Today Around Southeast Asia
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.
A TOTAL of 97.2 million international tourists visited the 10 Asean member states last year, posting a growth of three per cent from 2013, reports ftnnews.com. .
Indonesia
christiantimes.com The Indonesian government is set to execute by firing squad 11 more convicts in death row including seven foreigners who are serving sentences for drug-related offenses. The foreigners are two Australians, one Filipino, one French, one Ghanaian, one Spanish and one Brazilian.
Malaysia
freemalaysiatoday.com The falling standards of the English language in Malaysia is pretty much beyond redemption. And this is exactly the reason why I almost fell off my chair recently when I read the news: ''Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh insisted that our teacher's English language proficiency level be on par with that of their peers in England.''
Burma
usatoday.com Successive military regimes have downplayed the legacy of Burma's independence hero Aung San and never permitted movies about him. Now two rival films are being produced about him that mark a milestone in Burma's transition since 2010 from international pariah, isolated by sanctions, to a more democratic system.
Cambodia
afp Three Frenchmen arrested fpr taking naked photos of each other at Angkor Wat were given a suspended prison sentence of six months, plus deportation from Cambodia and a four-year ban on coming back to the country. The men were also fined $750 each.
Singapore
reuters Singapore's two casinos have been disciplined for failing to adhere to measures intended to protect the vulnerable from gambling, the Straits Times reported, citing the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore.
Vietnam
telegraph.co.uk It is estimated that 100,000 pangolins are captured every year from across Africa and Asia, with most shipped to China and Vietnam, where their meat and scales are sold. As a result, all eight species of pangolin now feature on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of animals threatened with extinction.
Philippines
AP The Philippine Air Force says two pilots were killed when one of its Italian-made light planes crashed into the sea.
