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.



ft.com Indonesia has boosted import duties on a range of consumer goods, in an effort to support local industry as economic growth slows in Southeast Asia's largest economy. The levy on imported meat was raised from 5 to 30 percent, the duty on coffee rose 5 to 20 percent, while the tax on imported alcohol - including whisky and vodka - goes from a flat Rp125,000 ($9.32) per litre to 150 percent.



todayonline.com Malaysia's police chief Khalid Abu Bakar met his Thai counterpart, Mr Somyot Poompanmoung, in Bangkok over the probe into a former executive of a Middle Eastern oil and gas company linked to 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) who had allegedly sold confidential information that was used to attack Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

straitstimes.com Swiss national Xavier Andre Justo - who is now in jail in Thailand in connection with trying to blackmail his former employer, PetroSaudi, which is entangled in a huge scandal involving the Malaysian government - has claimed that he was promised US$2 million in exchange for data he stole from his former employer.



freemalaysia.com In the usual course a defamation action would be met with a swift and stern rebuke by the aggrieved party, calling for a public apology, the immediate retraction of the impugned articles, an undertaking not to publish the same or like statements in any manner or form and an offer of damages as recompense. That was not done here. Instead, the Prime Minister's solicitors called for a clarification within 14 days as to whether the true purport of the article was to suggest that Najib had ''misappropriated'' nearly US$700 million from 1Malaysia Development Berhad.



theguardian.com American hip-hop star Chris Brown took to swearing and break-dancing as he ranted about being stranded in the Philippines over a row with an influential sect. The 26-year-old was stopped from leaving the Philippine capital, a day after performing at a Manila concert, amid a fraud complaint filed against him by the indigenous Christian group Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ).

inquirer.net Two landing craft heavy (LCH) vessels donated by Australia are on their way to the Philippines. The ships were formally handed over to the Philippine Navy in Cairns after a memorandum of understanding was signed.



voanews.com Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha brushed aside concern that Vietnam is eclipsing Thailand as a regional manufacturing base, saying Vietnam is a friend, not a competitor. The comments came during a visit to Bangkok by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

medicalnewstoday.com Even 40 years after the end of the war in Vietnam, former US soldiers are presently suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other mental ill health, finds a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.



thediplomat.com The reaction from Cambodia's opposition leaders to the jailing of 11 supporters for up to 20 years was totally gormless. But more importantly, the impotent behavior of the man who desperately wants to be prime minister, Sam Rainsy, was just plain disturbing.



channelnewsasia.com United Kingdom-based toy giant Hamleys officially opens its flagship store in Singapore on Friday. Plaza Singpura said in a news release that more than 10,000 toys will be displayed in Hamleys, which occupies 12,000 sq ft across two floors.

bloomberg Singapore was ranked as Lonely Planet's top 2015 destination. That hasn't helped the island draw more tourists so far this year. Marina Bay Sands, the casino-resort that's the biggest hotel in Singapore, posted its lowest average room rate since the end of 2012 as gaming revenue slumped.



rfa.org Salaries for civil servants in Laos remain stagnant and will not be increased during the next fiscal year largely because of corruption, despite the rising cost of living in the one-party communist nation, sources inside the country said.



bbc.com For half a century, Myanmar (Burma) was cut off from most of the outside world. As a result, censorship and limited access to global media stunted the evolution of the Burmese language, leaving it without many words. Now, as the country embraces change, many foreign words are being imported, but their meanings are getting lost in translation.