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.



time.com A total of 59 people are being monitored in Thailand for Mers symptoms after coming into contact with the infected man, who is now being held in quarantine at an infectious-disease clinic. Thai Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin told Reuters that three of those under observation have already been hospitalised.



xinhua The Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) will arrive in Singapore sooner or later due to the country's global connectivity, said Singapore's Health Minister Gan Kim Yong.



voacambodia.com Diagnosis systems have been installed at major border checkpoints and at the airports of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Health officials say people traveling in either the Middle East or South Korea should pay special attention to health symptoms and report any suspicious symptoms immediately.



wsj.com A state investment fund is at the center of a burgeoning political and financial controversy that is roiling markets and leading to calls for the ouster of Malaysia's prime minister. The fund, 1Malaysia Development Bhd., or 1MDB, was set up to spur economic growth in Malaysia. But it has rolled up more than $11 billion of debt that it now struggles to repay.



AP Vietnam will drop its visa requirements for tourists from five more European countries in a bid to boost its slumping tourism industry. Under a decision by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung that was posted on the government's website, visitors from Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain will no longer need a visa to visit Vietnam starting in July for stays up to 15 days.



ibtimes.co.uk The Philippines is experiencing growth that is rivalling the likes of China and India, but its economic story is often overshadowed by its larger Asian neighbors. The county's GDP grew 6.1 percent last year and it is expected to grow at a similar rate this year.



thediplomat.com The Indonesian Navy will re-establish an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aviation squadron, according to IHS Jane???s Defense Weekly. The article, based on a report published by Indonesia's state news agency 'Antara,' notes that this will be the first time since the 1970s that the Indonesian Navy will have a naval aviation unit dedicated solely to ASW.



pakistantoday.com.pk The international apathy and silence on the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh is deplorable. Can there be a more miserable and hapless situation of any segment of the inhabitants of Earth than the semi-nude Rohingya Muslims strolling aimlessly and desperately along the coasts while the world watches them with folded hands and in complete disregard of the disaster these people are exposed to?



madamnoire.com John Legend participated in a boycott launched in early 2014 when the owner of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Sultan of Brunei, passed Shari'a laws in his country, authorising the stoning of adulterers and gays. But sources say on May 30, Legend accepted a $300,000 gig to perform at the location, The Hollywood Reporter said.



bernama Laos plans to open 10 more hydropower plants in 2015 in order to meet the increasing demand for electricity in the Southeast Asian region, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.