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.
Novavax applies for approval to use its Covid-19 vaccine in S'pore
A new Covid-19 vaccine could be available in Singapore, with American firm Novavax having applied for interim authorisation by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
Confirming this, the authority told The Straits Times that Novavax had submitted data in its application via the Pandemic Special Access Route on Nov 22.
"HSA has commenced a careful and thorough rolling review of the data to ensure that the vaccine meets requirements for quality, safety and efficacy for interim authorisation before it is approved for use in Singapore," said its spokesman. - Straits Times
ICU occupancy rate for Covid-19 patients at 62.9 per cent
The occupancy rate for Covid-19 patients at intensive care units nationwide was at 62.9 per cent as of 11.59pm yesterday, while 506 active cases were recorded.
Data on the Health Ministry's CovidNow portal revealed that ICU utilisation in the Klang Valley declined slightly to 78.9 per cent with 125 active cases compared to Tuesday's 81.3 per cent with 127 cases.
Selangor has the highest utilisation rate at 80.3 per cent with 86 active cases. - New Straits Times
Prayut 'not about to quit'
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has insisted he will stay on in office until at least the 2022 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit to be hosted by Thailand as the country now chairs the regional bloc.
Gen Prayut was responding to reporters' questions after chairing a meeting of the Defence Council on Wednesday.
"It is about running the country. We will stay on in line with the law. The country is plagued with many problems that need to be addressed," the prime minister said. - Bangkok Post
Awareness on contraception to curb teen pregnancies: survey
A survey showed that only 13 percent of 500 young women in the Philippines have knowledge of emergency contraceptive (EC) pills or the Yuzpe method which has an 88 percent efficacy rate if taken within 72 hours after conception.
DKT Philippines Foundation, a leader for health market innovations, shared this information from their commissioned study on Wednesday.
“These pills fill a need when sex is infrequent or unexpected, which is often the case for people just entering their sexually active years,” Foundation Chairman Hyam Bolande mentioned during a virtual forum. - Philippine News Agency
Bats from Cambodia identified as having coronaviruses related to SARS-COV-2
A team of scientists discovered coronaviruses that are closely related to SARS-CoV-2 from two bats sampled in Cambodia over a decade ago.
These findings, together with the recent finding of the closest ancestors of SARS-CoV-2 in cave-dwelling bats in Laos, indicate that coronaviruses have a wider geographical distribution than previously thought, and supports the theory that the pandemic originated through spillover from bats.
By using metagenomic sequencing, the researchers identified viruses nearly identical to SARS-CoV-2 in two Shamel’s horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus shameli) that were originally sampled in 2010. - Khmer Times
Party leader celebrates cultural contributions at conference opening
A conference to celebrate and preserve Vietnam’s cultural heritage has been launched with top leaders including Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trọng and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in attendance.
Party leader Trọng praised the great contributions of the entire Party, people, Party members, and the intellectuals and artists in the field of culture in recent times.
This is the second National Cultural Conference to be held since 1946. It aims to invigorate national aspirations as the country enters a new period of rapid and sustainable development. - Vietnam News
Junta forces in Yangon detain and interrogate journalist's 7-year-old daughter
Junta forces detained and interrogated the seven-year-old daughter of a journalist who the coup regime has accused of possessing explosives, a source close to the family has revealed.
Soldiers detained Htet Htet, a news editor with the Yangon-based Thingangyun Post, along with a reporter at the newspaper named Wai Lin Yu on September 11.
They also took Htet Htet’s daughter, Lin Demo, with them to the interrogation center in Hlaing Tharyar Township, along with a distant relative of Htet Htet’s. - Myanmar NOW
Papua governor focusing on improving human capital through education
Governor Lukas Enembe has underlined the importance of ongoing endeavors to improve the quality of Papua province's human capital through education, the governor's spokesperson, Muhammad Rifai Darus, has said.
To this end, Enembe will maintain the budget for his administration's priority programs, particularly the Superior Papua Scholarship scheme, Darus said in a statement that ANTARA received here on Wednesday.
Governor Enembe's commitment to a continuous improvement in the quality of Papua's human capital through education shows his concern for native Papuan communities' self-esteem and welfare, he added. - AntaraNews.Com