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.



nytimes.com Pro-Russian separatist leaders in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk have blocked access to Dutch law enforcement officials pursuing an investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysian jetliner nearly a year ago, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Office said.

freemalaysiatoday.com Malaysia is hoping to overcome Russian objections to a tribunal under the aegis of the United Nations to speed up investigations into the shooting down and crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine last year.



theguardian.com Cambodia's Kampot pepper is among the world's best but it was nearly lost forever under the Khmer Rouge regime. Luckily a few farmers kept their cultivation skills alive and today there is demand from across the world.



thejakartapost.com The Indonesian government has remained committed to its resolve to promote human rights and has vowed to strengthen its efforts, following the recent publication of a peer review on the state of human rights in Indonesia in 2014 by the US Department of State, which highlights continued rights abuses in the country.

asiaone.com The 2014 US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlighted the Indonesian government's failures in conducting transparent public investigations into some allegations of unjustified killings, torture and abuses by security forces.



scmp.com The White House will receive a rare guest next month as Vietnam's Communist party chief embarks on a highly symbolic trip.



bworldonline.com The Philippines has halted the repair of its airstrip in the disputed Spratly Islands due to its pending suit at The Hague challenging China's claim over the waters, a presidential spokesman said.

philstar.com Officials of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) are in Manila to present recently released findings and recommendations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that the Philippine government has not taken sufficient action to prevent the violation of women's reproductive rights. Lawyers who have been working with women's groups in the Philippines are still calling on the national government to step up its efforts in ensuring that women have access to sexual and reproductive health services and information.



nationmultimedia.com China and Laos this month signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their cooperation in human-resource development. China is also committed to providing financial support to two events in Laos: the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Lao People's Democratic Republic at the end of this year and the Asean Summit in 2016.



philstar.com According to the UN refugee agency, over 120,000 Rohingya have boarded ships to flee abroad in the past three years. In the first quarter of this year alone, 25,000 migrants left Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh, about double the number over the same period last year.



abc.net.au Prime Minister Tony Abbott has visited a mosque running a successful de-radicalisation program during his two-day visit to Singapore. Mr Abbott made a stop at the Khadija Mosque, where Islamic clerics run the Religious Rehabilitation Group aiming to counsel individuals, including jailed members of extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah, about Islamic teachings.