These are the top stories making the front pages of major newspapers from across Southeast Asia today.
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Late-stage Covid-19 vaccine trial could start in Singapore before end-2020
The final phase of the clinical trial for the Covid-19 vaccine that was co-developed by Singapore scientists is likely to start here before the end of this year. Associate Professor Jenny Low, deputy clinical and scientific director at the SingHealth Investigational Medicine unit administering the trial told The Straits Times: "We are currently in phase two of the clinical trial and we expect the recruitment and dosing to be completed by November. Phase three will begin hopefully by the end of December." The clinical trial process, which involves testing an experimental drug or vaccine on people, typically has three phases. The first two phases are known as early-phase clinical trials, and they are mainly carried out among smaller groups of up to hundreds of volunteers to test the safety and efficacy of a vaccine. During these stages, researchers look out for dangerous side effects and analyse patient samples to see how the human immune system is responding to the vaccine. They also seek to determine how many doses are needed to incite the desired immune response. Phase three trials are much larger in scope than the earlier ones, usually involving thousands to tens of thousands of people. These are often held across multiple jurisdictions or countries. The aim of these trials is to see if the vaccine can confer protection from infection. To determine this, some of the volunteers just receive a placebo. In June, the United States Food and Drug Administration said it expects that a Covid-19 vaccine would prevent disease or decrease its severity in at least 50 per cent of those vaccinated. – The Straits Times
'CMCO implementation necessitates extension of loan moratorium'
The government must restore the automatic loan moratorium, which ended on Sept 30, to at least March 2021 to help businesses stay afloat. Persatuan Kesejahteraan Rakyat Malaysia (PKRM) chairman, Assistant Commissioner Rela Datuk Ranjith Raja, said the targeted assistance by banks – which replaced the blanket moratorium – does not augur well for Malaysians. "Many applications (to banks) are either still pending or rejected for various reasons. "In addition, the re-implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) is affecting borrowers who assumed that the moratorium ended on Aug 31, and therefore, did not apply to extend the moratorium. "Therefore, we want an automatic moratorium extension, since the new wave of Covid-19 cases indicate an uncertain trend and many businesses are unable to repay their loans as scheduled. "For example, restaurant owners who rely on daily income are struggling to repay their loans due to the re-implementation of CMCO, which came along with the work-from-home directive, and advice for patrons to avoid visiting shopping malls," he said in a statement today. Ranjith called on banks to come forward and offer assistance, or business owners may opt for loans from other sources and eventually face repayment issues that could lead to family problems and emotional pressures. "Retaining a stable monthly income is now a question mark for many people. Most of them have their working hours reduced, no pay given for overtime work, or encounter other forms of wage cuts by their employers. "Our survey also found that many businesses in shopping malls have incurred massive losses, as daily sales have dipped by 70 per cent. – New Straits Times
No coup, deputy PM insists
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon on Thursday brushed aside a call by a former yellow-shirt protest leader for a coup to pave the way for the establishment of a national unity government to defuse the political conflict. Gen Prawit's comments followed the proposal by Sondhi Limthongkul, former co-leader of the defunct People's Alliance for Democracy. The Deputy PM made only one remark -- "There won't be any coup" -- when asked about the matter. The government has repeatedly ruled out a coup in the past. A Facebook page called "Sondhi Talk'' posted a clip of Mr Sondhi expressing his opinions on the political situation in a show on a satellite television channel "News One'' on Tuesday. During the show, he said: "For me, a coup is not evil. If the constitution is to be amended, all involved must be allowed a say to make sure the charter is fair. A national unity government must be set up and it must be independent. "Anyone who might be thinking of staging a coup must not make a mistake like the NCPO [National Council for Peace and Order], which seized power and expanded it. "They must step in and bring peace to the country by giving power back to His Majesty the King. I believe His Majesty will not exercise this power and he will establish a national government immediately." – Bangkok Post
COVID-19 task force uses real-time data platform to curb transmission
