PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with Asean Today.



wsj.com The European Union said it had agreed in principle on a sweeping free-trade deal with Vietnam that could create a benchmark for future agreements between the bloc and fast-growing Asian economies. The deal would remove nearly all tariffs on goods traded between the two regions over seven to 10 years, as well as barriers to trade in services, investment and government procurement.

cbsnews.com Fifty years ago on August 5, 1965, CBS News correspondent Morley Safer reported on the burning of the village of Cam Ne, Vietnam, by US Marines. The Marines used lighters and flamethrowers on huts in the village because enemy fire came from the area. It depicted some of the first negative images of US forces in the war.



theguardian.com A piece of debris found washed ashore on a beach in the Indian Ocean came from missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, the Malaysian prime minister has announced, confirming the first trace of the plane since it vanished last year with 239 people on board.

wsj.com Malaysia's anticorruption agency said that Prime Minister Najib Razak will be asked to explain a 2.6 billion ringgit (nearly $700 million) donation made to his personal account, which the agency said came from a donor in the Middle East.

bbc.com Though there were a few comments in support of Mr Najib - by Facebook users with the hashtags #StayStrongPM and #WeSupportNajibRazak - the overwhelming response was sceptical.

telegraph.co.uk Malaysia has issued an arrest warrant for campaigning British journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, for her investigations into financial controversies swirling around the country's leader. She said she did not believe that Malaysia had ''a chance in hell'' of extraditing her from Britain for the alleged offences.

freemalaysiatoday.com The world now sees Malaysia as a country run into the ground by the 1MDB scandal and the recent draconian measures taken against government critics, according to an article in The Diplomat, an international current affairs magazine.



cambodiadaily.com International visitors to Cambodia are still being asked to hand over small bribes upon entering the country, despite promises over the past few years to stamp out the practice, the head of a tourism working group said he told the government during his last meeting in the position.



philstar.com The US has established political and security alliances with Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines and Australia. It is now trying to establish stronger security links with Vietnam.In the economic aspect, however, China has had the upper hand. China will, therefore, be the biggest loser if the TPP is finally realised.

aa.com.tr At least five people were killed, three others are missing and more than 100 were evacuated as heavy flooding struck three villages in the Southern Philippines.



bloomberg Very Rich and Living With Mum: Everyone knows Singapore is an expensive country that's transforming itself into a smart city. Here are five less-known facts about the island nation as it marks its 50th year of independence.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-04/the-singapore-way-very-rich-and-living-with-mum

bbc.com In the years leading up to Singapore's independence there really was a bitter political battle between Lim's leftist Barisan Socialis party and Lee's People's Action Party (PAP), one that arguably defined the path of the nation.



thediplomat.com The decision to send the Uyghurs back to China was driven at least in part of Thailand's fear of its own Islamic population. The narrative taken by The Atlantic's Matt Schiavenza focuses on the economic relationship between China and Thailand as an explanation for the decision to return Uyghur refugees to China.



thejakartapost.com Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi proposed the establishment of a human rights division at the Asean Secretariat as one of several measures that she said could strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights in the region.

afp Indonesia's growth slid in the second quarter to levels unseen since 2009, government data showed, highlighting the uphill battle for President Joko Widodo in expanding Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

alarabyia.net Indonesian housemaid Rika Mustikawati, sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia in 2012 for allegedly practicing witchcraft on her employer, is set to fly home, after efforts made by Jakarta to have her set free, local daily Arab News reported.



news.sky.com Eleven of the country's 14 states and divisions are thought to be affected by flooding with the official toll topping 40 and particular concern about coastal Rakhine state, where more than 130,000 displaced Rohingya Muslims live in badly built and poorly-located camps



traveldailymedia.com At the recent Lanith Symposium in Vientiane, the country's tourism leaders identified the need to focus on the development of human resources, tourism products and marketing and promotion, ahead of the launch of the Asean Economic Community.