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.



nationmultimedia.com US businesses' satisfaction with the business climate in Thailand has decreased across 14 out of the 16 indicators of the business environment, according to a survey. In some indicators, the satisfaction has decreased by more than 20 percent, according to the annual AseanBusiness Outlook Survey, released by the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Chambers of Commerce in Asean member countries.



afp It's Malaysia's $700 million question: who transferred massive amounts of cash into Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank accounts, and where is the money now?

nytimes.com There are 132 Nigerians serving sentences in prison in Malaysia, with several on death row - but the project was able to gather data from only two of the country's seven maximum-security prisons. Whether or not there is a crime wave caused by Africans, many Malaysians definitely have a perception that one is happening. And this is feeding deep-rooted prejudice.



channelnewsasia.com Philippines national Ello Ed Mundsel Bello, 28, who made ''xenophobic, derogatory and inflammatory'' remarks about Singaporeans has been convicted on one count under the Sedition Act, and on two counts of providing false information to police.



ft.com There are signs of rising religiosity throughout Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, where strict Islamic laws have been enforced in several provinces and a growing number of women wear the veil.

reuters Indonesia's state-controlled cement maker PT Semen Indonesia said it plans to buy back up to 1 trillion rupiah (US$70.85 million) of its shares as their market value fell, but some other state firms said they have yet to decide whether to buy back their shares.



The anti-trafficking NGO International Justice Mission says Cambodia deserves credit for a ''sea change'' in its approach to combat underage sex trafficking.



gazettelive.co.uk A British-New Zealand dual citizen jailed in Burma for using a Buddha image to promote his bar has been missed off an amnesty list. Phil Blackwood is approaching 10 months in a Burmese jail reputed to be one of the worst in the world. But when a recent amnesty for nearly 7000 people was announced in Burma - now known as Myanmar - Mr Blackwood's name wasn't on it.

thediplomat.com Rohingya children born in Burma are prevented from obtaining citizenship even though their families may have been there for generations. This is despite Burma's ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which guarantees every child's right to have her birth registered, to have a nationality, and to have these rights protected under national law.



philstar.com The son of former president Ferdinand Marcos, Senator Ferdinand ''Bongbong"''Marcos Jr., admitted that he is open to running with Vice President Jejomar Binay as a team in the 2016 national elections.



vietnamnews.vn Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the Commission for Inspection of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee to closely co-ordinate and regularly share experience in inspections and anti-corruption work.



reuters The US plans to increase the number of military and humanitarian drills it conducts in the Asia-Pacific as part of a new strategy to counter China's rapid expansion in the South China Sea, the Philippine military said. Brunei is among countries with territorial claims.