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.



mirror.co.uk The tragic disappearance of flight MH370 has been good for science, a leading Australian politician has claimed. ''While that is a great human tragedy there will be some good come out of it and the knowledge of the deep sea,'' said WA Premier Colin Barnett.



cambodiadaily.com A Russian man wanted for his involvement in a violent brawl at Sihanoukville's Queenco casino in February was arrested and jailed evening after leading more than 20 police on an hour-long motorbike chase through the coastal town, officials said.



usnews.com Thousands of Vietnamese workers at a major footwear factory were on strike for a sixth day over a social insurance law in a rare challenge to government policy. Pou Yuen Vietnam, which employs more than 80,000 workers, is a subsidiary of Pou Chen Group and makes footwear for companies such as Nike and Adidas.

bloomberg If you thought Asia's manufacturing giants are just China, South Korea and Thailand, say hello to a new one: Vietnam. Its benchmark purchasing managers' index for manufacturing has expanded - a reading above 50 - every month since August 2013, according to HSBC and Markit Economics.



wsj.com Indonesia appears poised to start sending a new message to foreigners wanting to work in Southeast Asia's largest economy: Speak the language, or don't bother applying. The country's labor ministry says it will roll out a rule this month requiring its more than 68,000 foreign workers - plus any new arrivals - to pass tests in Indonesian.

voanews.com Indonesia says it has blocked 22 websites allegedly used to spread Islamic radicalism. The blockage was requested recently by the National Agency for Combating Terrorism (BNPT).



ft.com When I first visited in 1996, I concluded that Singapore had achieved what communism had promised and failed to deliver: it had told its people that, in return for giving up some freedom, the state would house them, educate their children, ensure they had jobs and give them a standard of living the west would envy.



huffingtonpost.ca The new leaders are still cracking down on ethnic minorities and students as if it was a force of habit. It seems the optimism and hope in the air four years ago in Burma and around the world has quietly been replaced by violence and tragedy.

reuters A rockslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar killed at least nine miners, and rescuers were searching for around 20 others, state media reported on Wednesday, two days after the accident.



rfa.org Sales of endangered wildlife in Laos, which has gained notoriety as a haven for the trade, is being driven increasingly by domestic demand from affluent politicians and urban residents who seek animal parts and meat for personal consumption, according to nongovernmental organisation officials.



cnn.com A massive, menacing storm system dubbed Super Typhoon Maysak churned in the Pacific Ocean, days away from a possible direct hit on the Philippines.