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.
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Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine highly protective in 12-18 age group: US CDC study
The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was 93 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations among those aged 12 to 18, according to an analysis released by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday (Oct 19).
The study was conducted between June and September, when the extremely contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus was predominant.
Yet, the data from 19 paediatric hospitals showed that among the 179 patients who were hospitalised for Covid-19, 97 per cent were unvaccinated, providing reassurance of the vaccine's efficacy. - Straits Times
Malaysia not fully safe from Covid
The Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country is not yet over despite the decreasing number in daily infections and deaths, experts say.
They also say it was too early to tell if the situation was improving as hospital admissions in several states, including the Klang Valley, was still high.
Manipal University College Malaysia Community and Occupational Medicine Professor Dr G. Jayakumar said the increasing trend in hospitalisation rates in several states was a concern. - New Straits Times
Flood warning for riverside areas
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has warned people who live outside floodgates near the Chao Phraya River of possible floods due to rising water levels between Saturday and Dec 30.
Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang on Tuesday said the National Water Command Centre and the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) have estimated that the water level of the river will rise by 20cm-40cm due to water overflow from the Ping River.
This may cause floods in 11 riverside communities covering 239 households in seven districts, Pol Gen Aswin said. - Bangkok Post
Duterte backs Ombudsman probe on Pharmally issue
President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed calls for the Ombudsman to conduct its own investigation into the controversial multibillion-peso deals between the government and Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.
This, after the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) urged the Ombudsman to file the appropriate cases against all those responsible for any corruption.
“We welcome the call of the Philippine College of Physicians that this matter should immediately be given to our courts and the Ombudsman. We have been saying this for the longest time and we all know that the Senate cannot prosecute. Mabuti pa ang mga doktor, alam at naintindihan nila (At least the doctors understand). Filing cases is the right way to go,” he said in a pre-recorded public address aired late Tuesday night. - Philippine News Agency
Optimistic business signals fuel expectations of a stable and rapid recovery
Vietnam’s economy has recently received many optimistic signals from the business community, which are fuelling expectations of a stable and rapid recovery after a long disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the press conference on Monday, Nguyen Van Lam, Deputy Director of the HCM City's Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said nearly 135,000 workers had returned to work at export processing zones and high-tech zones, and 5,000 workers resumed work at enterprises outside industrial zones.
Last week, the Dong Nai Industrial Zone Authority announced nearly 1,400 enterprises, or more than 80 per cent of those operating in 31 industrial parks in the province, have resumed operations, drawing more than 334,000 workers back to work which represents 54 per cent of total number of labourers at the local industrial parks. - Vietnam News
No vaccine discrimination for entry
Cambodia has adopted a policy of non-discrimination and is allowing travellers who have been inoculated with any type of vaccine to enter the country.
According to a Health Ministry circular, this is irrespective of whether or not the type of vaccine had received World Health Organization (WHO) emergency use approval.
Ministry of Health spokeswoman Or Vandine told Khmer Times yesterday that the ministry does not discriminate against travellers who want to visit Cambodia but recommends that passengers, if possible, should have been vaccinated with those on WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL). - Khmer Times
Journalists among thousands released by Myanmar junta after exclusion from ASEAN summit
Detained journalists were among the more than 5,600 individuals who were released from prison or saw their criminal charges dropped by the junta on Monday, according to their employers and sources close to their families.
Detained Journalists Information, a local group which provides updates on journalists arrested by the coup regime, reported that a total of 11 media personnel, including five Kachin State-based reporters, were confirmed to have been released.
Among them were three staff from the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB); an office staff member, a reporter and the co-founder of Mizzima News; three journalists from the Myitkyina News Journal; one from Kachin Wave; one from 74 Media; and one based in Mon State with The Voice of Thanbyuzayat. - Myanmar NOW
Universities must promote pluralism, help Papuan students feel at home
The Institute for Research, Education, and Information on Economy and Social Affairs (LP3ES) has urged universities in Indonesia to play an active role in ensuring Papua remains a part of the country by promoting pluralism in their campus communities.
To this end, the universities could support the nation's collective efforts to care for Papua by consistently accommodating Papuans within their respective campus communities, LP3ES head Didik J.Rachbini said.
Speaking at a webinar on the economic and political research on military placement in Papua here on Monday, he argued that pluralism is necessary for campus communities in Papua and outside Papua. - AntaraNews.Com