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.



stratstimes.com Several Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flights to and from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) were diverted and rescheduled due to severe weather conditions. The national carrier said in a statement that it was closely monitoring the situation and would adjust its flight operations into and out of KLIA.

freemalaysiatoday.com A recent editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald suggests that the Federal Court decision in Anwar's Sodomy II case appears to have put a ''stain'' on Malaysia's reputation. It suggests that Anwar's case has seen Malaysia ''again resort to dubious laws to eliminate political challenges.''



irrawaddy.org 'A Guerrilla War is Still Taking Place in Laukkai': More than 30,000 refugees have fled to China. In Burma, thousands of people are taking shelter at the home of their relatives, monasteries, schools and relief camps. I don't know the exact number, but there are thousands of refugees at present.



bloomberg Singapore took another step toward Western welfare systems and further from low-tax models like Hong Kong. With the first increase in its top income tax rate in decades, the Southeast Asian city's budget revealed policy makers' latest step to address a widening wealth gap. While the richest 5 percent face higher levies, beneficiaries will include senior citizens, who are poised to get bigger payouts.



AP A Philippine court entered a not guilty plea for a US Marine charged with murdering a transgender Filipino, allegedly after he discovered her gender when they checked into a hotel. Dozens of left-wing protesters waved red flags outside the courthouse, demanding justice and an end to the US military presence in the former American colony.



independent.co.uk A Brazilian man who was executed by firing squad in Indonesia last month was dragged screaming and crying from his cell and refused access to a priest for his last rites, it has been claimed. In the latest damaging revelation for diplomacy between the two countries, the man who was supposed to provide comfort to Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira was barred from doing so at the last minute.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/catholic-brazilian-man-executed-by-firing-squad-in-indonesia-dragged-crying-from-cell-and-refused-his-last-rites-10062630.html



wsj.com Access to Google's Vietnam website was disrupted briefly, the company said, with some users redirected to a website appearing to sell a service used for cyberattacks.



afp A Spanish environmental activist was arrested in Cambodia and will shortly be deported, officials said, a move described by a rights group as the government's latest attempt to stifle dissent. Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, co-founder of the outspoken advocacy group Mother Nature, has led a campaign against plans for a dam in a protected forest area in the southwestern province of Koh Kong.



phnompenhpost.com Conservation groups have called on Cambodian PM Hun Sen to address ''the elephant in the room'' and lobby Laos's president to postpone his country's controversial Don Sahong dam project when the leaders meet later this week.