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 Thailand has deported two veteran Chinese dissidents and registered refugees back to China, angering rights groups and the UN. Jiang Yefei and Dong Guangping were arrested by Thai authorities on October 28 for not having valid visas. The world body's refugee agency, UNHCR, did not name the activists or their nationalities but said it was ''deeply concerned over the refoulement of two recognised refugees from Thailand''.



wsj.com President Barack Obama arrived in the Philippines aiming to highlight his goal of strengthening relationships with Asian allies, but his agenda has been clouded by global attention on the Paris terrorist attacks and the question of how to combat the Islamic State extremist group.



channelnewsasia.com Malaysia's Home Ministry said the Interpol unit of the Royal Malaysia Police is unable to trace and track the whereabouts of key individuals linked to a controversial state investment fund - some of whom were wanted by Malaysia's central bank and Malaysia's Anti Corruption Commission (MACC).



afp A newlywed Indonesian couple have been arrested over claims they dined on the genitals of the woman's suspected rapist after her husband allegedly murdered him and cut off his private parts, police said.



un.org For the second time in three weeks the United Nations has expressed concern over increasing tensions between Cambodia's Government and opposition, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon calling the arrest warrant issued against opposition leader Sam Rainsy ''worrisome.''



brisbanetimes.com.au Whatever we do, we should commit to Myanmar leading its own development, making its own decisions and its own mistakes. Partnering respectfully in this way builds enduring links with considerable, long-foreign policy benefits.



cnbc.com Hong Kong's social unrest may be prompting globe-trotting millionaires to locate to Singapore instead, according to a wealth-tracking report. The two cities are locked in a struggle for supremacy as Asia-Pacific financial hubs, attracting financial professionals and investors away from London and New York.



boingboing.net 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War' is a new book by veteran Doug Bradley and Craig Werner, professor of Afro-American studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about soldiers' musical memories and the impact of James Brown, Eric Burdon, Country Joe McDonald, and other popular artists on the Vietnam experience and our understanding of it.



ttrweekly.com Laos' Forestry Area Conservation Ecological Tourism will open tourist attractions in a forest park, early next year, in Oudomxay province following five years of preparation and development. Nam Kat Yalo Pa is located in the Nam Kat basin area in the Phou Hiphi National Conservation Forest in Meuang Xay, Oudomxay province.