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1 Hu Jintao to visit Malaysia, Singapore, attend APEC summit People's Daily, 2 November 2009 Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay state visits to Malaysia and Singapore from Nov. 10 to 13 and attend an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit slated for Nov. 14 to 15 in Singapore, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. ASEAN, China, Japan and ROK ministers responsible for news and information convene People's Daily, 7 November 2009 Ministers in charge of news and information from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, China, Japan and Republic of Korea (ASEAN+3) met here on Friday to discuss cooperation and exchanges.this meeting, called First Conference of the ASEAN+3 Ministers Responsible for Information, is the first gathering of its kind among the ASEAN countries and their three dialogue partners. Obama to Meet With Prime Minister of Myanmar New York Times, 8 November 2009 MANILA President Obama plans to meet with the prime minister of Myanmar along with other Southeast Asian leaders next Sunday, in a high-level affirmation of the new policy by Washington of engaging the military-ruled country despite its dismal human rights record. The Philippines: Captive Is Beheaded New York Times, 9 November 2009 Muslim militants beheaded a school principal on a remote southern island in the Philippines after holding him for ransom for three weeks, a marine general said Monday. Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, commander of military forces in the western part of the Mindanao region, said the victim s head was found at a gas station on Jolo Island. Philippines.html?ref=asia "Adviser" Thaksin Arrives in Cambodia Deutsche Welle, 10 November 2009 Thailand s former premier Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Cambodia early on Tuesday to the huge annoyance of the country s bigger neighbour. Today we want to say welcome warmly welcome Excellency Thaksin in Cambodia." With those words Cambodian government spokesman Phay Siphan announced early Tuesday that Thailand s former premier Thaksin Shinawatra had landed in Phnom Penh at the express invitation of the Cambodian government.

2 Clinton vows Philippines support BBC, 12 November 2009 Hillary Clinton has pledged continued US support for the Philippines in the fight against southern Islamist rebels. In her first visit to the Philippines as US secretary of state, she also highlighted the US military's role in relief work after devastating typhoons. About 600 US troops are in the country providing training and intelligence for the Philippine army fighting the separatist rebels. Obama Embarks on First Asia Tour as President Deutsche Welle, 12 November 2009 US President Obama has left for his high-profile Asia tour. With important policy decisions on issues such as Afghanistan waiting, Barack Obama is taking a week out of his tight schedule to visit East and Southeast Asia. On Friday, he'll begin in Tokyo and continue his tour in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul. At the weekend, he'll also attend two summits with leaders from all over the region. Cambodia arrest boosts Thai row BBC, 13 November 2009 A man has been arrested in Cambodia for allegedly spying for Thailand as a major cross-border row intensifies. Siwarak Chothipong, 31, who works for the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was accused of seeking out the flight details of Thaksin Shinawatra. Concerns Rise Around Obama Trip Wall Street Journal, 16 November 2009 SHANGHAI -- President Barack Obama arrived here late Sunday to press China on issues from climate change to economic restructuring, amid rising concerns that his first swing through Asia as president will yield more disappointment than progress on trade, human rights, national security and environmental concerns. No breakthrough on disputed isles Asahi Shimbun, 16 November 2009 SINGAPORE--Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday struggled to break an impasse over the return of Russianheld islands off Hokkaido to Japan.In a meeting here, Medvedev said, "I sincerely hope that we make progress on the territorial issue during the Hatoyama administration." But the Russian leader did not make any concrete proposals.

