PHUKETWAN recognises the importance of Asean with the Economic Community approaching and marks what's happening around the region with a column, Asean Today, that will cease when Phuketwan closes on December 31.



aap A key witness to the kidnapping and murder of a former Australian Hells Angels member in eastern Thailand has reportedly fled to Dubai. Amad Jay Malkoun, wanted for further questioning, claimed he slept through the violent kidnapping of Wayne Rodney Schneider at a Pattaya villa he was sharing with the Australian. Schneider's naked body was later recovered from a sandy grave.



reuters Malaysian anti-corruption officials questioned Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday in an investigation into deposits of funds totalling 2.6bn ringgit ($615.5m) into his bank accounts that have prompted calls for his resignation.



phnompenhpost.com If Cambodia decides to pursue nuclear energy, its neighbors in the region will have to seriously consider whether they would also want to pursue nuclear power. They would also have to ponder the implications of Cambodia operating nuclear reactors, especially the trans-boundary impact of any nuclear accident in Cambodia.



mongabay.com The only captive group of endangered grizzled leaf monkeys outside of Indonesia has been returned to the wild. The Aspinall Foundation announced that the monkeys had been moved from the Howletts Wild Animal Park in Britain to the Java Primate Project in Indonesia, a journey of over 7000 miles.



philstar.com Nissan Philippines Inc. president and managing director Antonio Zara said the Philippines should focus on van production to follow the path of Thailand which has become one of the world's biggest markets for pickup trucks to date.



straitstimes.com Alleged football match-fixing kingpin Dan Tan Seet Eng is being detained without trial under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act (CLTPA) for the second time. A statement issued by the Home Affairs Ministry (MHA) revealed that Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam, with the consent of the Public Prosecutor, issued a Detention Order against the 51-year-old for his involvement in global match-fixing.



AP The US is preparing to amend sanctions on Myanmar after banks complained they can't finance trade that goes through the nation's main port terminal because it is run by a blacklisted business tycoon. State Department officials have been sounding out Congress about remedial policies, which an administration official said could take effect as early as next week.



thanhniennews.com Police in southern Vietnam have arrested two of the five Chinese suspects who allegedly cheated a local gold shop out of VND10 billion (US$445,000) with 58 ounces of fake gold. Officers in Tay Ninh Province said they caught Ye TianJin, 31, and Ye Guorong, 48, when they were trying to flee to Cambodia.



adelaidenow.com.au The suspect in the murder of Adelaide woman Anthea Bradshaw-Hall in Brunei in 1994 has launched court action to obtain the entire police investigation file into her death. In an unprecedented move, the man wants the District Court to give him access to the entire Major Crime Investigation Branch and Brunei police case files so he can ascertain what evidence detectives have implicating him in Anthea???s murder.