ASEAN Post.
WHO employees took part in Congo sex abuse during Ebola crisis, report says
More than 80 aid workers including some employed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) were involved in sexual abuse and exploitation during an Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an independent commission said on Tuesday (Sept 28).
The probe was prompted by an investigation last year by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and The New Humanitarian in which more than 50 women accused aid workers from the WHO and other charities of demanding sex in exchange for jobs between 2018-2020.
In its long-awaited report, the commission found that at least 21 of 83 alleged perpetrators were employed by the WHO, and that the abuses, which included nine allegations of rape, were committed by both national and international staff.
"The review team has established that the presumed victims were promised jobs in exchange for sexual relations or in order to keep their jobs," commission member Malick Coulibaly told a press briefing.
Many of the male perpetrators refused to use a condom and 29 of the women became pregnant and some were forced to later abort by their abusers, he added.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has pledged zero tolerance on sexual abuse and is said to be seeking a second term at the United Nations health body, said the report made "harrowing reading" and apologised to the victims. - Straits Times
Experts hail focus on less-developed states
Experts believe that the increased development allocation under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) to six less-developed states is timely as Malaysia cannot rely on the Klang Valley and other developed states to drive its economy, as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Geostrategist Associate Professor Dr Azmi Hassan said the pandemic had demonstrated that it was dangerous for Malaysia to rely on the Klang Valley, which provided 40 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
In the 12MP announced on Monday, the government pledged to channel at least 50 per cent of the Total Basic Development Expenditure to six less-developed states: Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak and Terengganu.
Azmi said there were severe repercussions when there was over-reliance on a few areas.
"When a disaster strikes, like we've seen in the Covid-19 pandemic, the Klang Valley comes to a halt with the implementation of the lockdown, causing severe consequences because we rely on Johor and the Klang Valley.
"It is high time that development is more widespread, especially in the six states. They were included in the 11th Malaysia Plan but it was not enough. - New Straits Times
Same-sex marriage ruling stalls
The Constitutional Court has postponed its ruling in a landmark LGBT marriage equality case from Tuesday to Dec 14.
The Foundation for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rights and Just, better known as the FOR-SOGI organisation, announced the postponement at a press conference on Tuesday.
The court was acting on a petition calling for it to rule on whether Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code contravenes the charter. The section currently only recognises marriage between a man and a woman, he said.
The FOR-SORGI lodged a complaint with the Central Juvenile and Family Court to determine whether the current Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code is compliant with Section 27 of the 2017 constitution.
Sanya Eadjongdee, a lawyer representing the group, said the court announced the postponement without giving reasons.
He added there was no telling if a ruling would be handed down in December.
Mr Sanya explained revising Section 1448 and the draft bill to amend the Civil Partnership Act were two different issues.
"Revising the section is our main goal," he said. "By imposing this bill, it would make LGBTQ+ people become second-class citizens and having a family constitutes a fundamental right of being a human." - Bangkok Post
Defense chief thanks US for supporting PH efforts vs. Covid-19
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has expressed his appreciation to the United States government's support for the country's efforts in containing the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Lorenzana personally thanked US Chargé d’Affaires Heather Variava during their introductory meeting where he also officially welcomed the US official to the Philippines on September 28.
"The SND (Secretary of National Defense) expressed his appreciation for the US Government’s support to the Philippine Government’s efforts in addressing the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, particularly in facilitating the continued delivery of vaccines in support to the Philippines’ national immunization program," DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a statement Tuesday night.
Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to the Philippines-US alliance through the Mutual Defense Treaty. - Philippine News Agency
Quiet 'soldiers' who connect people in need of support
During her first day on a new mission to support HCM City, Nguyễn Thị Hoa, an operator of the 1022 hotline, received a call from a citizen. On the other end of the line was a frail female voice, interspersed with the cries of a child.
The caller was a woman in her sixties living with her two-year-old grandchild. She used to own a home but then had to sell the house to care for her ill daughter, yet was still struggling. After her daughter passed away, she had been selling lottery tickets to make ends meet.
In three months of strict social distancing measures, she could not go out to work, and was starting to run out of food and money. Calling 1022 for support, she said this was the last resort.
Hotline 1022 was established as a connection between citizens affected by COVID-19 and the local government in HCM City. - Vietnam News
Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus could become dominant strain in Cambodia, says WHO
World Health Organization representative to Cambodia, Dr Li Ailan told Khmer that Delta strain is more easily transmissible to others and as seen in many other countries, the Delta strain normally becomes the dominant strain, and we expect that to happen in Cambodia, if it hasn’t already.
Unlike the predominant Alpha strain, Delta strain carriers can be asymptomatic and contagious before the opportunity to test them or trace their contacts occurs.
Dr Li Ailan when speaking to Khmer Times said “The Delta Variant is very dangerous. It is more transmissible than previous variants because it replicates inside the body much faster. Delta is transmissible to others easier than previous variants.
“The Delta variant is circulating widely in Cambodia. The precise number of Delta cases in Cambodia is unknown although Khmer Times has reported is as being close to 8,000, as we cannot sequence test every sample. What we do know is that the proportion of samples that we do sequence that are delta and this has been rising since July.
“We must ensure that we are fully vaccinated and that our loved ones are fully vaccinated. The vaccine is effective against severe disease, hospitalisation and deaths. The good thing is that the public health and social measures that we have been using since last year still work against the Delta variant. We just have to make sure that we always practice them, especially because since the Delta transmits so fast and so easily, even among people who do not yet have symptoms,” she added. - Khmer Times
Bomb blast reported at police station in downtown Yangon
Two anti-junta guerrilla groups said they bombed a police station in downtown Yangon on Tuesday, the latest in a series of similar attacks in the former capital in recent months.
A group called the Yangon Anti-Dictatorship Force said it bombed the fourth floor of the Kyauktada Township police station on Sule Pagoda road early in the morning.
The group said it teamed up with another guerrilla force called 44st-UG, a name given in honour of activists who died during a military raid on Yangon’s 44th street in August.
“After the incident, we were able to retreat safely,” the statement read. – Myanmar NOW
Indonesia earns praise from WHO, WB for curbing COVID-19 cases
The World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and developed countries have praised Indonesia for its success in curbing COVID-19 cases, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung has said.
The COVID-19 curve in Indonesia is currently flattening, he noted while inaugurating and swearing-in 85 administrators and supervisory officials of the Cabinet Secretariat.
“Right now, our daily cases are quite low, but I ask you to keep following the health protocols,” he said at the ceremony, which was broadcast on the official website of the Cabinet Secretariat and accessed from Jakarta on Tuesday.
Indonesia added 2,057 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total tally to 4,211,460 since the country reported its first confirmed cases in March 2020, according to the COVID-19 Response Task Force.
Meanwhile, 124 people died of the infection on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to 141,709, it reported. - AntaraNews.Com