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.

A MEETING of Foreign ministers of Asean has revisited a proposal for a common time zone for the group's 10 member countries, to better coordinate business links, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said. There are currently four time zones among the group's 10 member countries.



theguardian.com Indonesia's search for dozens of victims still unaccounted for from the crash of an AirAsia passenger jet could end within days if no more bodies are found, a senior government official has said.

watoday.com.au An Australian man found dead in Bali was a self-styled motivational speaker who gave presentations across the world on how to ''get rich quick''. Warren Borsje, 42, from Melbourne was found dead by staff after he failed to check out of his room at the Fave Hotel in the popular tourist precinct of Seminyak.

smh.com.au Bali Nine members could be executed as early as next month after statement by the Indonesian Attorney-General.



nytimes.com President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Philippines tried to distance himself from a botched counterterrorism raid that left 44 elite police officers dead on Sunday and jeopardised a landmark peace deal with rebels in the country's south.



afp Malaysia will release an interim report on its investigation into Flight MH370 on March 7, a day before the first anniversary of the jet's mysterious disappearance.



irrawaddy.org The Denmark-based Carlsberg Group will begin brewing beer in Burma from March, in a joint venture with local firm Myanmar Golden Star, the latter's chairman Thein Tun told The Irrawaddy.

irrawaddy.org Some 22 months after it first entered Burma's fledgling media market, the print edition of Daily Mizzima will cease and continue as a digital subscription-only publication, the organisation said in a statement.



cambodiadaily.com Rights group Adhoc urged the government to work harder to help Cambodian domestic workers still suffering abuse from their employers in Malaysia or from the Cambodian recruitment agencies that sent them there, including 63 women the organization says have effectively disappeared.



skynews.com.au Police in Hanoi have seized a truck carrying more than a tonne of cats smuggled from China to sell to restaurants in northern Vietnam. In recent years, cat meat has become more popular. The cats were to be destroyed and the owner fined around $US350 for transporting goods without the correct documents.



wsj.com Singapore's central bank announced a surprise easing of its currency policy, as falling global oil prices have subdued inflationary expectations.