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.



neurope.eu A stable, inclusive, democratic Thailand would be in a position to seize the opportunities of EU-Asean relations, a partnership which grows stronger year-by-year, and play a full part in promoting cooperation on peace, security, and prosperity across the Asia-Pacific region. The Asean region is a dynamic market with some 580 million consumers, of which some 67 million are in Thailand.



abc.net.au Acrid smoke billowing from agricultural fires in Indonesia has caused a spike in air pollution in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur. Pollution readings soared past the 200-point level in the Malaysian government's hourly air-quality index on Sunday. The Ministry of Education ordered schools shut on Monday in the capital and three states.



jakartaglobe.com The haze has now blanketed Singapore for three weeks, the worst episode the city-state has seen since mid-2013, as the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) climbed to ''hazardous'' levels of 341, forcing the closure of schools on Friday. The crisis has become an annual occurrence due to slash-and-burn agricultural techniques used to clear land for plantations, engulfing large parts of Indonesia and neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.



channelnewsasia.com Hazy conditions are expected to persist on Monday, with winds forecast to blow from the south or south-southwest, said the National Environment Agency in an advisory on Sunday.



theguardian.com The highway will halve the distance to Kolkata, down to 930km, bringing the heart of India closer to the north-east. At a cost of $115 million, it will connect India to south-east Asia via Myanmar.



phnompenhpost.com Physical, mental and sexual abuses of domestic workers in Malaysia have been well-documented. Reports of young women being brutally tortured, raped and starved, and of others driven to commit suicide drew widespread condemnation in Cambodia that prompted the government to ban the recruitment of maids there four years ago. Despite this, almost 8000 Cambodian women continue to work as maids in Malaysia, according to recent government data.



reuters Vietnam's central bank said it was abolishing the interest rate ceiling on dollar deposits offered by banks to organisations and companies, which previously stood at 0.25 percent, in an attempt to avoid dollar hoarding.



AP Philippine paramilitary forces found to have staged deadly attacks against tribal communities in the south will be disarmed and prosecuted along with their supporters to end their "reign of terror" in far-flung communities, the justice secretary said.



vietiane times According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, about 30 percent of elementary schools around the country are now teaching English since the program's inception in 2008. Most of the schools are situated in the cities, while the program is lagging far behind in rural areas,