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.



straitstimes.com An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 jolted Gorontalo in Indonesia on Sunday morning, it was reported. The quake hit at 5.28am local time (6.28am Singapore time) and centred at 40km southwest Boalmo of Gorontalo, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.



reuters Grieving Singaporeans were joined by world leaders on Sunday to pay their final respects to the country's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, as the nation came to a near-halt to honor its ''founding father''.

bbc.com As Singapore mourns the death of founding father Lee Kuan Yew, questions are also quietly being asked about where the country goes next.



bbc.com Solar Impulse, the fuel-free aeroplane, is up in the air again on the fifth leg of its round-the-world flight. The vehicle, with Bertrand Piccard at the controls, left Mandalay in Myanmar (Burma) just after 21:00 GMT on Sunday, and is heading for Chongqing in China.



dailystar.co.uk As both Hamilton and Rosberg dived into the pits for fresh rubber, Vettel stayed out - going on to prove just how fleet of foot his Ferrari as he took the lead and reeled off the laps to win the Malaysian GP.



huffingtonpost.com Advocacy group Canadian Fair Trade Network recently unveiled a powerful campaign that outlines on actual clothing labels the types of horrors sweatshop workers in Cambodia, Sierra Leone and Bangladesh face. The stories represent what transpires at three levels of production - harvesting, textile production and garment manufacturing.



english.cri.cn A former official and a businessman, suspected of bribery, were taken back to China after about three months of exile in Laos, the Ministry of Public Security announced. Pang Shunxi, a former tax official of Tianjin municipality, was suspected of accepting bribes while An Huimin, former general manager of a trade company in Tianjin, was suspected of bribing, said a ministry statement.



marinelink.com Vietnam's new submarines could alter the balance in the South China Sea quite dramatically, say maritime security analysts. Despite the difference in size between the two nations, particularly in terms of military power, Vietnam is not backing down.



philstar.com The Philippines has offered to downgrade its claim on Sabah in exchange for Malaysia???s support for its case against China before the United Nations.