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.



iol.co.za A 28-year-old South African man, who told his family he was in Durban, has been sentenced to death in Kuala Lumpur for smuggling 1.9kg of methamphetamine into Malaysia. The Department of International Relations and Co-operation said on Friday it had been informed of Deon Cornelius's sentence by its consular services in Malaysia.

afp An Australian mother of four charged in Malaysia with the capital crime of drug trafficking was duped into carrying the drugs after having fallen for an online romance scam, her lawyer said. Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto, 52, was arrested on December 7 after arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport en route from Shanghai to Melbourne.

themalaymailonline.com World-famous ''breastaurant'' Hooters is looking to open an outlet in Malaysia soon, according to Business Wire, as part of the international chain's expansion plan in Southeast Asia. Hooters of America LLC said the six-year plan involves opening 30 outlets in Southeast Asia that, apart from Malaysia, includes destinations such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, according to a statement on the US-based news website.



todayonline.com A recently announced government decision to allow a casino on Vietnam's biggest island drew mixed reactions from citizens, who weighed its potential economic benefits against its perceived social vices. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's approval in principle of the casino at Phu Quoc, a resort island in the Gulf of Thailand, was reported this week by local media.



reuters Australia called on Indonesia to reconsider its decision to execute two Australians convicted of drug offences, a move that is likely to strain already fragile ties between the two neighbors. The two members of the so-called Bali Nine who were arrested at Bali's Denpasar airport in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8 kg of heroin to Australia.

reuters Indonesian police detained the deputy chief of the anti-graft agency over a false testimony case dating from 2010, fuelling tension between two law enforcement bodies that have long had strained relations.



theguardian.com The Philippines government came under fire after admitting that hundreds of homeless people were taken off Manila's streets and put into luxury accommodation during Pope Francis's recent visit, when he preached compassion for the poor. MPs demanded an explanation after the social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman revealed 490 beggars and homeless people were taken to air-conditioned log cabins at a resort near Manila for the visit on January 15-19.



theage.com.au A Norwegian reality television show has put fashion bloggers to work in sweatshops. The social experiment, titled Sweatshop Deadly Fashion, was produced by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. It features three fashion bloggers who were taken from their glamorous lives in Norway and flown to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where they worked in a sweatshop for a month.



businessinsider.com.au Venezuela, is again the most miserable nation in the world, according to new analysis published by the Cato Institute. The five least miserable are Brunei, Switzerland, China, Taiwan, and Japan.



christiantoday.com Two Kachin teachers were gang raped then killed by Burmy Army soldiers on January 19 after an Kawng Hka Shabuk Village, Muse District, Northern Shan State. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is condemning the injustices committed against the two women, identified as Maran Lu Ra, aged 20 and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin, 21, who were teachers from Myitkyina working with the Kachin Baptist Convention.



foxnews.com A man in Singapore found out how seriously the country takes its cleanliness when he was fined $15,000 for throwing cigarette butts out his apartment window.