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.



afp Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen says he has found the Imperial Japanese Navy's biggest warship at the bottom of the sea in the Philippines, 70 years after US forces sank it. Allen posted a photo on Twitter of the World War II battleship Musashi's rusty bow, which bore the Japanese empire's Chrysanthemum seal.



reuters Malaysian authorities have identified two Malaysians in a video by the Islamic State of a beheading that is believed to have taken place in Syria. Mohd Faris Anuar and Muhamad Wanndy Muhammad Jedi, aged 20 and 25 respectively, were identified as the men involved in the beheading of a Syrian man.



theage.com.au Sukumaran has been anxious for weeks, having difficulty sleeping at night, every bang and shout in the prison waking him with dread. Chan's strong Christian faith - he was ordained as a minister in February - gives him certainty about his destiny in the afterlife.

smh.com.au Nice criminals is how both young men turned out after almost a decade living in Kerobokan prison. Their rehabilitation - as genuine as it is remarkable - is the defining feature of their time on death row.
http://www.watoday.com.au/world/bali-nine-pair-chan-and-myuran-the-nice-criminals-facing-the-firing-squad-20150304-13us2m.html

nytimes.com The Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has suggested that Australians, the most numerous visitors to Bali, might boycott the island in protest if the two are executed.



AP Saying every girl ''has value,'' President Barack Obama announced a more focused government effort to help tens of millions of girls around the world attend and stay in school. Michelle Obama said she's heading to Japan and Cambodia later this month to promote it.



straitstimes.com Changi Airport's new mega passenger terminal will be bigger and even more ambitious than indicated earlier. Terminal 5 is likely to comprise a main facility linked to one or more satellite terminals via an underground rail link.

businesstimes.com.sg Singapore was named Asia's top city in Mercer's Quality of Living list. The annual survey is meant to help in assessing expatriates' pay packages.

straitstimes.com Singapore has been named the friendliest destination for Muslim travellers among non-Muslim countries for the third successive year. The Global Muslim Travel Index, released on Wednesday, gave Singapore high scores for its safe travel environment, ease of access to prayer spaces and number of halal dining options.



kyodo The prime minister of Laos, Thongsing Thammavong, arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday for a four-day official visit to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Japan and expand political and economic ties between the two countries.



lionsroar.com Facebook is addressing the problem of Buddhist anti-Muslim activists promoting violence on Facebook with a new set of features.
http://www.lionsroar.com/facebook-using-buddhist-tools-fight-hate-speech-burma/



vietnam-briefing.com Vietnam now rivals Brazil in coffee production. The country is currently the world's leading exporter of robusta coffee, earning US$3.62 billion from coffee exports in 2014. However, coffee crops in Vietnam are now at their lowest levels in many years.