The National COVID-19 task force has been using a real-time data platform called Sistem Bersatu Lawan COVID-19 (BLC) Monitoring Perubahan Perilaku (United in Fighting COVID-19 Monitoring Behavioral Change System) to curb the spread of the disease. The task force’s expert team coordinator and spokesperson, Wiku Adisasmito, said in a virtual press conference hosted by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on Wednesday that the team had been using the platform for four months and had been monitoring several locations with high cases of health protocols violations. Wiku explained that BLC was designed to produce real-time, integrated, systematic and interoperable data that involved cross-sectors coordination. “Through this system, field officers can enter various information about health protocol violations from the locations in real-time,” he explained. Wiku went on to say that the data would then be processed into statistical data to determine the locations with a high number of health protocol violations, adding that the information gathered from field officers would help optimize the implementation of COVID-19 health protocols. BLC contains various features, including a questionnaire that can be used to report public gatherings and monitor individuals or institutional compliance with health protocols. The monitoring results will appear in the national dashboard and can be used for location mapping to improve health protocol compliance. “The data is generated in real-time and will be updated based on incoming reports. Through this dashboard, [users] can see the number of people being monitored, the number of locations, districts or cities as well as provinces under observation,” he explained. Wiku revealed that in the past four weeks, data on the national dashboard showed that over 18 million people were currently being monitored and 3,480,380 locations were under observation. – The Jakarta Post
PH military says Abu Sayyaf leader Furuji Indama could be dead
A top leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group based in Basilan may be dead, the military said Friday. Furuji Indama was likely killed in a clash with the military in Basilan in September 2020 and authorities are currently validating it, said Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Alaric delos Santos. “Revelation ng mga dating kasamahan niya at ng mga tropa na nakakita during the encounter na severely wounded siya during that time. Kaya lang binitbit talaga nila at hindi iniwan despite the heavy fires po ng tropa natin,” he told reporters. “Kailangan nating i-validate talaga yung information, though marami nang nagsasabi na patay, especially yung kanyang mga kasamahan,” he said. Indama was reportedly killed in an encounter in Zamboanga Sibugay province on Sept. 9. He is wanted for the 2001 kidnapping of 20 tourists in Dos Palmas Island. He also played an alleged role in the 2018 suicide bombing at a military checkpoint in Basilan which killed 11 people. One of his followers, who was known as alias Botak, was killed in a firefight on Thursday in Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan, the Wesmincom said in a separate report. “The neutralized personality was onboard a motorcycle along with two of his comrades when they were intercepted by the operating troops of the 101st Infantry Brigade and the 18th Infantry Battalion, and the firefight ensued,” said Wesmincom chief Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr. One M60 machine gun and a motorcycle were recovered at the site of the clash. – INQUIRER.net
Three Bình Định fishermen rescued at sea, 23 still missing
Three Vietnamese fishermen have been pulled from the ocean after they were spotted by a passing cargo ship. The men were onboard a fishing vessel that went missing during the recent storms. The remaining 11 crew members are still unaccounted for. The fishermen, Lê Minh Don (born in 2000), Huỳnh Xuân Phi (born in 1985) and Võ Văn Hoài (born in 1985), from Hoài Nhơn Town of Bình Định Province, are all said to be in good health. They were transferred from the Hong Kong cargo ship Fortune Iris to Vietnamese fisheries surveillance ship where they remain to help search for the rest of the missing crew of their vessel and another boat that also sank. Fishing boat BĐ97469 TS with 14 fishermen on board, and BĐ96388 TS with 12 fishermen on board, got into difficulties while about 135-170 nautical miles northeast of Nha Trang City. Don said that four of his ship’s crewmembers had gone missing, five died at sea due to exhaustion while another two died as the boat sank. The fate of the 12 crewmen on the BĐ96388 TS ship remains unclear. Owner of a fishing ship from Bình Định operating nearby said they had managed to get to the location of the sinking ship on Wednesday but did not find fishermen, and it had to send distress signal out at sea since the ship itself suffered an engine breakdown due to the rough waves caused by the typhoon. The ship had to be towed back by a fisheries surveillance vessel, and it is expected to reach mainland Saturday. The military’s search and rescue efforts are underway for the missing fishermen. – Viet Nam News
Thai forest rangers have shootout with Cambodian lumberjacks at Northern Thailand with Cambodia
Thai army-trained rangers and forestry officials exchanged gunfire with a group of Cambodian lumberjacks in a border area of northeaster Thailand, a government official said. Five Cambodians, two of whom were suspected as army soldiers, had allegedly trespassed Thai territory and poached for timber in Huay Sala wildlife sanctuary in Phu Sing district of Sisaket province, according to Sathit Phanthumat, head of the sanctuary Thursday. A Thai army officer, namely Lt. Sivathep Boonlom, was injured during the shoot-out which took place Wednesday, which briefly occurred in Thai territory about 200 meters from the Thai-Cambodian border, Sathit said. The Thai authorities arrested one of the five Cambodians and seized an AK-47 rifle, a chainsaw and 35 pieces of ironwood, allegedly cut by the Cambodians from the felled trees in the sanctuary area, he said. The four other Cambodians managed to flee across the border into the Cambodian territory, he alleged. – Khmer Times