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.
Vaccinated Singaporeans can fly to Australia and back without quarantine from Nov 21
Vaccinated Singaporeans will be able to travel to parts of Australia and back without quarantine in either country from Nov 21.
Australian media reported on Sunday (Oct 31) that tourists, workers and students will be allowed to visit New South Wales and Victoria without spending 14 days in hotel quarantine.
The deal was finalised between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Rome. - Straits Times
Covid-19 deaths continue to drop
The number of Covid-19 deaths continued to dip yesterday, with 36 fatalities including seven brought-in-dead (BID) cases reported.
Based on data shared on CovidNow and GitHub, the cumulative Covid-19 deaths in Malaysia was now 28,912.
On Oct 30, 44 deaths were reported, including four BID cases. - New Straits Times
Tourists from 63 countries now exempt from quarantine rules
Thailand will begin admitting fully vaccinated visitors from 17 more countries without quarantine, increasing the number of countries on the list to 63.
On Oct 21, the government issued an announcement to allow fully vaccinated travellers from 63 countries and territories to enter the kingdom without quarantine from Monday, assuming they pass a Covid-19 test upon landing in Thailand.
The countries included in the announcement were Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.– Bangkok Post
PNP cautions public vs. online 'love scam'
Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, cautioned the public Sunday against falling prey to the "love scam” being perpetrated through social media platforms.
He issued the warning following the arrest of two Nigerians engaged in this scheme who extorted a huge sum of money from a businesswoman.
The suspects Felix Aondowase and Emmanuel Abia allegedly lured the woman online by pretending to be an Australian man. - Philippine News Agency
Tourism still facing obstacles despite restrictions relaxing
As restrictions relax under the new-normal and tourism resumes around the country, travel agencies are still encountering obstacles to their operations.
Hanoitourist has hosted their first packaged group tour from Hanoi to the northern province of Bac Giang, the first of its kind as the company adapt to the new-normal situation.
“The group consisted of 17 people but we had to use a 45-seat car due to the distancing regulation,” Le Hong Thai, deputy director of Hanoitourist told Vietnam News. - Vietnam News
Capital extends booster dose drive till Nov 11
Phnom Penh City Hall yesterday clarified that the booster shot campaign in the capital has not ended as reported but has been extended to November 11.
On October 26, City Hall reportedly announced that the booster shot campaign in the capital would end yesterday.
City Hall spokesman Met Measpheakdey told Khmer Times yesterday that the campaign is not over but the city authorities just reduced the number of centres based on the numbers of population who received the booster shots. - Khmer Times
More than 160 homes burn down in junta shelling of Chin State town
Amid an escalation of both armed resistance to military rule and reprisals from the junta forces, Myanmar army troops shelled the largely deserted western Chin State town of Thantlang on Friday, causing fires that destroyed more than 160 of the town’s 2,000 homes.
The attack came after a junta soldier was shot dead at 9:30am by the Chinland Defence Force (CDF)—which has been monitoring the situation in Thantlang—after members of the local resistance group said they saw him looting a shop.
In retaliation for the killing, the junta’s armed forces occupying the area shot at least 10 rounds of artillery into the town, which started fires upon exploding. Within an hour, several troops had arrived at the location at which the soldier was killed and also began torching houses “for no reason,” a CDF spokesperson said. - Myanmar NOW
G20 leaders agree on global COVID-19 vaccination strategy: Retno
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said leaders of the G20 countries have agreed to achieve the global vaccination strategy set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
"The leaders also expressed their views on the need to vaccinate 40 percent by the end of 2021, and 70 percent in mid-2022. This is actually a global strategy given by WHO which is supported by the G20 leaders," she said in a statement at the Splendide Royal Hotel, Rome, Italy, on Saturday.
Speaking after accompanying President Joko Widodo at the G20 Summit in La Nuvola, she said the G20 leaders discussed joint efforts to get out of the twin health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. - AntaraNews.Com