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.



bbc.com Singaporeans have been queuing for up to eight hours to view the body of Lee Kuan Yew, the former prime minister, which lies in state in the city's Parliament House. Officials were taken aback by what they called an ''overwhelming response'' by the public and have extended viewing hours to run all day and all night until Saturday evening.



independent.co.uk Crashes, airports turning into warzones and lost planes hit the profits of 327-year-old insurer Lloyd's of London after the worst year for airlines since 2001. Claims from the two Malaysian Airline crashes, fighting at Tripoli airport and other tragedies including an AirAsia plane crashing off the coast of Indonesia in December left Lloyd's with 310 million pounds in aviation claims



asiacruisenews.com As a part of cruise industry promotion plan, the government of Indonesia is accelerating the decision making of the visa-free policy for 30 countries starting in April, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said at a press conference in Jakarta.



time.com Dozens of protesting Burmese activists and students are facing jail time on charges of insulting civil servants and refusing to disperse at an illicit demonstration. The 70 protesters face up to six years in jail after violence broke out during a march from Mandalay to Rangoon calling for educational reforms.



nationmultimedia.com Brunei has vowed to give Thailand priority as it considers allowing neighboring countries to engage in more joint fishing activities in its waters, said Government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp. Thailand also promised to guard against human smuggling in the fishery industry and to make sure it operates in line with Brunei's rules and laws.



upi Michelle Obama's tour of Asia to promote girls' education was marked by blunt criticism from Cambodian Prime MinisterHun Sen, who said the first lady was ''playing around'' and using hopeful rhetoric about making improvements but not guaranteeing aid.



foxnews.com A photograph of young children treating the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, DC, like a jungle gym with an elderly man looking on has gone viral and has some veterans shaking their heads.



reuters The Philippines said it would resume repair and reconstruction works in the disputed South China Sea after halting activities last year over concerns about the effect on an arbitration complaint filed against China.



asiancorrespondent.com The missing Laotian civil society leader Sombath Somphone will be at the forefront of the conversation at the Asean Civil Society Conference/Asean People's Forum meets in Kuala Lumpur next month. Sombath is a victim of enforced disappearance, and was kidnapped in Vientiane, Laos, in 2013.