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.



Bangkok Update Twenty-three countries have issued travel advisories in the wake of Monday's Erawan shrine bombing, with most advising caution rather than avoiding travel to Thailand.



straitstimes.com Seven Malaysian victims involved in the bomb blast in Bangkok on Monday evening are from the same family. The family has been informed that four out the of the seven have died.



straitstimes.com Singaporean Madam Melisa Liu Rui Chun, 34, died on the spot, according to Thai Police Major-General Dr Pornchai Suteerakune, commander of the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Her husband Ng Su Teck, 35, who was injured by glass shrapnel, told The Straits Times that he plans to return to Singapore on Wednesday.

channelnewsasia.com Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ391 was forced to turn back to Istanbul, after the plane encountered a ''bird strike'' following take-off, the airline told Channel NewsAsia. All 255 passengers and 14 crew disembarked normally, the carrier said.



channelnewsasia.com Indonesia sank 38 fishing vessels, the biggest action of its kind to date, to demonstrate the government's seriousness concerning the protection its territorial integrity. The action was carried out in several places across Indonesia as part of the commemoration of Indonesia's 70th Independence Day.

cnn.com Indonesian rescue workers have reached the crash site of a passenger plane that went down in a mountainous area with 54 people on board, a senior official said. The teams on the ground in Papua have so far seen at least 38 bodies at the scene and haven't found any survivors, said Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency.



business-standard.com Cambodia has tightened security after a bomb exploded in Bangkok, Thailand, killing more than 20 people, national police spokesman Lieutenant General Kirt Chantharith said: ''It is necessary to enhance security to make tourists feel safe in Cambodia.''

huffingtonpost.com Unfortunately the laws in Thailand and Cambodia are not strong enough to protect elephants from abuse.



foreignpolicy.com The election, scheduled for November 8, would seem to offer an ideal opportunity for cultivating a new generation of political activists and pro-democracy politicians - not least because Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), currently doesn't even have enough qualified candidates to contest every constituency that's up for grabs. Yet when she recently had a chance to bring some fresh blood into her party's electoral list, the Lady (as her admirers call her) demurred.



techcrunch.com 500 Startups, the US-led VC firm, is continuing its push into Southeast Asia after it hired two partners in Vietnam, a signal that it may be about to launch a local fund for startups the country.



afp The Philippines can only afford a ''frugal'' military upgrade, defense officials said, even though maritime tensions with China are growing.



bbc.com An inquest on BBC Wales picture editor Johanna Powell, 37, who died when a cruise boat capsized in Laos in April, should be completed within three months, a pre-inquest review has heard.