MANILA (Philippines) - SOUTH-EAST Asian countries are concerned the global economic meltdown may lead to a drop in agricultural investment, sparking massive layoffs that could further hurt the poor's already tenuous access to food, diplomats said on Tuesday.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has to study other potential food security-related problems that could be triggered by the financial turbulence so the region can deal with them effectively, said ASEAN official Somsak Pippopinyo.

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia) - MALAYSIA on Tuesday refused to rule out granting political asylum to ousted and convicted former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but said he is free to transit through the country.

Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said Thaksin - who is a wanted man in Thailand - has not approached Malaysian authorities to seek permission to come to Malaysia. But the government will have no problem if he wants to transit through Malaysia, Dr Rais told reporters.

YANGON - TWENTY-THREE pro-democracy activists arrested during anti-junta demonstrations in Myanmar last year were sentenced to 65 years each in jail by a special court on Tuesday, a family member said.

The activists, including several women, were sentenced during a closed-door hearing at the notorious Insein prison on the northern outskirts of the military-ruled country's commercial hub of Yangon.