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.



straitstimes.com Furniture retailer Ikea Singapore is reviewing its support for a magic show staged by a pastor known for his views against homosexuality, a spokesman told The Straits Times.



bbc.com The Philippines military chief has called on China to stop its work on reclaiming land in disputed territory in the South China Sea. Gen Gregorio Catapang said Chinese ''aggressiveness'' was causing tensions in the region.



AP Five asylum seekers from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Iran have agreed to be among the first to leave the Pacific island nation of Nauru for Cambodia under a deal that allows refugees rejected by Australia to be resettled in the Southeast Asian country, a refugee advocate said Monday.

theguardian.com The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) says Australia is violating the rights of children being sent from Nauru to Cambodia under the refugee transfer agreement. Unicef has joined a chorus of international agencies in raising concerns over the $40m refugee resettlement pact with Cambodia, with the first of the refugees expected to be flown out from Nauru this week.

sbs.com.au The Australian-based Fred Hollows Foundation is attempting to clear the backlog of 145,200 cases of cataract blindness in Cambodia, performing 8770 cataract removals in 2014. But its work is under threat from the Abbott government's $11 billion cut to the foreign aid budget.



radioaustralia.net.au The Australian Navy has returned 46 asylum seekers to Vietnam after they were intercepted trying to reach Australia by boat. The ABC confirmed HMAS Choules completed its mission to transfer the group back to Vietnam and was now en route to Australia.



asiaone.com An ocean conservation group is calling for tougher enforcement of the shark trade ban in Brunei, following the reported selling of shark meat in several supermarkets. Sea Shepherd Global's director of Asia, Gary Stokes, has urged the authorities to take action against shark trade offenders in a move that would signal a message of deterrence to ''those who wish to challenge'' the ruling.



bangkokpost.com While the overall number of people killed on the roads during Buddhist new year festivals in Laos and Cambodia paled in comparison with Songkran carnage in Thailand, neither country was able to reduce fatalities and deaths in Laos actually outpaced Thailand on a per-capita basis.



straitstimes.com Indonesia President Joko Widodo presented an audience of the region's key policymakers, corporate bigwigs and analysts with an open invitation to invest in Indonesia, assuring businessmen that he would give their concerns his personal attention. ''Call me if you have any problems,'' he added, as the audience burst into applause.



malaysiakini.com As the Asean chair, Myanmar (Burma) had banned any talk about the ongoing persecution against the Rohingya Muslims. The generals and other cabinet members would have given themselves pats on the back for having successfully dodged questions about the minority community. I mean if at all any member country bothered to demand answers from Myanmar, that is.

theguardian.com Burma's Myeik archipelago under threat from overfishing - in pictures.
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2015/apr/20/burma-myeik-archipelago-under-threat-overfishing-in-pictures



smh.com.au A fragment of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 will be handed over to crash investigators, after a Russian veterans group cancelled plans to display it in a new museum dedicated to Soviet military victory.

themalaysianinsider.com Malaysia's tourism board is denying responsibility for an advertisement which has gained derision online for a mistake in spelling. The advertisement, which featured a ball shaped like the Earth, read: ''Don't be stressed, come and distress in Malaysia!''