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 A bomb exploded last night close to a shrine in the centre of Thailand's capital, Bangkok, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 120. The Erawan Shrine, which was crowded at the time, is a major tourist attraction and foreigners, including Chinese, are among the casualties.



usatoday.com Rescue teams were poised to hike through rugged terrain Tuesday toward the wreckage of an Indonesian airliner with 54 people aboard that crashed into a mountain Sunday. An official said the plane had nearly $500,000 in cash on board for distribution to about 6000 local residents in the remote eastern Indonesia region.



cbsnews.com A 58-year-old American and his Filipino-American wife have been killed and their decomposing bodies were found in a well in the central Philippines in a case suspected to be linked to robbery, police said. The body of Kevin Fleischauer was retrieved on Sunday and that of his 60-year-old wife Lolly Mangilaya Fleischauer the next day in Negros Occidental province.



bnionline.net The arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of land rights activists across Burma forms a new wave of prisoners of conscience, Human Rights Watch has said in a report damning of the government. The human rights organisation pointed to the arrest of a prominent land rights campaigner in Karen State as an example of a wider pattern of government persecution of its political opponents.



bangkokpost.com Upside-down Cambodian letters on shields of riot police in Hollywood film 'No Escape' looked strange to many, but have now led to ban in Cambodia for misuse of Cambodian culture.



news.com.au Australia's National Service veterans are using Vietnam Veterans' Day on the 49th anniversary of the iconic battle of Long Tan - where 18 Australians including 11 National Servicemen or ''Nashos'' were killed in action - to push the Abbott Government to grant them the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (RVCM).



thediplomat.com On August 17, the US and Malaysia kicked off a bilateral naval exercise in Sandakan in eastern Malaysia. The 21st annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Malaysia exercise is designed to address shared maritime security concerns, build relationships and enhance interoperability between US and Malaysian Armed Forces.



xinhua New Zealand's ties to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be on the agenda when Foreign Minister Murray McCully visits Cambodia and Laos this week. McCully said that he would hold a range of meetings to mark the 40th anniversary of New Zealand's formal partnership with Asean.



indianexpress.copm A Delhi-based jeweller has alleged that a couple he has known for years duped him of valuable jewellery saying it was meant for the sister of The Sultan of Brunei who would be coming to India to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and some ministers.



channelnewsasia.com Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in Singapore fell 0.8 percent year-on-year in July 2015, due to a decrease in non-electronic exports, according to statistics released International Enterprise (IE) Singapore. The fall in exports comes after a 4.5 percent expansion in the previous month.