These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Vivian Balakrishnan makes stop in United Arab Emirates on working trip to Middle East
Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on Thursday (March 24) visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of a trip to the Middle East.
As small states and hubs in the respective regions, Singapore and the UAE share mutual interests, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in a statement.
As part of the working visit, Dr Balakrishnan met and had lunch with UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The ministers also had an in-depth exchange on regional and global developments, MFA said.
Dr Balakrishnan also congratulated the UAE on hosting the Expo 2020 Dubai successfully despite the pandemic.
The minister also met Mr Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority and managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Co to exchange views on pandemic recovery and discussed developments globally and in the region. – Straits Times
Singapore Malaysia full resumption of travel to, boost tourism, economy – MITI
The full resumption of land travel between Malaysia and Singapore will catalyse business activities not only for the severely impacted tourism industry, but also provide a strong impetus for the post-Covid-19 economic recovery.
It could boost external trade and employment, which in turn, will contribute to the 2022 gross domestic product (GDP) growth projections of between 5.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent, Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said.
"MITI plays a pivotal role in facilitating the movement of the workforce and citizens between Malaysia and Singapore which was disrupted by the global pandemic," he said in a statement today.
Realising the need to accelerate the reopening of the borders, a Joint Steering Committee co-chaired by MITI with the Singaporean counterpart was established to work towards resuming land border travel in a gradual, safe, systematic and sustainable manner. The Vaccinated Travel Lane-Land (VTL-Land) between Malaysia and Singapore, launched on Nov 29, 2021, has facilitated quarantine-free, seamless cross-border movement of nearly 125,000 travellers by integrating health protocol, security and immigration clearance which resulted in the gradual resumption of bilateral and economic relations between Malaysia and Singapore so vital in advancing the economic recovery efforts.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, along with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, announced effective April 1, fully vaccinated travellers, and non-fully vaccinated children aged 12 and below are permitted to travel to both countries without having to undergo testing protocols and quarantine.
Travellers may travel between both countries via land transport without border health measures and are no longer restricted to a limited quota.
VTL-Land is the foundation of future efforts to facilitate trade and investment, as well as economic recovery. – New Straits Times
Workers 'underpaid' on digital platforms
Digital labour platforms have grown dramatically during the pandemic but the conditions of their workers have not kept up, a public forum organised by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) and the Labour Ministry was told.
The forum sought feedback on research into the challenges faced by such workers, including that they reportedly are being underpaid and suffer from a lack of access to government welfare.
Porranee Phuprasert, director of ThaiHealth's Populations Health Promotion Section, said many workers were made redundant as a result of the pandemic, while some businesses were forced to suspend or close.
With the pandemic, new occupations emerged in the form of digital platforms for trade and services, contributing to the use of short-term employment contracts. Many people – including informal workers engaging in street vending, home-based work, waste picking, domestic jobs and other short-term contractors – have used online platforms to earn money through delivery or housework services, Ms Porranee said. But these informal workers may be disqualified for seeking welfare and privileges from the government.
Thanee Chaiwat, lecturer of economics at Chulalongkorn University and head of the research team, said Thailand lacks clear protection laws for informal workers on digital platforms.
The research – conducted among 1,000 workers involved in driver services, food delivery services and housework groups from August 2020 to March last year – indicated there was widespread unfair payment and unequal labour welfare issues. – Bangkok Post
NUP endorsement affirms UniTeam’s call for national unity
The camp of presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos welcomed on Thursday the endorsement of the National Unity Party (NUP).
Marcos’ spokesperson Vic Rodriguez described this as an affirmation of the UniTeam's "movement for national unity and nation-building".
"The endorsement of the NUP confirms that our movement for national unity and nation-building which started as a mere whisper, is now a crescendoing national chorus," he said in a statement.
"With deep sense of humility and gratitude, we extend our appreciation to the leadership and members of the NUP for placing their trust on presidential frontrunner Bongbong Marcos to fulfil the common vision- one nation, one future," he added.
The NUP endorsed Marcos's presidential bid on Thursday, saying his "call for unity as the basic strategy for economic recovery amidst the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and global uncertainties is consistent and supportive of the NUP’s primary vision of 'one nation, one future.'"
“We call upon all our Party members to join hands with former Senator Marcos in bringing our country and people to continued prosperity and progress,” it added.
The NUP, formed in 2010, is currently led by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. – Philippine News Agency
120,000 new COVID infections reported on Thursday
The health ministry announced 120,000 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, marking the ninth straight day of falling daily numbers.
The capital city of Ha Noi continues to lead the daily increases, with 12,485 cases reported. The seven-day average of new infections in the country is currently at 137,890, down significantly from the figure a week ago of 171,446.
