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.



theguardian.com Singapore's defense minister has warned that Islamic State fighters pose a ''clear and present danger'' to south-east Asia as they return from Syria and Iraq with a mission to establish a caliphate: ''They have sympathizers; they have foreign fighters who are trained, who have the motivation, the means, and who have a common vision.''



smh.com.au Former Neighbors actress Eliza Szonert, 41, and her estranged musician partner have become embroiled in a row over their child and a passport in Malaysia in an incident requiring the involvement of Australian consular officials. Kay Szonert said her daughter had sought help from the Australian embassy to get her son back and also retrieve her passport.



abc.net.au It is not known how many Australian pedophiles are infiltrating South East Asia on any given day, but it is known that Indonesia is their number one travel destination. The AFP and Indonesian officials have this year stopped 120 convicted Australian child sex offenders entering the country.

reuters An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck 174km southeast of Indonesia's eastern island of Ambon on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.



latimes.com The UNESCO World Heritage site at Angkor Wat is banning selfies with monks and visitors who dress immodestly, such as baring their shoulders and wearing skirts or shorts that fall above the knee. It's an attempt to deal with bad behavior by travelers, which reached a crescendo in 2014 when several were arrested for posing naked.



bloomberg.com Thailand is recruiting airline inspectors to address the most pressing issues highlighted in a safety downgrade of its aviation industry by the international watchdog, as it awaits a European assessment due Thursday.



philstar.com Presidential aspirant Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he killed 1700 people, in response to an international human rights group report. The mayor has long been tagged in the alleged Davao Death Squad, a vigilante group that carried out summary executions in the city.



mmtimes.com According to the International Organisation for Migration, Myanmar has repatriated more than 600 fishermen so far, who had facing brutal, slave-like conditions mainly on Thai vessels. Thousands more are believed to still be on the remote Indonesian islands. Over 100 fishermen at the embassy in Jakarta are still awaiting repatriation.



adelaidenow.com.au The husband of Adelaide woman Anthea Bradshaw-Hall, who was murdered in Brunei in 1994, has been named in an Adelaide court as a suspect in her death. The revelation was made in the District Court as part of an application made by lawyers acting for Jeffrey Hall to obtain access to the entire SA police and Brunei police investigation files into her death.



travelpulse.com During the first half of 2015, Vietnam's travel industry was in the midst of a slump. In June, after the 13th month of the slump, Vietnam enacted some changes that now seem to have paid off. The National Administration of Tourism has just announced a huge November. With more than 730,000 international arrivals, the country had 20 percent more visitors last month than they did in November of 2014.



bignewsnetwork.com December 12, 2015 marks 40 years since the communist Pathet Lao took control of the country, a former French colony and six-century-old monarchy, and set up a socialist regime closely aligned to neighboring Vietnam.