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.



thanhniennews.com Vietnamese can start working in Thailand in the next few months under a new labor pact being discussed by the two countries, which have struggled to find a good solution for illegal workers. Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Vietnam's deputy labor minister, said officials are discussing related matters including labor protection and wages.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/vietnam-plans-to-officially-send-workers-to-thailand-this-year-39512.html

nltimes.nl Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb visits Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Bangkok, Thailand from March 8-13. Aboutaleb is scheduled to share advice on floods and climate handling in Ho Chi Minh City, speak about crisis management in Bangkok while visiting the port authorities of both, the city of Rotterdam revealed.



thediplomat.com Singapore is defending last week's court decision calling for two German men to be caned, rejecting criticism that the punishment constitutes torture. The men were convicted of vandalising a public train carriage and repeatedly trespassing into a high-security depot.



newsday.com One year later, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is still Malaysia's biggest story, dominating front pages when even the smallest new details emerge. That's with good reason. The missing flight, and the Malaysian government's controversial early responses to it, have had a staggering impact on the country.

freemalaysiatoday.com A human rights campaigner says she is being ''intimidated'' after newspaper claims the Malaysian government had approached Interpol to track her down. Doris Jones has lived in Northampton for 20 years, but is campaigning for the independence of East Malaysia.



huffingtonpost.com Thein Sein's record is inconsistent at best. He allowed a human rights movie festival in Rangoon - but Rohingya Muslims were herded into detention camps. He spoke out against religious hatred - then supported the ultra-nationalist monkWirathu, who has inflamed prejudice against Muslims. He criticised corruption - but contracts still go to cronies of generals and ministers.



ft.com Australia's foreign minister has warned of diplomatic consequences should two of its citizens convicted of drugs offences be executed in Indonesia, amid growing anger over the treatment of the men on death row.

dpa Five people are dead and 12 injured after a hangar under construction at an international airport in Indonesia's South Sulawesi province collapsed, according to an official.



bangkokpost.com Central Group Chief executive Tos Chirathivat says the company will continue to branch out in border provinces this year and next. It will launch marketing campaigns aimed at luring customers from Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia to its stores. Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are the three countries drawing the largest investments from Thai retailers.



therakyatpost.com The Terengganu government recently imposed a ban on unmarried couples riding motorcycles together. For those who skip obligatory Friday prayers, they would also be paraded around town in hearses as a form of punishment. The rules in Brunei are even more strict.



bbc.com The Philippines has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia - but there aren't enough jobs to go around. So every year the government teaches thousands of people the skills they need to get jobs abroad.



rfa.org Prime Minister Hun Sen has called on the ministries of justice and the interior to come up with a long-term solution to female inmates in Cambodian prisons who are pregnant or have children living with them behind bars, as police stopped women and other land activists in the capital from demanding the release of 11 jailed female land rights activists.