Joseph Masilamany

A protest by hundreds of Muslims ended without any harm done. The Muslims were convinced that a group of Muslims was being baptized. The police and Religious Affairs Department have announced they will investigate the matter.

The Christian Federation of Malaysia is calling on the authorities to uphold everyone's right to privacy. Last month Religious Affairs officials stormed an apartment whose occupants, an elderly married couple from overseas, were guilty only of sleeping together.

The director of Malaysia's Centre for Independent Journalism speaks about this year's government restrictions on papers, books and the art scene.

The government's silence on what is in the imminent Free Trade Agreement with the United States is fuelling protest by opposition parties, NGOs and civil society groups, who want to know more. Many fear that domestic producers might not survive competition from US agricultural products.

At the close of the second inter-faith congress, religious leaders pledged to promote shared values in their communities, rather than those that divide different faiths.

The last day of discussion of the second Congress of Leaders of World Religions is unfolding in the Kazak capital. The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew urged one and all to teach respect and reconciliation in all places of worship.

Cardinal Etchegaray, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the Muslim World League General Secretary are among the participants. Inter-faith dialogue and the promotion of religious freedom around the world are among the topics on the agenda.