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 North Korea has requested a formal partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a top Malaysian Foreign Ministry official said.



bloomberg Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of jailed Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, will contest a by-election for the parliamentary seat he was forced to vacate after being imprisoned.

thestar.com.my The restructuring of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will probably leave the airline to be a shell of its former self. Routes and jobs are being cut, and its pilots are looking to hop to other airlines as uncertainties loom.



reuters Indonesia has informed two Australians, one Nigerian and four other death-row drug convicts that they will be executed in a matter of days, possibly as soon as Tuesday.

nytimes.com In what is believed will be the largest such execution in Indonesia in decades, firing squads could start the job as early as 12:01am on Wednesday.



reuters The United States has asked for access to Philippine military bases in eight locations to rotate troops, aircraft, and ships as Washington shifts its forces to Asia and as China expands its military presence in the South China Sea.



nationalreview.com We supported the Republic of China's fight against the People's Republic of China, we supported the Republic of Korea's fight against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and we supported the Republic of Vietnam against the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. That is, Taiwan against Red China, South Korea against North Korea, and South Vietnam against North Vietnam. Two of those three republics are now among the most highly developed, most prosperous, and freest countries in the world.



afp Rampant illegal logging and timber smuggling have devastated Cambodia's forests, dealing a blow to many wildlife species -including butterflies. The WWF estimates that Cambodia has lost around a quarter of its forests since 1973.



AP The United Nations secretary-general is warning Burma that stability in its most sensitive region can't be achieved unless it addresses the issue of citizenship for minority Rohingya Muslims. Ban Ki-moon told a Burma delegation Friday that the UN has seen ''already troubling signs of ethnic and religious differences being exploited'' as elections approach later this year.



un.org In a message to mark World Malaria Day, the United Nations Secretary-General said that better access to insecticide-treated bed nets and greater availability of accurate diagnostics and effective treatment were the main reasons why the UN health agency reported in 2014 that the rate at which people are dying from malaria had halved since the turn of the century.



straitstimes.com The Singapore Civil Defence Force is preparing to send a 55-man search-and-rescue contingent to Nepal in the wake of Saturday's earthquake. The police are also preparing to send a contingent of officers to help with disaster-relief efforts, including officers from its Gurkha Contingent.