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.



scotsman.com Thai authorities are facing international pressure to crack down on smugglers after images of thousands of migrants from Bangladesh and Burma stranded at sea were shared around the world. Migrants were also held in jungle camps under horrendous conditions while awaiting transportation elsewhere.

reuters As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government seeks to accelerate development on the Andaman and Nicobar islands to promote its military, trade and tourism, preserving the pristine environment and handful of unique tribes is likely to get harder. ''The islands are fragile, they are in a seismically active zone not far from Indonesia's Aceh coast,'' said Pankaj Sekhsaria of Indian environmental group Kalpavriksh.

PTI India and Thailand, which share a maritime boundary, identified exchange of white shipping information to complement each other's maritime domain awareness and also agreed to explore bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding projects.



themalaysmailonline.com A Singapore registered property developer is going to install villas next to a lagoon filled with captive dolphins in order to increase the value and marketing appeal of their development. One look at their advertisements, which appeared in various publication in Singapore, shows some rather dubious renditions of futuristic holiday-type villas populated by crudely photo-shopped families feeding dolphins.



themalaysianinsider.com Malaysia's print media has been hard-pressed to balance the need to tow the official line, and to speak out against government wrongdoings. The over-arching threat of suspension has convinced media owners to repeatedly err on the side of caution.



AP The UN's emergency relief organisation says incessant monsoon rain in northwestern Burma has triggered flooding, leaving nine people dead and affecting 70,000 others. The report on Sagaing Region from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says 12,000 houses have been damaged and schools forced to close.



express.co.uk British Prime Minister David Cameron flies to Indonesia today amid fears Islamic State could take root in the region. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, of about 220 million people and IS, also known as Isil, has been sending out propaganda in local languages to attract new recruits. Mr Cameron is due to raise the threat from Islamic extremism with the presidents of Indonesia and Malaysia as part of a four-day trade mission.

thejakartapost.com The UN says a massive 60 million people are now displaced - the largest number since World War II. For a sense of perspective, this is almost equal to the entire population of Italy or the UK. Eighty-six percent of these people are hosted by poor countries in the developing world.



starherald.com Today, tigers are found in only 13 countries, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), across their range, tigers face unrelenting pressures from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss.



xinhua Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen encouraged the China Road and Bridge Corporation to continue investing in Cambodia in order to help the country develop infrastructures. The prime minister made the remarks during a meeting with Wen Gang, chairman of the China Road and Bridge Corporation, at the Peace Palace in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.