Viet Nam’s total COVID-19 caseload now stands at 8,599,751, ranking 14th of 225 countries worldwide.
A total of 164,754 COVID-19 patients were given the all-clear on Thursday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,826,024 since the start of the pandemic.
As many as 3,650 seriously ill COVID-19 patients are in active treatment, including four on life support.
There were 70 COVID-19 related deaths recorded, putting the total fatalities nationwide at 42,145, or 0.5 per cent of infections.
Viet Nam has administered over 204 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in total. – Vietnam News
Amid Deltracron surge, 17 arrivals from Cambodia detected positive for COVID-19 in Thailand
Amid the surge of Deltracon cases in Thailand of late, arrivals from Cambodia who are being tested positive with COVID-19 in Thailand, comprising Thai nationals totalled 17 on Wednesday as reported yesterday. The 17 were part of 46 imported cases who came from 14 countries and included six from the United Kingdom, five from France and three each from Switzerland and Germany, in addition to that from Cambodia.
Meanwhile, Thai officials have expressed concerns about clusters among medical personnel including those at Siriraj, Bangkok Christian and Praram 9 hospitals although clusters are shrinking noticeably at schools and factories,” said Dr Apisamai Srirangson, spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, in the afternoon briefing.
Daily confirmed Covid-19 cases hit 27,024, a 24-hour increase of 1,860 and just 47 below the all-time high set on March 18, the Public Health Ministry announced on Thursday morning.
The figures did not include 26,768 positive results from antigen tests over the previous 24 hours. This would raise the total to 53,792.
Just 46 of the new infections were detected in new arrivals from other countries, with the rest transmitted inside Thailand’s borders, including 54 among prison inmates.
Of the new infections in the general population, 26,740 were confirmed at hospitals and 184 via mass testing.
The 82 new fatalities were between the ages of one month and 95, and included one Briton and five Myanmar nationals. – Khmer Times
ASEAN envoy’s Myanmar trip unsuccessful, leading NLD member says
A three-day trip to Myanmar by Cambodian foreign minister and ASEAN special envoy Prak Sokhonn this week did not offer any breakthroughs in the country’s ongoing crisis, said a central executive committee (CEC) member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), whose elected government was ousted in last year’s military coup.
CEC member Aung Kyi Nyunt – who is also the chair of the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which represents deposed NLD lawmakers – dismissed the Monday-Wednesday visit as “not meaningful” nor “a success.”
The special envoy met with army chief Min Aung Hlaing, members of his coup council, and a delegation from the People’s Party, which is under the leadership of 88-generation activist Ko Ko Gyi, who controversially represented the party at a junta meeting last May.
In April 2021, ASEAN held an emergency summit concerning Myanmar in Jakarta, Indonesia, and made public a five-point consensus on how the bloc would address the escalating violence in the country.
Among these points was a requirement that the ASEAN special envoy meet with all relevant parties in Myanmar – an obligation that Prak Sokhonn did not fulfil, Aung Kyi Nyunt said.
“He only met with the people who the military council allowed him to meet with, instead of meeting with all parties. And then he went back [to Cambodia], so it wasn’t an effective or meaningful solution at all,” he told Myanmar Now.
Much of the NLD party leadership, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, have been detained by the junta for more than a year, and visiting international personnel have been denied meetings with them. – Myanmar NOW
Biodiesel policy accelerating transition to clean energy: Minister
Over the last 14 years, Indonesia's biodiesel policy has accelerated the transition from fossil-based energy to cleaner energy, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has said.
"The mandatory biodiesel program in our country is an outstanding initiative and achievement whose progress in the future must be observed. With other palm oil-producing countries, we want to make the mandatory biodiesel program a part of the Road to G20 event that takes place at the same time with the G20 Energy Transition Working Group (EWTG) forum in Yogyakarta," Hartarto said in a statement released on Thursday.
Indonesia is committed to accelerating the transition to clean energy through biodiesel policies to achieve zero carbon emissions, the minister added.
Indonesia's commitment to utilizing palm oil as the base for biofuel will expedite the country's energy safety target and help it realize a 23-percent energy mix by 2025, he said.
President Joko Widodo, during the 21st United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris, France, in 2015, had affirmed Indonesia's determination to cut greenhouse emissions by 29 percent through a business-as-usual approach by 2030 that could be boosted to 41 percent with international support, he added.
"The national palm oil industry is ready to support this vision, as the B30 utilization in 2021 has successfully decreased the greenhouse gas (emissions) by 24.6 million tons, equal to 7.8 percent of the renewable energy target in 2030," Hartarto noted. – AntaraNews.Com