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.



asiaone.com The government has accelerated efforts to tackle illegal fishing and human-trafficking problems, with November 15 set as the deadline to meet crucial international requirements.



wsj.com A former member of Malaysia's ruling party was arrested, preventing him from traveling to New York where he planned to urge US authorities to investigate money transfers into Prime Minister Najib Razak's alleged personal accounts. Police arrested Khairuddin Abu Hassan on charges of attempting to undermine democracy and he remained in custody, his lawyer said.

thestar.com.my The rabies infections in the north likely came from neighboring Thailand since the infections are concentrated in Perlis, Kedah and Penang: ''We were free from rabies but the disease still occurs in a neighboring country.'' Twenty-seven people were bitten by dogs in Perlis; eight in Kedah; and six in Penang. All have been treated and discharged from hospital.

A new red-yellow divide is emerging, but this time it's not in Thailand but in Malaysia and there is a danger of a destructive conflict along racial lines. Former Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya warned that rallies based on racial identity would only lead Malaysia down the path of war-torn countries such as Syria and Iraq.

Indonesia

thejakartapost.com Indonesia will soon share with Singapore the names of companies responsible for the illegal forest fires that caused the haze, so that they can be punished, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).The news came after Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam called his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi earlier to express his deep concern over the ongoing haze crisis.

Singapore

asiaone.com Air quality in Singapore hovered at unhealthy levels on Saturday, with the 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) standing at 121-145 as of 12pm, up from 119-143 at 11am. Malaysia has evacuated 221 of its citizens from Indonesia as the haze looks set to linger in the region.

Laos

indianexpress.com India wants to develop ''comprehensive'' ties with Asean nations but will not get involved in any of their territorial or maritime disputes, Vice President Hamid Ansari has said. He was on his way back from a four day tour of Cambodia and Laos.

Cambodia

xinhua Cambodia's Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday convicted eight Nigerian men of drug trafficking and sentenced each of them to 10 years in prison, according to a verdict announced by Judge Top Chhun Heng. The convicts, aged between 23 and 59 years old, were arrested in Phnom Penh in October last year with about 0.64 kg of crystal methamphetamine.

Burma

muslimnews.co.uk A Myanmar Muslim man faces up to seven years in prison on being the first to be charged under a set of religious laws passed recently after a campaign by ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks, local media reported. Myint Soe Aung, from the southern Ayeyarwaddy division, has been charged under the new monogamy law because he was caught living with a Buddhist woman while still married to someone else.

Philippines

abc.net.au An eleven-year-old girl has died and 32 others have been injured in a passenger bus explosion in the southern Philippines city of Zamboanga. Philippines police said the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the blast. Police believe the group was attempting to extort money from the bus company which may have rejected the terrorist group's blackmail attempt.