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.



Phuket Update An investigation is underway into the disappearance of the illegal Antarctic trawler Kunlun, also known as the Taishan, which vanished from Phuket waters last week carrying a cargo of valuable illegal toothfish. As Phuketwan reported, questions are being asked of authorities who should have been aware that the ship had loaded fuel and was readying to leave.



ft.com The battle over a growing international scandal centred on a Malaysia state investment fund has deepened after authorities imposed a travel ban on two men who have pressed foreign police to probe the affair. The no-fly orders on Matthias Chang and Khairuddin Abu Hassan came after the pair lodged crime reports in the UK, Switzerland and Hong Kong over alleged misappropriation at the debt-laden 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund.



newscientist.com The Indonesian government has arrested executives from seven companies after air pollution from illegal forest fires forced thousands of people to flee their homes and schools had to be closed in neighboring countries. At its peak this month, there were almost 1200 fires burning across Indonesia - most of them lit illegally to clear land for palm oil and timber. A state of emergency has been declared in the worst-hit Riau province on the island of Sumatra.



jakartaglobe.com Singapore is calling on all its Southeast Asian neighbors to help combat recurring forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan as thick haze is once again plaguing large parts of the region. ''Greater regional efforts and cooperation [are] needed to effectively combat the haze problem,'' Singaporean Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in a statement published on Friday evening.

channelnewsasia.com American rookie Alexander Rossi made an inauspicious start to his Formula One career when he crashed during Friday's opening practice for this weekend's Singapore Grand Prix.



thehindu.com Vice-President Hamid Ansari signed two memorandums of understanding with his counterpart in Laos, Bounyang Vorachith in the Presidential Palace Ho Kham. The MoUs cover an air services agreement - allowing airlines to start a direct flight between the two countries - and another agreement for three 'quick impact projects' in the agriculture sector.



kyodo news The recent deadly bombing in Thailand may disrupt Cambodia's hopes of attracting five million foreign tourists by the end of this year, a Cambodian government official said.



huffingtonpost.com When word got out I was thinking of taking a group to Burma this November, I received this email: Dear Mr. Bangs: I strongly advise you to drop travel to Burma. The treatment of the Rohingya minority is so appalling that I feel that no one should be visiting that country . . . If you'd like to join me, contact me at richardbangs@msn.com



bellingcat.com Located near the important deep-water port of Cam Ranh Bay, a new aircraft support apron has been recently added and expanded, satellite imagery confirms. Vietnam is currently engaged in a long delayed military modernisation program. For obvious reasons, part of the modernisation has been centered on the Navy which aims to bring substantial combat capability online in the shortest time frame.



independent.co.uk Cosme Diez Maestrado, an anti-corruption radio presenter in the Philippines, became the third Filipino journalist to be assassinated in less than a month when four gunmen on motorcycles ambushed him outside a shopping centre in Ozamiz City.



malaysiandigest.com The inadequate facilities at Royal Brunei Airlines Cabin Crew room came under royal scrutiny yesterday, along with other facilities at the Brunei International Airport terminal, which will undergo the process of modernisation. Expressing concern on the facilities, His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam said that he would be returning in six months to see refurbishment of the area, which is currently under construction.