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.



bangkokpost.com Malaysia, as predicted, was elevated out of Tier 3 to the Tier 2 watch list. Media reports and congressional sources in the US capital said it was necessary to promote Malaysia because President Barack Obama needs Kuala Lumpur's vote for his Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty. Final negotiations on the TPP are to start this week. Under US law, a country at Tier 3 of the human trafficking rating cannot participate in trade deals with Washington.



bathchronicle.co.uk A former Bath man has been arrested in Cambodia on suspicion of drug dealing. Charles Emery, 48, was arrested after narcotics police raided his home and found hundreds of amphetamine pills and 12.3 grams of crystal meth. Police also seized liquid ketamine, a mobile phone, a quantity of cash and other drug-related paraphernalia.



the diplomat.com Vietnamese authorities are calling for the China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to stop a naval exercise off the coast of Hainan Island, near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The Vietnamese foreign ministry issued a statement demanding that the PLAN exercise be halted immediately.



xinhua The increasing investment from Chinese companies and development of significant hydropower projects has brought positive socio-economic changes for more and more local people as they seek a better life amid the remote and picturesque mountains and river valleys of Laos.



straitstimes.com Indonesia could see growth of more than 5 per cent in the second half of the year, President Joko Widodo said, forecasting a pick-up from a tepid first half that has seen analysts cut their full-year outlook for South-east Asia's biggest economy.



straitstimes.com The Australian dollar weakened below parity against the Singapore dollar for the first time since it last closed below that level in March 2009 during the global financial crisis.



foreignpolicy.com The government has effectively deprived many Rohingya - who are often depicted as ''illegal immigrants'' from neighboring Bangladesh even though the overwhelming majority of them have lived in the country for generations - of the right to vote. Violence and discrimination have prompted many to flee the country in desperation, often with catastrophic results.



cnn.com For every tourist going to the Philippines, about five others choose Malaysia or Thailand. The tourism department said that it's still more expensive to go the Philippines, from airfare costs to hotel rates.