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.
Poipet border checkpoint on alert for new virus after Thailand scare
Authorities in Banteay Meanchey province have stepped up checks at the Poipet border with Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo following reports that a Chinese tourist to Thailand had been confirmed to be infected with a new pneumonia-like disease.
Banteay Meanchey governor Oum Reatrey on Tuesday that thermal scanners to detect fever had already been installed and were operational at the border checkpoint.
“We have already installed the scanners to screen travellers for the new form of virus but until now there have been no cases detected at the Poipet border,” the Khmer Times on Wednesday quoted him as saying. – Bangkok Post
Taal magma rising, fissuring suggest ‘explosive eruption is imminent’
Taal Volcano belched less lava and ash on Tuesday, but it was not an indication that the volcano was quieting down and that villagers who fled its fury on Sunday could now return to their homes.
Things may look less threatening on Volcano Island’s surface, but beneath it magma - molten rock - is rising and an explosive eruption is imminent, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). - Philippine Daily Inquirer
Civil suit against Yusoff Rawther to proceed, says Anwar
The civil suit filed against former People's Justice Party (PKR) researcher Muhammad Yusoff Rawther will proceed.
In stressing this, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he could not forgive the accusation thrown against him as it was an insult to his person. - The New Straits Times
PM marks more than three decades in power
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday marked his 35 years in power by promising that he will never hand it over to his oldest son Hun Manet but through an election.
Speaking yesterday evening during an annual meeting with local journalists in Phnom Penh’s Koh Pich exhibition centre, Mr Hun Sen said that he will not handpick Lieutenant General Manet, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) army commander, to succeed him. - Khmer Times
Government earmarks 9 trillion for flood mitigation projects in West Java
The Public Works and Housing Ministry has poured IDR9 trillion (US$659 million) into several projects in an effort to protect West Java from flooding.
The budget has been used to finance nine flood mitigation projects, ranging from dams and retention basins to underground water tunnels and river normalization in Bandung and Karawang, as well as two of Jakarta's satellite cities - Bogor and Bekasi. – The Jakarta Post