3 UAE gets Thaksin's details The Straits Times, 17 November 2009 BANGKOK - THAILAND said on Monday it had passed information to the United Arab Emirates proving that Thaksin Shinawatra is living in Dubai, as Bangkok pushes to bring home the fugitive former premier. A Thai foreign ministry official met the Emirati envoy to Bangkok to discuss Mr Thaksin, who was toppled in a bloodless 2006 coup and lives in self-imposed exile to avoid a jail term for corruption. The move came days after Cambodia turned down a request from Thailand for the extradition of Mr Thaksin, who had visited the neighbouring country to take up a new role as an economic adviser. Electricity-hungry Vietnam looks to join nuclear club Channel News Asia, 17 November 2009 HANOI : Vietnam is expected to take a key step towards meeting its burgeoning appetite for electricity by paving the way for its first nuclear power plant, but debate is still raging over the controversial project. Myanmar stresses cooperation among ASEAN members plus three for sectoral development Xinhua, 18 November 2009 YANGON, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar official media stressed on Wednesday the need for cooperation among ASEAN members themselves and between the ASEAN nations and their three partners, believing that these cooperation will bring further development to agricultural and forest sectors of the region. Cambodian Khmer Rouge trial of Comrade Duch set to end BBC, 23 November 2009 The first trial at Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal is entering its final week, with lawyers giving closing arguments after months of testimony. Kaing Guek Euv, better known as Comrade Duch, ran a prison where thousands of people were tortured and murdered in the late 1970s. He is accused of crimes against humanity and faces a lifetime prison sentence if convicted. New York court lets Marcos case proceed Asia News Network, 23 November 2009 The New York State Supreme Court has junked various motions seeking to dismiss a petition of human rights abuse victims under the Marcos dictatorship to recover the US$35-million Arelma account deposited in Merrill Lynch.

4 Koirala denies new govt deal Kathmandu post, 23 November 2009 Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala on Sunday gave a new twist to the much-hyped meeting with UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Singapore last week.koirala, who returned home on a regular flight after a weeklong treatment at Gleneagles hospital in the city-state, dismissed rumours that there was a clandestine pact between him and Dahal to unseat the government.there was no such discussion with Dahal in Singapore, Koirala told Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, who had visited him at his private residence. Death toll rises to 46 for Philippines killings BBC, 24 November 2009 At least 46 people are now known to have died in a mass political killing the Philippines, after more bodies were discovered in a shallow grave. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has declared a state of emergency in two provinces on the island of Mindanao to allow police to search for the gunmen. Call for 40-year term for ex-khmer Rouge prison chief BBC, 25 November 2009 Former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav should be jailed for 40 years, a prosecutor has told Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court. Kaing, known as Comrade Duch, has admitted responsibility and apologised for overseeing the deaths of 15,000 people at Tuol Sleng prison. Aroyo's ally top suspect The Straits Times, 25 November 2009 MANILA - PHILIPPINE police on Wednesday named a political ally of President Gloria Arroyo as the prime suspect in an election-linked massacre of 46 people. 'According to the initial reports, those who were abducted and murdered at Saniag were initially stopped by a group led by the mayor of Datu Unsay,' national police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said. Thailand invokes security act for Thaksin protests Channel News Asia, 25 November 2009 BANGKOK - Thailand's government agreed Tuesday to impose a harsh security law across the whole of Bangkok for the first time, ahead of fresh protests by supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The Internal Security Act allows the government to deploy troops, ban gatherings and impose curfews to control the so-called "Red Shirt" movement and will be in force across the capital from Saturday until December 14.

5 Cambodia cancels $57m loan The Straits Times, 27 November 2009 PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA informed Thailand on Friday it was canceling a US$41.2 million (S$57 million) loan from Bangkok meant to finance the upgrade of a highway from the Thai border. Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said his country didn't need the loan and could afford to build the road on its own. Allies of political clan linked to Philippine massacre rally Channel News Asia, 30 November 2009 COTABATO, Philippines : Allies of a political clan linked to the massacre of at least 57 people last week rallied to their defence in the southern Philippines on Sunday. About a dozen mayors and other local officials from three provinces - all allies of the Ampatuan family - met with regional governor Zaldy Ampatuan in his mansion while about 900 people, many of them children, rallied outside. Abhisit extends olive branch to opposition Asia News Network, 30 November 2009 Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva urged Sunday (November 29) all parties, especially the opposition, to strive to solidify politics through the charter amendments, which will also pave the way for the next general election. "Without the opposition's involvement in rewriting the Constitution, political problems will persist because some people will still question the election outcome," he said.