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 Cambodia's State Secretariat for Civil Aviation (SSCA) will monitor planes from Thailand in the wake of the ban on new charter and regular flights to Japan, South Korea and China due to concerns over safety standards.



todayonline.com The surveillance and ramp inspections of Thai carriers' aircraft operations in Singapore have been stepped up, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in a news release.

huffingtonpost.com ''We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.'' (The Straits Times, April 20, 1987) Many ordinary people kissed Lee Kuan Yew's feet for that. Welcome to human history and to the downside of human nature.



theglobeandmail.com The wife of Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Indonesia over allegations of sexual abuse, says her husband is innocent and that the court's decision on Thursday is ''cruel, inhumane and heartless.''

time.com A Canadian teacher at a prestigious international school in Indonesia was found guilty of sexual assault following a four-month trial that ignited both accusations of judicial malfeasance and anti-Western sentiments in the Southeast Asian nation.



straitstimes.com Journalists in media houses around Malaysia turned up for work in black, in a show of solidarity with online portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI) over the recent arrests of its editors and publisher. National Union of Journalists secretary-general Schave Jerome De Rozario said he hoped the public would join in the silent protest.

ft.com Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak has come under attack from one of his predecessors, Mahathir Mohamad, who has argued that the incumbent does not have what it takes to secure victory in the next general election.

bloomberg Malaysia scrapped a plan to seek buyers for state investment company 1Malaysia Development Bhd.'s RM12 billion (S$4.44 billion) power business, reversing course just a week after saying it appointed a bank to field interest in the assets.

economist.com Severing a thief's hand is the work of seconds, but a campaign to introduce strict Islamic punishments in Kelantan, a state in northern Malaysia, has ground on for 50 years. It could now be reaching a climax.



dpa The number of foreign tourists coming to Vietnam dropped nearly 14 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, mainly due to a dramatic decline in tourists from Russia and China, a tourism official said.

nbcnews.com Once cries of ''Dog thieves! Come quick!'' rang over the moonlit rice fields, the intruders were as good as dead. No one wanted to miss out on a cathartic kick to the skull. Before long, the thieves were motionless and blood puddled beneath their heads. Not all Vietnamese embrace canine cuisine.



scmp.com Myanmar has accepted responsibility and apologised for bombs dropped on Chinese territory last month that killed five people, China's foreign ministry said.

Kyodo News The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp said they will set up branches in Myanmar later this month as the country's central bank has issued permission for foreign banks to begin operations.

mmtimes.com An officer from a maritime rescue coordination centre told Tass that at least 40 people from Myanmar were on board a trawler that sank in in the Sea of Okhotsk with severe loss of life.



bangkokpost.com Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong has ordered state agencies not to spend extravagantly when celebrating the New Year which takes place next week.