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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S'pore economy beats estimates to expand 7.6% last year; 2022 growth forecast kept at 3-5%
Singapore's economic growth for the whole of 2021 came in at 7.6 per cent, up from the previous estimate of 7.2 per cent, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Thursday (Feb 17).
MTI also revised its 2020 growth figure to a contraction of 4.1 per cent from an earlier estimate of minus 5.4 per cent.
This was after more comprehensive data from surveys showed better performance from sectors such as services, wholesale trade, transport and storage, and information and communications.
The gross domestic product growth forecast for 2022 was, however, maintained at 3 per cent to 5 per cent, MTI said in its Economic Survey report.
The upgrade for 2021 came after fourth-quarter GDP growth was revised to 6.1 per cent year on year, from the previous projection of 5.9 per cent.
At a media briefing, Mr Gabriel Lim, Permanent Secretary for Trade and Industry, said: “GDP growth in 2021 was mainly driven by the manufacturing, finance and insurance, and wholesale trade sectors.”
For 2022, MTI said the Singapore economy “is expected to continue to expand this year, although the outlook for the various sectors remains uneven”.
It said that growth prospects for outward-oriented sectors, such as manufacturing and wholesale trade, remain strong given the continued global economic recovery.
“In particular, the manufacturing sector is projected to continue to expand, albeit at a more moderate pace following the strong out-turn last year, supported by sustained global demand for semiconductors and semiconductor equipment,” MTI added. – Straits Times
'Ramp up vaccination before Ramadan'
Seventy per cent of the adult population must get a booster shot before Ramadan in April. Otherwise, there could be an uptick in hospitalisation rates that overwhelms the public health services, experts said.
Public health specialist Dr Safiya Amaran said this should cover the one million senior citizens and some 3.5 million Sinovac vaccine recipients who have yet to get the booster shot.
To date, 41.3 per cent of those aged 18 years and above had received their boosters, based on data from the Health Ministry's CovidNow portal. "This leaves the authorities with a small window to achieve the target because most Malays would be against getting their shots during Ramadan or Hari Raya Aidilfitri. You can see this based on last year's vaccine appointment cancellation rates during the period.
"The situation then was scarier due to the Delta variant and hospitalisation rates," she told the New Straits Times yesterday.
The Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin lecturer said as an additional precaution, at least 70 per cent of those aged between 5 and 11 should be immunised, as well as 90 per cent of adolescents. – New Straits Times
City name row stings ORST
The Office of the Royal Society (ORST) is taking flak from netizens over confusion about what Thailand's capital should be called between the widely recognised Bangkok and the official Krung Thep Maha Nakhon.
However, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon has been set as the capital's official name since 2001.
The cabinet on Tuesday approved in principle a PM's Office draft announcement on updated names of countries, territories, administrative zones and capitals, as proposed by the ORST. The update will not come into effect until it is vetted by a committee in charge of scrutinising legislative bills.
The announcement, approved by the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, said the ORST's committee on the dictionary of international geographic names, including experts from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, had updated the spelling of countries, territories, administrative zones and capitals to be in line with the current situation. The panel submitted the list to the PM's Office to issue the announcement.
The draft announcement also revokes the prime minister's announcement on names of countries, territories, administrative zones and capitals dated Nov 9, 2001, using the ORST's announcement on updated names of Sept 1, last year.
In the update, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon will remain the official name of Thailand's capital. However, the official name will be followed by the name "Bangkok" in parentheses. The ORST also updated the official spelling for other countries, including Rome and Roma for Italy's capital, the change of Myanmar's capital from Yangon to Nay Pyi Taw and the change of the Kingdom of Nepal to the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. – Bangkok Post
PNP monitoring persons linked to Hamas over 'terror plot': DILG
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said some persons are being monitored in connection with the reported plan of the Middle East-based Hamas militant group to operate in the Philippines.
"Those people mentioned in the report are now under surveillance and monitoring," he said in a phone interview on Wednesday night, referring to a report that was recently submitted to him by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
He, however, did not say how many individuals are being monitored for supposedly being involved in the plot.
"The PNP Intelligence Group is into this, they're monitoring the movement of these Filipinos who are reportedly (involved)," said Año, adding that the effort has been coordinated with the Anti-Terrorism Council.
While he believes that the plot was already pre-empted, the DILG chief said intelligence personnel continue to monitor and gather relevant information on the matter.
"There are no indicators that they are really on the verge of implementing it (plan to establish foothold). It's still information that is being acted upon by the intelligence community," the DILG chief added.
On Tuesday, the PNP Intelligence Group said it has uncovered a plan to recruit Filipinos who will be "utilized to kill Jews present in the country, conduct rallies at the Israeli embassy and spread (of) video propaganda against Israel."
The information was uncovered through information provided by a local contact of Hamas who was allegedly approached by Hamas-Foreign Liaison Section head Fares Al Shikli, who is based in Turkey, as early as 2016.
The "local contact" reportedly made several trips to Malaysia from 2016 to 2018 to discuss the possibility of launching attacks in the Philippines in exchange for financial assistance.
