PHNOM PENH - AN ENVIRONMENTAL watchdog group praised Cambodia on Wednesday for banning the export of sand, the dredging of which the group says degrades coastlines and depletes fish populations.
MANILA - THE Philippine government urged to lawmakers on Wednesday to consider four new tax measures, including additional levies on beer and tobacco, despite their reluctance to approve so-called 'sin taxes' with elections just a year away.
BANGKOK - THAILAND will try to reconvene a summit of Asian leaders in October, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Wednesday, the latest postponement of a meeting disrupted by violent protests last month.
Thailand planned to host the East Asia Summit on the tourist island of Phuket on June 13-14, two months after protesters forced the cancellation of the meeting near Bangkok.
KUALA LUMPUR - AT LEAST six Indonesians drowned when a boat carrying up to 30 illegal immigrants capsized in Malaysian waters, an official said on Wednesday.
Naval search teams found the bodies of four adult women and two children who were believed to be travelling home to Indonesia's Batam island, about 45 minutes by boat from southern Malaysia, said marine police inspector Mohamad Mashari Sathi.
