PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with a new column, Asean Today.



theguardian.com ''The Rohingya are faced with two options: stay and face annihilation, or flee,'' said Professor Penny Green, part of a group that recently completed several months research in the Rohingya's home state of Rakhine. ''If we understand genocide to be a process, that is what this is.'' Living death is what the Rohingya have been trying to flee for years.



themalaysianinsider.com A Serdang MP branded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's statement regarding the humanitarian crisis involving Rohingya refugees as a ''joke,'' pointing to the country's bad record in human trafficking. ''As long as the Malaysian government refuses to have an honest examination of its policies towards refugees and migrants, our human trafficking record will continue to languish,'' Dr Ong Kian Ming said.

thestar.com.my Din is a 45-year-old Rohingya man who has been in Malaysia for 24 years. He lives here with his wife, also a Rohingya, and their seven-month-old baby: ''In 1995, I was detained and sent back to Thailand after a few months. Once I was released, I was immediately sold to a group of fishermen. Those were the worst two years of my life.''



bbc.com Indonesia's Vice-President Jusuf Kalla defended his country's handling of migrants stranded at sea, and said that they did not want to go to Indonesia, but wanted to travel to countries such as Australia or Malaysia.

abc.net.au The Indonesian navy has rescued another 200 asylum seekers from waters off Aceh. Indonesian military spokesman Major General Fuad Basya said fishermen spotted the people swimming off the coast of northern Aceh on Friday morning.



westerndailypress.co.uk A Glastonbury Festival stage rigger who travelled the world has died mysteriously the day before he was due to fly home to Somerset. Oliver Banks, aged 32, known as Olly, was taken ill in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, and was rushed to hospital by 'tuk-tuk' taxi, but died on the way.

thejakaratapost.com Foreign Ministry protection of Indonesian citizens director Lalu Muhammad Iqbal stated on Saturday that the 16 Indonesian migrant workers held at the Dialong Company Ltd. gambling firm in Cambodia would serve as witnesses in a theft case involving their recruiter.



gulfnews.com The Philippines government may soon pass a law banning toddlers from riding as passengers in motorcycles. The move is an attempt to address the rising number of accidents involving young children: ''Children who ride motorcycles are exposed to danger, particularly if they cannot reach the foot peg or embrace the adult riding with them fully for balance.''



dpa Singapore's 156-year-old Botanic Gardens has received a key endorsement in the country's bid for world heritage status. The International Council on Monuments and Sites, which advises Unesco on World Heritage Sites, recommended the gardens without reservation, to become the city-state's first such site.



dw.de Amid intense international focus on China's construction projects in disputed waters of the South China Sea, new images show Vietnam has also been engaging in land reclamation on two features in the area. Hanoi claims the entire Spratly archipelago, as well as the Paracel islands, which China seized completely in 1974.



news.asiaone.com Water pollution is one of the problems faced by Brunei in enhancing the quality of its water resources and ensuring its sustainability for years to come, said an expert during a seminar.