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.



ft.com The effort by Bombardier to break the Airbus-Boeing duopoly in commercial airliners received a boost when a new Malaysian airline said it planned to buy 20 of the Canadian company's C Series jets. If a firm order results, flymojo will become the first Asian airline to fly the C Series, which is intended to fill the size gap between the largest regional jets and the smallest Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.



tvnz.co.nz Pressure from monks may be behind the harsh sentence imposed on a New Zealander in Burma for insulting Buddha, Labor's Foreign Affairs spokesman says. Philip Blackwood was sentenced to two years and six months. Two years are to be spent in a hard labor camp.



bloomberg Philippine billionaire Enrique Razon will buy an island in South Korea to develop a leisure and tourism complex, as he taps the country's growth in gambling on rising tourist arrivals from China.



jewishbusinessnews.com The Cambodian Ministry of Justice is reviewing a draft extradition treaty with Russia, as part of a process aimed at deporting fugitive tycoon Sergei Polonsky to Russia, to face charges of real estate fraud. Clients prepaid $172 million for condos but Mr Polonsy left the country.



abc.net.au Indonesia says tourists from an additional 30 countries will soon be allowed to visit without a visa, but the policy will not be applied to Australia.



theaustralian.com.au Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has sought foreign investment in the buying of bad debt from local banks, as the country seeks to whittle down bad loans in its banking system.



interaksyon.com Employers in Brunei have guaranteed to implement the increased minimum monthly wage of at least $400 (about BN$520) for Filipino domestic workers, the Philippine labor attach?? in the Asean member-country said.



channelnewsasia.com Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in Singapore declined by 9.7 percent on-year in February 2015 - the most in two years - reversing the 4.3 percent on-year gain in January as shipments of electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals all fell, according to statistics.