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.

dpa Delays are expected at Australian airports Monday as some 5000 Immigration and Border Force workers take part in a 24-hour strike over pay and conditions, a news report said.



theguardian.com A luminary of the west, Aung San Suu Kyi waits at her family home on 54 University Avenue in the capital, Yangon, for what is being touted as the country's first credible election in 50 years. Many observers say her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will win on Sunday, taking the south-east Asian country further from the grasp of one the world's most reclusive military regimes. [Ed: Somebody should tell The Guardian that Burma (Myanmar) has had a new capital for some time.]

time.com The NLD won Burma's last unfettered election in 1990 only for the then-junta to annul the result, imprisoning Suu Kyi and anyone else who objected to its iron-fisted rule. Many have been disappointed by the pace at which this nation of 51 million has opened, a sentiment Suu Kyi hopes to yoke.

washingtonpost.com Ashin Wirathu, the firebrand Buddhist monk who is a leader in the Ma Ba Tha, said that the group is supporting Thein Sein because his government passed the legislation governing interfaith marriage, family size and religious conversion that many say targets the Muslim minority. He has called Muslims mad dogs and the United Nations envoy for human rights a ''bitch'' and a ''whore.''

nytimes.com Ahead of the vote, we asked people in Myanmar via Facebook to tell us what they hope, and fear, will come from the elections. We also asked readers to tell us which campaign issues were the most important to them.



nnt Thailand's Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai attended the 12th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' Meeting (ASEM) in Luxembourg, which was also attended by representatives from 51 countries to discuss cooperation in sustainable development.



therakyatpost.com In the past decade, Malaysia has invested heavily in tourism to make itself as a preferred Asean destination. It has seen a rise in tourist numbers since 1998 and last year itself, it has registered 27.44 million tourist arrivals, nearly 1.8 million more than 2013, despite several tragedies involving both Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia. Although Malaysia has more to offer instead of theme parks - it is a shopping and food haven in Asean - the opening of more high-credible amusement parks will help ensure more tourists will keep flowing here for years to come.



cambodiadaily.com After years of research and testing, a nutritional snack meant to halt rampant malnourishment and stunting among Cambodian children has been developed in the form of a fish paste-filled wafer, which will be released on the market by 2017.

phnompenhpost.com Due to an anti-corruption drive in China and tighter surveillance of its biggest gambling hub, Macau, more and more Chinese gamblers are finding their way to Cambodia's loosely regulated and under-supervised casinos. While it is legal for any licensed casino operator to run an internet-based gambling site out of a physical casino, opposition lawmaker Son Chhay argues that many operations are being operated illegally out of guesthouses, rented offices and villas.



bangkokpost.com Jetstar has been forced to abandon planned flights to and from Bali after winds pushed a volcanic ash cloud too close to the airport. The airline had planned to operate during the daylight hours of Saturday, including two recovery flights, but announced mid-morning it was not safe to fly after assessing information from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre.

theguardian.com Thousands of fires have been lit to clear land simply because it is 75 percent cheaper than other methods. By burning down forests companies can get access to the land and can commence industrial pulp and palm oil plantations.



cnn.com On the eve of the second year commemoration of super typhoon Yolanda, five skeletal remains of those believed to have perished in the 2013 onslaught were found in Tacloban City on Saturday.



scmp.com 'We are brothers': Xi hails closer ties with Taiwan as closed-door talks with Ma wrap up at historic Singapore summit between China and Taiwan.

qz.com We need political leaders around the world to prioritise water management - not for its own sake, but as a vital foundation for sustainable growth. Singapore invested in desalination, stormwater capture, and wastewater reuse technology. Now a third of the nation is served by wastewater reclamation plants, and Singapore is water-secure.

independent.co.uk A 'vertical village' in Singapore has been named the World Building of the Year. Judges at the eighth annual World Architecture Festival, held at the prestigious Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore, awarded the top prize to The Interlace.



newsday.com Centereach resident Kenneth Wirth, 71, is seen in a flag line during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the acknowledged start of the Vietnam War at the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. Kenneth is seen standing with the Patriot Guard Riders, a motorcycle group that advocates for veterans, ensuring that they do not receive the same cold shoulder upon their return from duty as he and other veterans did when they returned from Vietnam.



rfa.org Lao and European Union officials met in the Laotian capital Vientiane to discuss human rights issues at a time when the number of such abuses and restrictions on various freedoms are increasing rapidly. The meeting comes as the communist one-party state continues to score poorly on its human rights record, with rights groups continuing to pressure the government for details of activists, students and others who have been detained or disappeared.