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.
Stay informed with The ASEAN Post.
Singapore researchers discover new Covid-19 variant which causes milder infections
Researchers in Singapore have discovered a new variant of Covid-19 that causes less severe infections, according to a new study in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. This could provide new avenues for vaccine and therapeutic development, experts say. The latest reported variant of the Sar-Cov-2 virus which causes Covid-19 emerged in Wuhan, China early in the pandemic and was exported to Singapore and Taiwan, according to the study by researchers in various institutions, including the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and the Duke-NUS Medical School. It was detected in a cluster of cases here in January and February. The researchers said in the study that patients infected with the variant, which has a 382-nucleotide deletion, were observed to have had better clinical outcomes relative to those infected by viruses without this deletion. A lower proportion of them, for example, had hypoxia (where the body is short of oxygen) requiring supplemental oxygen, when compared with those infected with the wild-type virus. – The Straits Times
'Stiffer penalties to curb poaching'
The proposed amendments to the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), if passed in Parliament, will act as a deterrent to poachers and others who engage in wildlife criminal activities, conservationists say. They, however, reiterated their call for stiffer punishment and the heaviest penalties to eliminate the illegal hunting of wildlife. This is because poachers were part of criminal syndicates that were willing to take risks in return for huge profits from the sale of rare and endangered species in the black market. They said that syndicates, with their ill-gotten gains from various illicit activities, have scant regard for high fines. Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre chief executive officer and founder Dr Wong Siew Te said the proposed amendments to the law would be a big step forward in protecting Malaysia's highly endangered species like the Malayan tiger, whose population is fewer than 200, and the sun bear, which numbers between 300 and 500 in the peninsula. "The rarer species fetch higher prices in the black market. Poachers will always take the risk to hunt for the last of an endangered species, like the Malayan tiger, when such species become so valuable in the black market." – New Straits Times
Protection offered to key witness in Boss case
A witness protection programme is ready to provide protection to the key witness in Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya's hit-and-run case, says Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin. The Justice Ministry would protect all witnesses in the case, whether government officers or the public, he pledged. The witness, Pol Col Thanasit Taengchan, from the Office of Police Forensic Science, examined the scene of the accident in 2012 and later changed his statement to revise down the speed of Vorayuth's Ferrari from 177kph to 79kph. The greatly reduced speed was an important factor in prosecutors deciding to drop charges against Mr Vorayuth. Earlier this month, however, Pol Col Thanasit said he had faced pressure from senior officers and later tried in vain to change his statement back to 177kph. Sources in the Rights and Liberties Protection Department said it had periodically advised Pol Col Thanasit about the conditions for witness protection. Pol Col Thanasit told the department he had some concerns about who would be protecting him and also that he only wanted to be protected at certain times. – Bangkok Post
COVID-19 infections among children overshadow plans to reopen schools
Indonesia’s paediatricians have raised concerns over the government’s plan to allow more schools to reopen, given that the share of children among COVID-19 fatalities is higher in Indonesia than in other countries. With around 30 percent of Indonesia’s 270 million population being below the age of 18, at least 9,216 children have been infected with the disease in the country as of Aug. 6. Child deaths accounted for 2.3 percent of the overall COVID-19 death toll, which exceeded 6,000 on Tuesday, official data show. According to figures from the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI), which are lower than those of the government, 59 COVID-19 deaths and 318 suspected deaths among children were recorded as of Aug. 10. Forty-two percent of the 59 deaths are children who never got to celebrate their first birthday, followed by children aged 1-5 years (24 percent), 6-9 years (14 percent) and 10-18 years (20 percent). In a separate statement issued on Monday, the IDAI noted that Indonesia was among the countries with the highest COVID-19 case fatality rates (CFR) among people aged 18 years and younger in the Asia-Pacific region. – The Jakarta Post
Duterte: Emulate Ninoy’s courage, patriotism; be heroes through discipline
President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday urged Filipinos to emulate the “courage and patriotism” of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino in this time of pandemic as the nation commemorates his 37th death anniversary. In his Ninoy Aquino Day message, Duterte honoured the late senator “whose life, work, and impact on governance have uplifted the lives of many, especially the oppressed and marginalized.” As this important occasion is remembered during this time that we are facing a global public health crisis, may we emulate Ninoy’s courage and patriotism so we may all be heroes through acts of discipline, goodwill, and social responsibility,” Duterte said. The President called on the public to work with the government in combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. “I call on everyone to cooperate and work with the government so that we may keep ourselves, our families and our communities safe. May we also generously share our resources to those who have less in life during these trying times,” Duterte said. – INQUIRER.net
Viet Nam tops 1,000 COVID-19 patients
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Viet Nam have topped the 1,000 mark as 14 new patients were reported on Thursday night, with two imported. The total number of patients now stands at 1,007. Nine patients in Da Nang were also announced by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control to have recovered from the disease. The 1,000th patient is a Filipino expert who returned to Viet Nam from South Korea on August 14. He was quarantined on arrival in the central province of Khanh Hoa and is now being treated at the Khanh Hoa Hospital of Tropical Diseases. The other imported case is a 27-year-old man living in HCM City, who returned to Ha Noi from Equatorial Guinea on flight VN6 on July 29 and was quarantined for 14 days before returning to HCM City on August 14. He tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on August 19 and is now being treated at the Cu Chi field hospital. The other twelve new patients aged 24-65, are community transmissions. Eleven of them are in the central city of Da Nang and one in the central province of Quang Nam. They are caregivers and family members who had close contact with COVID-19 patients. – Viet Nam News
Mekong Countries Must Confront China Over Dam Impact, Experts Say Ahead of China-Led Meeting
China’s extensive damming of the upper Mekong River has reduced water flows, threatening downstream countries Cambodia and Vietnam with environmental harm and food shortages, said experts in advance of a summit meeting of the multilateral Mekong-Lancang Cooperation group. The summit, to be held on Aug. 24 as a virtual meeting, will be co-chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The group is widely seen as a rival to the separate four-nation Mekong River Commission (MRC) and as a forum controlled by China to promote its own interests. Ham Oudom, a Cambodian consultant on natural resources and water governance, told RFA in an interview this week that downstream countries on the Mekong should confront China forcefully over the harm caused by China’s control over water flows on their countries’ economies and environment. – The Cambodia Daily