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.
Thailand
bloomberg Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha made no mention of last year's coup in a speech to world leaders gathered at the United Nations, instead highlighting his country's commitment to sustainable development and protecting human rights.
Indonesia
jakartaglobe.com Two British journalists filming a documentary in the Malacca Strait could face five years' imprisonment as they await trial at a Batam district court for visa violations. Neil Bonner, 32, and Rebecca Prosser, 31, both appeared on charges of violating Indonesian immigration laws, which could see them locked for a maximum of five years, according to Reporters Without Borders.
theguardian.com Bonner and Prosser were making a documentary about piracy in south-east Asia for a London-based production company called Wall to Wall which was funded by National Geographic TV. Batam island, just south of Singapore, is near the Malacca Strait, an important international shipping lane.
Malaysia
thestar.com.my Oil and gas company Shell Malaysia announced a reorganisation of its upstream division, which will see a reduction of 1300 jobs over the next two years.
Singapore
reuters Singapore's population rose 1.2 percent over the past year, the slowest in more than a decade, as it tried to reduce numbers of foreign workers, while long-standing efforts to encourage citizens to have more children bore some fruit.
Cambodia
xinhua Cambodia's casino industry has generated a revenue of approximately $2 billion per annum, the country's central bank chief said: ''Perhaps next to Macao and Monaco, Cambodia has the largest proportion of casino income to total international travel credits of any country in the world.''
Burma
aa.com.tr Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy party failed to put forth any Muslim candidates for a November 8 election in order to appease a powerful extremist group led by Buddhist monks, a senior party official has admitted.
elevenmyanmar.com An interfaith marriage law victory celebration was held in North Okkalapa Township on September 26. During the event, a Buddhist monk read a fake statement that he said was issued from the National League for Democracy. The fake statement is titled 'NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi greets Muslim people'. NLD central executive committee member Nyan Win said the fake statement was created to harm the NLD's chances of victory in the coming election.
Vietnam
voanews.com After many years of delays and debates, Vietnam now seems committed to a subway. Construction on the underground train systems is taking place in Hanoi in the north, and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.
Philippines
nationmultimedia.com Thailand has slipped one place on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) and is now ranked 32nd out of 140 economies analysed in a survey released by the World Economic Forum. Malaysia (18th, up two this year), Indonesia (37th, down four), the Philippines (47th, up five), and Vietnam (56th, up 12), have improved their showing since 2007, most notably the Philippines, which has leapfrogged 17 places, according to the GCI report.
Laos
english.cri.cn A transnational railway linking China and Singapore is set to be constructed. The construction of the segment in Laos will start in November. The Laos section, over 400 kilometers long, will take 5 years to complete and cost around $7 billion.
Brunei
asiaone.com The Ministry of Religious Affairs' Halal Food Control Section denied the selling of canned pork that was labelled halal at supermarket chain Hua Ho.