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.



ibtimes.co.uk Oil-rich Brunei has officially banned all public celebrations of Christmas, its Ministry of Religious Affairs announced. The ban was implemented last year following Christmas when a number of people were reportedly spotted wearing clothes resembling Santa Claus.

afp The ban, instituted after Christmas last month when local children and adults were seen wearing clothes ''that resemble Santa Claus,'' raises fresh concerns of religious restrictions after last April's announcement of the introduction of a penal code that will eventually include penalties such as the severing of limbs and death by stoning.



stuff.co.nz The family of a world-renowned heart surgeon are relieved he was released without charge after he was arrested at Singapore's Changi Airport. Adam El-Gamel, also known as Ahmed, was travelling with his wife, Valerie, from Auckland to India.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/64785707/nz-heart-surgeon-adam-elgamel-arrested-in-singapore

channelnewsasia.com The overall outlook for the hotel sector in Singapore this year appears positive, according to the latest report by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The occupancy rate fell to 84.3 percent from 86 percent in 2013. But Singapore still topped the region in terms of room rates.



cnbc.com Malaysia's economic outlook is expected to deteriorate significantly in 2015 following three years of robust growth, and experts say it's not just due to crashing oil prices. Sharp currency depreciation and the introduction of a goods & services tax (GST) are widely expected to drag 2015 gross domestic product (GDP) growth below 5 percent from an estimated 5.8 percent in 2014.



wsj.com Indonesia will level sanctions against airlines at more airports Friday, suspending flights as a crackdown on administrative irregularities deepens in the wake of the crash ofAirAsia Flight 8501. Transportation Ministry spokesman J.A. Barata said the ministry would unveil the results of a weeklong audit at five main airports, suspending flights from airlines that lack permits to fly on their currently scheduled days.



mizzima.com The Rakhine State government will file a complaint with the Myanmar (Burma) government if the UN intervenes and calls for citizenship for Rohingyas in western Myanmar, according to the state minister in a statement issued on January 7. The statement from the Rakhine State government was issued on the day that Ms Yanghee Lee, UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, arrived on her second visit to Myanmar.

reuters A Myanmar court sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of a 2013 bomb attack on a hotel that killed two people and wounded one, a police officer said. Saw Tun Tun was convicted of bombing a guesthouse in the town of Taungoo, 55 km from the capital, Naypyitaw, in the first in a string of mysterious blasts in different parts of the country that has never been fully explained.



voanews.com Vietnam taking the lead in gay rights in Southeast Asia by abolishing a ban on same-sex marriage has medical doctor Thuan Nguyen planning a wedding ceremony with his boyfriend of two years. The revised law, while not officially recognizing same-sex marriage, places the communist country at the forefront of countries in Asia becoming more accepting of gay people.



abcnews.go.com Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal restarted genocide hearings Thursday against the former regime's most senior surviving leaders, with the first witness being called to testify against the ailing octogenarians. Proceedings had been postponed since November.



gulfnews.com Reporter Nerlita Ledesma, 47, was shot dead in front of her house in central Luzon, police said. She is the 31st journalist killed since Benigno Aquino took over as the president of the country in 2010.