This is not the first time Hamas tried to establish a presence in the country. – Philippine News Agency
19.2% of children in Viet Nam contracted COVID-19 since pandemic began
About 490,000 children in Viet Nam were confirmed to have contracted coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, according to deputy health minister Nguyen Truong Son.
Speaking at a national conference on guidance and care for COVID-19 infected children, Son said the number accounts for 19.2 per cent of people aged under 18 years in the country.
4.8 per cent of children between 13-17 years have tested positive for the virus; 8 per cent aged 6-12; 2.8 per cent aged 3-5; and 3.6 per cent aged 0-2, he noted.
Only 165 child deaths have been attributed to COVID-19, accounting for 0.42 per cent of the country’s total COVID-19 deaths – 0.11 per cent in the 13-17 years group, 0.1 per cent in the 6-12 range, and 0.18 per cent in the 0-2 range.
While the death rate remains low, there are many cases of long-COVID symptoms, including post-COVID complications and some serious but rare multisystem inflammatory syndrome cases, the health official said.
Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy head of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment under the health ministry, said as of February 7, among 516,163 cases of COVID-19 detected in HCM City, the former epicentre of the fourth wave in Viet Nam, 32,429 were children, or 6.3 per cent of the total.
An analysis of 2,478 COVID-19 infected children in HCM City revealed 165 cases of serious disease, with 13.9 per cent suffering from overweight issues and 8.5 per cent from other health issues. – Vietnam News
Sixteen more NagaWorld protestors positive with COVID-19
The Department of Health of Phnom Penh Capital Administration has announced that it has detected COVID-19 on 16 former NagaWorld employees who had been protesting outside the company. This brings the total of cases detected to around 50.
According to the announcement, on February 16, 2022, a team of doctors from the Department of Health of the Phnom Penh Capital Administration conducted a sample test to detect COVID-19 on protesters, former employees and employees of NagaWorld Company.
As of 5:00 pm on the same day, 16 people were found to be positive for COVID-19 virus.
The Department of Health of the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration instructed all protesters and stakeholders who were in direct contact with the above-mentioned 16 COVID-19 positive people to isolate for 7 days, in strict accordance with the health rules. – Khmer Times
Junta troops set fire to more homes in Thantlang after battalion commander loses leg to landmine
The Myanmar army set fire to more homes in the deserted Chin State town of Thantlang this week, the Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO) reported.
More than 900 of Thantlang’s 2,300 homes have been destroyed since September of last year, a period during which the junta’s forces set fire to buildings in the town a total of 25 times, according to the Chinland Defence Force (CDF) in Thantlang. Some 19 religious buildings have also been lost.
At the time of reporting, it was not known how many more houses the military had torched in the most recent act of arson, which took place on Sunday.
The burning, CHRO said, followed the triggering of a landmine by a battalion commander, causing him serious injury. Lt-Col Myo Zin Tun, who leads Infantry Battalion (IB) 269, lost his leg when the device – which CHRO reported that he had planted – went off on Sunday.
Myanmar Now is unable to independently verify who had set up the mine in question.
Junta troops under his command started burning the remaining houses in Thantlang that day.
“It's very inhumane and cruel of them to destroy people's property like this,” Salai Lian, a spokesperson for the Thantlang Placement Affairs Committee – which works with displaced persons – told Myanmar Now.
Thantlang originally had a population of between 8,000 and 10,000, all of whom have been displaced by the military occupation and clashes with resistance forces in the area. Many of the town’s former residents have been sheltering in nearby forests.
The military has also cut off the transportation routes and the supply of commodities to Thantlang Township, leaving locals in hiding with a lack of food and basic necessities, including medicines, Salai Lian explained. – Myanmar NOW
Indonesia to defend developing nations' interests at G20
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has reiterated Indonesia's commitment to defending the aspirations and interests of developing countries during its G20 Presidency.
"The G20 Presidency would defend developing countries' aspirations and interests to ensure more equitable global governance, particularly to enhance global solidarity in advancing sustainable development and addressing climate change," he said during an online discussion about urban issues during Indonesia's G20 Presidency in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil also attended the Urban G20 discussion.
Indonesia's G20 Presidency has presented an opportunity to the country to play a big role in advancing global economic recovery with the active participation of the global community, he remarked.
Indonesia is also committed to promoting equitable, healthy, and sustainable development based on independence, perpetual peace, and social justice principles during its G20 Presidency, he added.
The G20 Presidency's theme, "recover together, recover stronger," encapsulates the nation's commitment to promoting global solidarity in facing global challenges, the coordinating minister noted.
"The G20 Presidency is expected to infuse a new spirit to realizing a new world order that not only provides global prosperity but also ensures sustainable living in the future," Hartarto said.
One of the focuses of the current G20 Presidency is enhancing multilateralism and effective global partnership to ensure open, fair, and mutual benefit to the global community, he added.
"We must also ensure that no one, particularly the poor and vulnerable groups, gets left behind in our effort," the minister said. – AntaraNews.Com