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.



reutersIndonesian investigators may release some initial findings next week into last month's crash of an AirAsia passenger jet that killed 162 people, but the full preliminary report will not be made public, a government official said.

theaustralian.com.au Indonesia has raised the chance that the executions of two convicted Australian drug offenders could be delayed and reviewed, as lawyers for one of the Australian men prepare an 11th-hour legal appeal.

stuff.co.nz Last weekend's execution of five foreigners and one local woman convicted on drug offences in Indonesia - including one who smuggled only 300gm of methamphetamine - plus its plans to shoot another 60 inmates had added significant pressure to New Zealander Tony de Malmanche, 52. He may face the death penalty for allegedly smuggling 1.7kg of crystal methamphetamine



amnesty.org Ten women housing rights defenders and a Buddhist monk, all jailed after short summary trials and some suffering from serious health issues, must be released immediately and unconditionally, Amnesty international said ahead of their appeal hearing today.

news.vice.com Australia's government appears to be close to finalising a controversial deal with Cambodia that would allow asylum seekers it is holding in detention to be voluntarily resettled in the Southeast Asian country.



reuters Tumbling oil prices are putting pressure on Malaysia's commodity-driven economy, not merely by hurting its exports and currency but more so by putting an unwelcome spotlight on the huge debts that the country runs.

aljazeera.com Malaysia's highest court has rejected the Catholic Church's application to appeal a ban on its use of the word ''Allah'' in the Malay-language section of its newspaper, the Catholic Herald, bringing to an end a protracted legal battle over constitutional rights.

bbc.com Authorities in Australia have detained a Malaysian police officer sentenced to death for the murder of 28-year-old Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.



rfa.org The Lao government's response at a United Nations human rights review to concerns over its efforts to find a missing prominent civil society leader demonstrates the need for authorities to accept international assistance and establish an independent commission to investigate his case, said Ng Shui-Meng, the wife of Sombath Somphone.

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bbc.com The Myanmar government is investigating a speech by a Buddhist monk in which he called a UN rapporteur a ''whore''. South Korean rapporteur Yanghee Lee was in Myanmar last week to highlight the plight of its Muslim minority. But at a protest against the visit, monk Ashin Wirathu told Ms Lee she should have sex with Muslim Rohingya minority if she liked them so much.



eastasiaforum.org The United States will now sell lethal weapons to Vietnam on a case-by-case basis, a development almost unimaginable just a few years ago. The US and Vietnam began laying the foundation for a bilateral defence procurement relationship, which is expected to take off in the next several years.



time.com Philippines Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman explicitly denies that homeless children were rounded up for the Papal visit, highlighting that they were, in fact, central to the 78-year-old Pontiff's reception. Some 400 homeless kids sang at a special event (and posed awkward theological questions.)