PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with a column, Asean Today, that will cease when Phuketwan closes on December 31.



wsj.com Ten Southeast Asian nations start an ambitious, US-backed experiment on Thursday: integrating their economies in a bid to bring more global sway and prosperity to the region's 622 million citizens. The bloc is a fast-expanding home to a rising middle class, but also to widespread poverty and income inequality.



reuters Singapore's trade and industry minister has called for a resumption of free trade talks between the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations now that problems over Myanmar have been removed, a German newspaper said.



dailymail.co.uk Hundreds of workers in Vietnam who help manufacture goods for the Victoria's Secret lingerie company have been hospitalised with food-poisoning after eating lunch in the factory canteen. Pham Thu Xanh, director of Hai Phong's health care department, said 223 workers remained in hospital with minor symptoms.



channelnewsasia.com Malaysia wants to slash the number of foreign workers in the country, but the World Bank says the economy could actually benefit from more foreign workers if proper policies and worker safeguards are put in place. AWorld Bank report released in December claimed that employing more low-skilled foreign workers could actually be a boon, potentially increasing Malaysia's GDP and even creating new jobs for locals.

ngrguardiannews.com A Malaysian High Court has sentenced a 37-year-old Nigerian, one Ekene Collins Isaac, to death by hanging after he was found guilty of trafficking 915.6 grams of methamphetamine three years ago in Malaysia.



Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has told reporters that he will no longer tolerate biased criticisms from irresponsible newspaper columnists and has instructed security officers to invite them for talks aka an attitude adjustment at a military facility.



abc.net.au A terror financing investigation has uncovered about $500,000 in Australian cash sent to Indonesia to arm and train extremists and support their families. A joint investigation between Australia and Indonesia found the cash was raised and transferred by an Australian man identified only by the letter L.

foxnews.com A 20-year-old woman was rushed to a hospital Monday after being publicly caned for violating Sharia law by allegedly having affectionate contact with a man who was not her husband. The caning of students Nur Elita and Wahyudi Saputra happened in front of a cheering crowd outside a mosque in Banda Aceh, the only province in Indonesia that operates under Sharia law.



AP Hundreds of people in Myanmar protested for a fifth day Tuesday against death sentences issued in Thailand to two Myanmar men convicted of murdering a pair of British backpackers, but who are seen by many here as scapegoats. The Thai Embassy in Myanmar said its consular section will be closed for the entire week due to the ''unexpected and prolonged demonstrations'' that make it hard to access the entrance.



bbc.com China has expressed anger after Filipino protesters landed on a remote island controlled by the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea. China claims almost all the South China Sea, believed to be rich in resources, dismissing rival claims by neighbors.

afp Saudi Arabia executed a Filipino man convicted of murder, bringing to 153 the number of people put to death this year in the ultra-conservative kingdom.



asiancorrespondent.com Conducted by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, 'LGBT Bullying In Cambodian School' has documented LGBT youths' hardships growing up in the traditional and often conservative Cambodian society. Fourty-two percent of respondents were bullied ''often'' or ''daily,'' more than 50 percent were bullied ''sometimes''.



oxfordbusinessgroup.com A cabinet reshuffle in Brunei Darussalam has sharpened the country's focus on tourism against a backdrop of sluggish industry growth and falling visitor numbers. Created in October 2015, the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism is charged with exploring ways of leveraging Brunei Darussalam's strengths, which include its strategic location in the heart of the Asean region and a variety of natural attractions.