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.



theguardian.com Seventeen people have died in a fire that tore through a packed karaoke bar on Indonesia's Sulawesi island, with 71 others taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. Witnesses said the fire started on the second floor of the three-storey building at about 1am on Sunday. There was only one door to the building.



afp The Philippines cancelled flights and put hospitals on alert as its southern and central islands were covered by thickening haze from Indonesian forest fires. Smog from Indonesian slash-and-burn farming has choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia for weeks, killing at least 10 people, forcing events to be shut down and schools to close across the region.

manilatimes.net We in the Philippines do not want your ''smaze,'' Indonesia, and we are certain the citizens of the other countries affected by it would agree. The annual fires are bad for people's health, bad for the environment, and undermine the Asean's collective efforts to reduce climate change impacts, and hold to account polluters among the developed economies.



channelnewsasia.com Singapore looks forward to Indonesia's response to ''repeated requests'' to share information on the errant companies contributing to the haze, following its agreement to do so, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says.



themalaysianinsider.com The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged Malaysia to enact a policy to deal with refugees in the country, including allowing them to hold jobs. This would help Malaysia address other related concerns about crime and illegal labour, UNHCR representative in Malaysia Richard Towle said.



afp The migrant village sprang up in a matter of days - neat lines of bright yellow houses that looked like something a child might have built with Lego bricks on the outskirts of Bangkok. The village is made out of refurbished shipping containers, stacked three blocks high and connected by a series of walkways and ladders.



sbs.com.au Australia is not doing enough to ensure Myanmar's coming elections are free and fair, despite helping to fund them, said a pro-opposition activist. Thousands of Myanmar nationals across the world have been shut out of advance voting, two weeks before the election which is seen as a landmark test of the reform process.