Follow South China Morning Post - Southeast Asia, filter it, and define how you want to receive the news (via Email, RSS, Telegram, WhatsApp etc.) https://follow.it/scmp26 Fri, 24 Sep 2021 18:06:48 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqmsKfwv-HAp3n9ye8UNv30 Singapore on Friday moved to tighten Covid-19 measures as daily infections soared to record levels, with diners once again limited to groups of two – instead of up to five – and companies directed to make working from home the default setting.The restrictions kick in on Monday and will last for a month, until October 24. Their resumption comes after authorities in the city state on August 10 allowed residents to eat in at restaurants, following the lifting of a previous round of restrictions…]]> Fri, 24 Sep 2021 12:31:16 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqmsKfwv-HAp3n9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqLvUO3lNS3LF1cWWor9YPv Malaysia and Singapore will recognise each other’s vaccination certificates to allow movement between the two countries, National Recovery Council (NRC) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday.Muhyiddin said he had been in touch with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently and they discussed the importance of reopening the border to both countries.“Lee agreed but with the Covid-19 situation and vaccination in Malaysia and Singapore yet to be over, he was a bit cautious.“However, the…]]> Fri, 24 Sep 2021 11:33:00 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqLvUO3lNS3LF1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFq7cDxnECjcG11cWWor9YPv When Tan tested positive for Covid-19 last week, she was worried about being separated from her infant daughter.Thankfully, the fully vaccinated 40-year-old Singaporean qualified for the city state’s home recovery programme and has been able to recuperate at home.“I am glad I am able to do home recovery,” said Tan, who gave only one name. “I have a toddler and even though I can’t touch or hug her, I’m still able to see her from afar. I can also get whatever I need more easily than in a care…]]> Fri, 24 Sep 2021 07:08:33 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFq7cDxnECjcG11cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFrs1gmNSGbyWuT5HJgy6HUf On the day Hanoi re-emerged from coronavirus lockdown, Tran Khanh Thien went out for a ride. After nearly two months of movement restrictions, the Vietnamese capital’s streets were once again lined with parked cars and filled with the noise of roaring motorbike engines.Restaurants and shops were open, the 27-year-old entrepreneur said of his outing on Tuesday, though there were still plenty of signs urging social distancing and “100 per cent of people” were wearing masks.Meanwhile, in Ho Chi…]]> Fri, 24 Sep 2021 02:00:27 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFrs1gmNSGbyWuT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFo0f9zOf_5_TMb1naedg1wr A senior Malaysian counterterrorism official has warned that religious and ethnically motivated violent extremism is the most significant terrorism-related danger the country faces, while Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore are most concerned by groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State (Isis).The comments from officials and analysts came as This Week in Asia asked security agencies in the region about the most serious terror threats they faced 20 years after September 11.The response…]]> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 12:30:23 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFo0f9zOf_5_TMb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqS5oxOsSVBjHn9ye8UNv30 South Korea’s foreign minister and his US counterpart have discussed “creative” ways to engage with North Korea, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, as the South’s President Moon Jae-in repeated calls for a declaration to officially end the Korean war.Foreign minister Chung Eui-yong and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York amid a renewed focus on Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear weapons activities.The North…]]> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 11:45:26 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqS5oxOsSVBjHn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFpeufzTuxD4qV1cWWor9YPv An Australian adviser to Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in a junta court to face immigration and official secrets charges, a lawyer involved in the case said on Thursday.Macquarie University professor Sean Turnell was the first foreign national arrested following the February 1 coup that ousted Suu Kyi’s government and sparked huge protests.Turnell has been held at Insein Prison in Yangon since his arrest and appeared “frail and tired” in court in the capital Naypyidaw, said…]]> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 10:00:44 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFpeufzTuxD4qV1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFpl1YAtLN14POT5HJgy6HUf China-manufactured vaccines are part of a diverse portfolio that Malaysia relies on to inoculate its population as it faces a devastating fourth wave of Covid-19.The Delta variant is crippling efforts to flatten the curve, and the number of daily infected cases has risen past 23,000 per day. There are now more than 1.3 million cumulative infections, and the casualty toll has passed the grim 13,000 milestone.An ineffective lockdown has been blamed for the worsening situation, reflecting the…]]> Thu, 23 Sep 2021 09:04:40 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFpl1YAtLN14POT5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFq76hfu79JdESlmFkX7M1Jw Malaysia’s defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein on Wednesday said he planned to visit China soon to hold consultations with counterparts there about the Aukus defence pact.The out-of-the-blue plan for a visit signalled anxiety in Kuala Lumpur and across Southeast Asia that the trilateral agreement between Australia, the United States, and Britain could intensify the US-China rivalry and worsen regional security, an analyst said.Malaysia, like other members of the Association of Southeast Asian…]]> Wed, 22 Sep 2021 14:16:12 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFq76hfu79JdESlmFkX7M1Jw https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFrd9x8qfekSSl1cWWor9YPv Delhi-based journalist Meena Kotwal knows all about how the ancient prejudices surrounding caste continue to affect the lives of people in modern India.The 32-year-old, who runs a YouTube channel called The Mooknayak, or “leader of the voiceless”, belongs to the “untouchable” caste of Dalits.As a reporter with a leading international media agency in India’s capital, she found that editors were from the upper castes “while the marginalised castes, if they are represented at all, occupy the…]]> Wed, 22 Sep 2021 11:00:28 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFrd9x8qfekSSl1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFo28lIGhCPZH-T5HJgy6HUf