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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China, Russia fire back at US over climate 'no show' jibe
China and Russia hit back at United States President Joe Biden on Wednesday (Nov 3) after he accused both nations of failing to show leadership at vital United Nations climate talks in Scotland.
Mr Biden, who joined more than 100 world leaders at COP26, on Tuesday criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin for not attending the summit.
"Actions speak louder than words," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin responded on Wednesday. "What we need in order to deal with climate change is concrete action rather than empty words." - Straits Times
Close to 50 Covid-19 deaths, 8 BID cases reported
Malaysia recorded 46 Covid-19 fatalities yesterday, bringing the national death toll to 29,045.
Based on data shared on CovidNow and GitHub, eight of them were brought-in-dead (BID) cases.
Majority of the deaths were reported in Sarawak at 10 followed Kelantan (nine), Johor reported (eight), Sabah (four) Kedah and Perlis (three each), Melaka and Penang (two each), while Negri Sembilan, Perak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Terengganu recorded one death each. - New Straits Times
Girl's illness after vaccine vexes medics
The Department of Disease Control is investigating if a Pfizer Covid-19 shot caused a 12-year-old girl in Ratchaburi to fall severely ill.
The director of the Epidemiology Division at the DDC, Chakkarat Pittayawong-anont, said the girl, who received the Pfizer jab on Oct 19, began coughing and complained of chest pain last Sunday.
The girl was initially admitted to Ratchaburi Hospital on Oct 25, where she was given antibiotics and a diuretic. However, her condition continued to deteriorate and her doctors decided to transfer her to a different facility on Oct 26. - Bangkok Post
Pfizer raises Covid vaccine sales forecast to $36B for 2021
Pfizer raised its revenue forecast from coronavirus vaccine sales to USD36 billion (PHP1.8 trillion) for 2021, according to a financial statement released Tuesday.
The US pharmaceutical’s previous 2021 estimates were USD33.5 billion in July; and USD26 billion and USD15 billion, made in May and February, respectively.
The company said the upward revision in the sales forecast reflects higher vaccine doses to be delivered in 2021, which amounts to an estimated 2.3 billion worldwide. - Philippine News Agency
COVAX to allocate 9m doses of Pfizer, Moderna vaccines to Vietnam: Managing Director
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday met with Managing Director of the COVAX Facility Aurelia Nguyen, during which he thanked the COVAX programme for its commitment to providing Vietnam with 38.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines free of charge in 2021, with nearly 23 million doses having been delivered to the country.
The PM underlined that with the determination and efforts of the Government and support of international friends, including the important assistance of COVAX and other countries through the programme, as well as high consensus from the community, Vietnam has basically put the domestic COVID-19 outbreaks under control.
Vietnam has now transitioned into its new strategy for safe and flexible adaption to and effective control of the pandemic, recovery and promotion of socio-economic development, and gradual resumption of economic and tourism activities, he said. - Vietnam News
‘Open’ war: Crackdowns on PP entertainment outlets opening secretly
Following reports that some KTVs and nightclubs are secretly opening their doors to customers, in defiance of the 14-day ban in place, authorities in all 14 districts in the capital have declared war on such outlets to prevent any new outbreak of Covid-19.
“We will show the owners no mercy if we find any of these outlets operating clandestinely,” Daun Penh district governor Sok Penhvuth told Khmer Times yesterday. “I will impose a penalty in accordance with the law on measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and other deadly infectious diseases.”
He said that following a directive from Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng to crack down on such outlets his teams and law enforcement officers have been conducting nightly checks, since Tuesday to see if any of these outlets in the district are flouting the prohibition. - Khmer Times
NLD party offices subjected to dozens of attacks nationwide since coup
Offices of the National League for Democracy (NLD) across Myanmar have been attacked on more than 50 occasions since the February 1 military coup that ousted their elected administration, according to figures compiled by Myanmar Now.
The party’s offices in Sagaing, Mandalay, Ayeyarwady, Bago and Tanintharyi regions and in Mon and Karen states have all been targeted presumably by the military and its allies, according to Kyaw Htwe, spokesperson for the NLD’s central executive committee. The largest number of assaults—18—have taken place in Mandalay, he added.
“All of these incidents took place late at night when only the junta’s soldiers could go out due to martial law,” Kyaw Htwe told Myanmar Now. “Therefore, one could say that only the military council and their armed forces could be responsible for these attacks.” - Myanmar NOW
Widodo, Biden discuss issues on Indo-Pacific geopolitics: Hartarto
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) accompanied by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, held a meeting with US President Joe Biden to discuss several issues, including the Indo-Pacific, on Nov 1, 2021, on the sidelines of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). “The talks focused on Indo-Pacific geopolitics, Indonesia’s Presidency of G20, and Indonesia-US bilateral ties,” Hartarto said in a written statement received here on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Widodo reminded Biden of the strategic partnership and strong socio-economic cooperation between the two nations, Hartarto said.
The Indonesian President also invited the US to invest in new and renewable energy, including the development of the electric car ecosystem and lithium battery, he informed. - AntaraNews.Com