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.
Jong-Nam murder: Vietnamese woman to be freed today
A Vietnamese woman accused of assassinating the North Korean leader’s half-brother will be freed Friday, ending legal proceedings stemming from the shocking hit despite criticism that the real culprits never faced justice. – New Straits Times
OCBC says account balances not affected after some customers receive multiple SMS alerts on duplicate transactions
A few hundred OCBC Bank customers received multiple SMS alerts and noticed duplicate transaction records on their Internet and mobile banking devices on Thursday night (2 May).
This prompted the bank to reassure customers in a Facebook post at about 11pm that their account balances have not been affected. – The Straits Times
Businesses funded Jokowi campaign
Incumbent presidential ticket Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin made no contribution to their election campaign as they received massive flow of public funding mostly from the business community. In a final report submitted to the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Thursday, the campaign recorded that it had collected a total of Rp 606 billion (US$42.5 million) in campaign funding, 45 percent of which came from community groups and individuals, mostly business people. – The Jakarta Post
Govt set to take shape ‘in June’
The new government is expected to take shape in June, based on the Election Commission’s (EC) schedule of announcing the official poll results next Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Thursday in a statement. – Bangkok Post
Maximum price for selected food items during Ramadhan
The department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE) under the Ministry of Finance and Economy yesterday announced that eight categories of daily food essentials will be set the maximum price during the upcoming month of Ramadhan. – Borneo Bulletin
‘Journos should hold power to account, uphold democracy at all times’ – Focap
Journalists have a critical duty to “hold power to account” and “uphold democracy at all times, no matter how difficult,” the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) reminded media practitioners on Friday as the world celebrates the annual Press Freedom Day. – Philippine Daily Inquirer