Delivering vaccines to Myanmar’s junta, but also to rebel groups that are the generals’ sworn enemies, China is playing both sides to fight the coronavirus and strengthen its hand in the messy politics of its southern neighbour.Beijing has already handed over nearly 13 million doses to the generals, who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi in February and plunged Myanmar and its health care system into chaos.The junta has appeared powerless to halt the spread of the virus, spooking authorities on the other…]]> Wed, 22 Sep 2021 09:15:08 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFo28lIGhCPZH-T5HJgy6HUf https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFr0kNLn0oLWc6CY3L745TL_ Australia plans to open its international border by Christmas at the latest, unwinding one of the world’s strictest controls on overseas travel since the pandemic began.Australians will be able to travel abroad, with no restrictions on the destination, once the vaccination rate in their respective home state hits 80 per cent, Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said at a National Press Club of Australia event on Wednesday.Australia’s borders have been mostly shut to non-citizens and non-residents since…]]> Wed, 22 Sep 2021 08:02:38 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFr0kNLn0oLWc6CY3L745TL_ https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFoRMCfyaG8XCsb1naedg1wr Isko Moreno, the popular mayor of the Philippines’ capital, said on Wednesday he will run for president in next year’s elections, the latest aspirant in what is expected to be a crowded race to succeed controversial leader Rodrigo Duterte.A child scavenger before becoming an actor then entering politics, Moreno said that he would fight still-raging coronavirus outbreaks and long-entrenched poverty and promote democracy if he triumphs in the May 9 elections.While the 46-year-old mayor is…]]> Wed, 22 Sep 2021 07:04:10 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFoRMCfyaG8XCsb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqDmo55Crr31-zdsCmHakzH With only six per cent of junta-ruled Myanmar’s 54 million people vaccinated, the country’s shadow government is planning to channel much of its revenue from global crowdfunding campaigns towards inoculating as many residents as possible.The National Unity Government’s (NUG) finance minister Tin Tun Naing told This Week in Asia in a recent interview that the effort would first focus on areas not under the full control of the military, and was expected to cost US$300 million.The NUG, comprising…]]> Wed, 22 Sep 2021 03:30:33 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqDmo55Crr31-zdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFpUJ0zsekRoCF1cWWor9YPv Singapore’s Manpower Ministry on Tuesday said 18 people had been arrested over the past week on suspicion “of bringing foreigners” to the city state “on work passes obtained through false declarations”.The ministry last week mounted a 12-hour operation at 22 locations across the country after uncovering a “potential syndicate suspected of setting up several shell companies to apply for work passes”.“Such syndicates typically recruit Singapore citizens and Singapore permanent residents to…]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2021 13:39:08 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFpUJ0zsekRoCF1cWWor9YPv https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFoUUZ7bVGpomMb1naedg1wr The Philippines is backing a new defence partnership between the United States, Britain and Australia, hoping it can maintain the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region, a view that contrasts sharply with some of its neighbours.Known as Aukus, the alliance will see Australia get technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines as part of the agreement intended to respond to growing Chinese power.“The enhancement of a near-abroad ally’s ability to project power should restore and keep the…]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2021 08:19:13 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFoUUZ7bVGpomMb1naedg1wr https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqpcP85_MgOcHn9ye8UNv30 In the faces of Afghans desperate to leave their country after US forces withdrew, Thuy Do sees her own family, decades earlier and thousands of miles away.A 39-year-old doctor in Seattle, Washington, Do remembers hearing from her parents how they sought to leave Saigon after Vietnam fell to communist rule in 1975 and the American military airlifted out allies in the final hours. It took years for her family to finally get out of the country, after several failed attempts, and make their way to…]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2021 07:32:20 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFqpcP85_MgOcHn9ye8UNv30 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFp-tyYsZJI8_OzdsCmHakzH Scientists at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore are tackling food waste by turning discarded durian husks into antibacterial gel bandages.The process extracts cellulose powder from the husks after they are sliced and freeze-dried, then mixes it with glycerol. This mixture becomes soft hydrogel, which is then cut into bandage strips.“In Singapore, we consume about 12 million durians a year, so besides the flesh, we can’t do much about the husk and the seeds and this cause…]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2021 06:13:07 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFp-tyYsZJI8_OzdsCmHakzH https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFoJIiynVpG4gyejEQ2Mq9rY Yap Lay Hong, who last year made world headlines as one of oldest coronavirus survivors anywhere, has died at the age of 103, her Singapore nursing home said.“It is with mixed emotions to share that someone who inspired us all has passed on,” the Lee Ah Moi Old Age Home said, announcing that the centenarian died in hospital on Sunday morning after an intestinal blockage.The home said Yap had been a resident for around three years and “was known amongst our staff for her resilience and…]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2021 04:43:48 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFoJIiynVpG4gyejEQ2Mq9rY https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFp8MhuKVrZM2ZVjH6qdYdAk Since the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines, a crucial but largely unspoken question has loomed large for countries looking towards returning to pre-pandemic life: how much sickness and death will occur even after nearly everybody has been jabbed?Possible answers to that question are coming into view as a growing number of territories get close to their maximum vaccination rates.Although varying considerably, the emerging picture points to a post-vaccinated future in which societies may have to…]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2021 01:00:28 +0200 https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/ryu-pJ-IRFp8MhuKVrZM2ZVjH6qdYdAk