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.



yorkshirestandard.co.uk Protesters plan on gathering outside Dewsbury Town Hall in Yorkshire on Sunday to demand an end to persecution inflicted upon the Rohingya people: ''Local MPs should take this issue to Parliament and we want to make people aware, use social media and spread the word as the mainstream media isn't doing anything.'' Last week, a similar protest was held in Bradford.



straitstimes.com Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) has apologised to a male passenger who was forced to borrow long black pants and shoes to wear because his knee-length pink shorts and sandals was deemed inappropriate at Kuala Lumpur International Airport's baggage services' Lost and Found area.

bbc.com A company in Malaysia has created full-length trousers for women to wear when they are in labor. The trousers are aimed at Muslim women who are concerned about exposing parts of the body which are meant to be kept covered according to some interpretations of Islam, known as ''aurat,'' the Malay Mail website reports.

channelnewsasia.com Malaysia will hold a national memorial service for the 298 people who perished in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragedy, said Malaysian Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai. The memorial will be held at 10am on July 11, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.



adweek.com The most low-tech product imaginable, a simple lump of iron, won the Grand Prix in the Product Design Lions contest here tonight. But while it looks unassuming, this fish made tens of thousands of Cambodians healthier.
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/little-fish-shaped-lump-iron-just-won-product-design-grand-prix-cannes-165551

voanews.com A United Nations report found that 10 percent of Cambodian children between the ages of seven and 14 are working. That is one of the highest rates in Southeast Asia. The report said one in four Cambodians aged seven to 14 are forced to drop out of school to help their families.



thestar.com The 82-year-old mother of a Burlington man jailed in Indonesia has spoken out strongly against Prime Minister Stephen Harper, chiding him for being ''stubbornly silent.'' In an open letter, Corrine Bantleman demanded answers on what she says is the government's muted response to the incarceration of her son Neil Bantleman, who has begun serving a 10-year sentence for allegedly raping three boys.



bloomberg Vietnam will eliminate limits on foreign ownership in many listed companies, a step likely to spur investment inflows and reduce market volatility. Overseas investors will be allowed to increase holdings of voting shares in a number of industries to 100 percent from 49 percent currently, according to a statement on the government's website.



reuters Changing position on China's claims over the South China Sea would shame its ancestors, while not facing up to infringements of Chinese sovereignty there would shame its children, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. China has become increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, building artificial islands in areas over which the Philippines and other countries have rival claims.



brisbanetimes.com.au The Laotians call it Mae Nam Khong, the Mother of Water. The Vietnamese refer to it as Song Cuu Long, or the Nine Dragons River. China has built six giant dams hundreds of kilometres upstream, conservationists say. Fourteen more are planned in China within the next decade as well as the 11 mainstream Mekong Basin dams in Laos and Cambodia. Fish catches could drop by as much as 42 percent, a study warns.



Brunei will be marking Friday's global International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking after the Hari Raya celebrations this year, according to the official of the Narcotics Control Bureau



skynews.com.au Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will be promoting the potential of Australia's ''great north'' in Singapore. Mr Abbott will meet Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong over an Aussie-style barbecue on Sunday, part of a series of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Singapore's independence.