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.
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Covid-19 vaccine bookings for children in S'pore aged 5 to 11 to start on Dec 22; jabs from Dec 27
Covid-19 vaccination for children aged five to 11 will begin next Monday (Dec 27), with bookings opening from Wednesday - first for Primary 4 to 6 pupils.
The vaccination exercise for more than 300,000 children will be done across 15 paediatric centres, which will be rolled out in batches.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) announced on Tuesday (Dec 21) details for the vaccination programme, which will be open to all children who are Singapore citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders. - Straits Times
Seven more drowning victims found in Taman Sri Muda
The bodies of seven more drowning victims were found yesterday, raising the death toll to nine in flood-stricken Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam.
Shah Alam police chief Assistant Commissioner Baharudin Mat Taib said the nine deaths recorded involved six men and three women.
"Two of the three female victims were Chinese while another has yet to be identified. - New Straits Times
Kids 5-11 allowed Pfizer shot
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday gave the green light to allow children aged 5 to 11 to receive Pfizer's Comirnaty vaccine so as to build body immunity against Covid-19.
The Comirnaty vaccine is the first Covid-19 vaccine that has been approved by the administration for young children, said FDA secretary-general Paisarn Dunkum.
Previously, the FDA only permitted the vaccine to be used on those aged 12 and over. For children aged 5 to 11, the dose in the vaccine will be reduced to 10 microgrammes, Dr Paisarn said. - Bangkok Post
NCR 'very low risk' for Covid-19 in time for Christmas: OCTA
The National Capital Region (NCR) is classified as very low risk for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) with an average of only 79 new cases per day from Dec. 14 to 20, the OCTA Research Group said Tuesday.
"The incidence or ADAR (average daily attack rate) was at 0.55 per day per 100,000 individuals while the reproduction number was 0.48," the group said in its latest report.
It added that the NCR's test positivity rate was 0.6 percent and it has an average of 18,127 RT-PCR tests over the past seven days. - Philippine News Agency
More data needed to assess Nano Covax vaccine
The National Ethics Committee in Biomedical Research has said more data about the efficacy of the homegrown COVID-19 vaccine Nano Covax is needed.
The Ministry of Health on Monday announced the conclusion of the committee meeting on December 16 to look into updated reports on mid-term phase 3 trial results of the vaccine.
The data available for review was until November 30, 2011. The report was submitted to the committee on December 9. - Vietnam News
Shock as leader of opposition political party arrested for armed robbery of online celebrity
There was widespread shock in political circles – and beyond – last night over reports that Sok Sovann Vathana Sabung AKA William Guang, leader of the Khmer Rise political party, has been arrested in connection with the armed robbery of online lotion celebrity An Sieu Mey.
According to reports from the Phnom Penh Armed Forces, led by Lt. Gen. Rath Srang, a number of people have been arrested in conjunction with the case – including the political figure.
Mr Guang – a businessman and property developer – is no stranger to controversy, having been charged with defamation in 2018. - Khmer Times
Thousands of Trucks Stranded at Border with China as Luang Namtha Suspends Entry
Thousands of freight trucks from Laos remain stuck in a 20-kilometer traffic jam as they await entry to China.
According to a notice issued on Friday by Head of Luang Namtha Provincial Administration Office, Khamphet Chanthavong, freight transportation has been suspended in order to ease congestion created by trucks unable to cross into China.
Due to the high number of Covid-19 cases reported in Laos, China has implemented tight entry restrictions for individuals and trucks. - The Laotian Times
Indonesia receives 162nd batch of vaccines
The Indonesian government has received 482 thousand doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in finished form as part of the 162nd vaccine shipment.
The vaccines were obtained through a donation from COVAX to meet the vaccine needs in the country, the Director General of Information and Public Communication at the Ministry of Communications and Informatics, Usman Kansong, said in a statement here on Monday.
"The smooth arrival of vaccines has helped accelerate and expand the vaccination coverage in Indonesia," he added. - AntaraNews.Com