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 Thailand said it will send public officials and international activists to China to check the treatment of more than 100 ethnic Uighurs sent back this week following international condemnations.



qz.com Any decision to upgrade Malaysia in the coming Trafficking in Persons Report is purely political and incredibly detrimental to combating human trafficking in that country. An upgrade lacks all credibility and fails the basic laugh test.



huffingtonpost.co.uk The UN expert on Human Rights in Burma has even warned that the treatment of the Rohingya could amount to crimes against humanity. Is it any wonder that thousands have put their lives in the hands of people traffickers, trying to seek a better life in another country?

thedrinksbusiness.com Dutch brewer Heineken is to open a new operation in Burma this weekend after a 20-year absence - a move that will bring it head to head with Carlsberg.



channelnews.asia.com McDonald's Singapore has rolled out self-service kiosks at several of its outlets, seeking to trim queues at counters and to improve the customer experience. More F&B outlets are switching to e-menus, and self-ordering and payment kiosks, to meet rising labour costs and a growing manpower crunch.



wired.com The ongoing volcanic eruption in Indonesia is beginning to become a travel headache across the region surrounding the volcano. Ash from the explosions have now caused multiple airports across Indonesia to close, including in some of the popular tourist area of Bali.

ft.com Authorities in Indonesia are investigating two former pilots thought to have been radicalised by supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as Isis.

nationalinterest.org he Jakarta Post reported that Indonesian officials are preparing a plan to build a new military base somewhere in the South China Sea, which has seen an uptick in tensions over competing sovereignty claims.



AP More than 1000 children have fallen ill in the Philippines after eating fruit-flavored sweets sold during school breaks. An official said no deaths had been recorded, but at least 1080 pupils in the southern province of Surigao del Sur received emergency treatment after vomiting and complaining of nausea, dizziness, stomach pain and headaches.



xinhua Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong left for a three-day visit to Thailand to further enhance ties and cooperation between the two neighboring nations.



themonitor.com Few nations have changed the course of their relationship as profoundly in as little time as Vietnam and the United States have. This week's official U.S. visit of Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, marks yet another milestone in the relations between our countries.



accringtonobserver.co.uk A volunteer from Britain working in Laos died after his mosquito bites became infected, an inquest has heard. David Murray, 39, passed away in Laos on June 7 after becoming infected with typhus and dengue fever.



xinhua Powerful squally showers hit Brunei Friday afternoon following an ''Orange'' level public weather warning issued by the Brunei Meteorological Department early in the morning.