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.



bangkokpost.com Transport planners are looking into a new rail route linking Trang with Satun and Phuket provinces as part of efforts to boost tourism to the South. A separate feasibility study is also underway for a proposed ''romantic route'' linking Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi and Trang by road, which targets key popular destinations for couples.



news24.com Malaysia's maritime and aviation departments on Sunday issued warnings over poor visibility caused by the worsening haze in the capital and elsewhere. At least two international flights were diverted during the past two days due to poor visibility, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said.

cnbc.com Faced with what they see as stonewalling at home, opponents of Prime Minister Najib Razak, some from within his own party, are going global, prodding foreign governments and agencies to investigate allegations of graft and money laundering they say are related to the case.



washingtonpost.com In lush northeastern Cambodia, the $800 million Lower Sesan 2 Dam stands as a potent symbol of China's growing reach, and Beijing's ambitious plans to expand its influence throughout Asia by building vital infrastructure. Nearly 5000 people are likely to be evicted from their villages when the dam's reservoir fills, and almost 40,000 living along the banks of the Sesan and Srepok rivers stand to lose most of the fish they rely on for food.



theguardian.com Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Primark, New Look and Topshop have joined international players including H&M, C&A, Aldi and Gap in buying from Burma, also known as Myanmar, where labor costs are ranked the second-lowest in the world. Only Djibouti, in the horn of Africa, is cheaper, according to the risk analysts Verisk Maplecroft.



wsj.com The decisive mandate that Singaporeans handed to their long-ruling party last week reinforced the tiny country's status as a bastion of stability for foreign investment in a region grappling with growing instability.

bbc.com A cloud of smog hanging over Singapore is being monitored by organisers of next weekend's grand prix. At this time of year the city-state is shrouded by a haze caused by farmers in neighbouring Indonesia burning forests to clear land for agriculture.



abc.net.au Indonesian authorities have revealed they have linked an Australian man to $500,000 they suspect has been used to support terrorism and send Indonesian nationals to Syria to fight with Islamic State. The Australian man is married to an Indonesian woman who the ABC understands is from Java but is now living in Australia.



dailymail.co.uk A pensioner who returned from the Philippines to face justice in Britain has appeared in court charged with a string of sex offences involving boys. Douglas Slade, 74, flew into Heathrow Airport from the Philippines and was immediately arrested.



kyodo news Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has called for enhanced bilateral cooperation in such areas as defence and security. In response to questions earlier submitted by Kyodo News, Trong also thanked Japan for being Vietnam's biggest aid benefactor and sought its continued help, particularly in developing his country's infrastructure as it strives to turn itself into a modern industrial nation.