South East Asia

In the first quarter of 2011, 13 per cent of all cyber attacks in the world came from the country formerly known as Burma, ahead of the United States, Taiwan and China; in 2010, it did not even make the top ten list. Only 2 per cent of the population has access to a heavily censored internet. Egypt and Libya lead the world in most internet outages.

Activists and environmentalists blame infrastructural and natural resource development. The latter enriches the country’s leadership at the expense of the people. In Karen State, thousands of families are homeless because of a road. Mytisone (Kachin) dam will cause serious damages; the Chinese company that is building it wants seven more.

The official announcement issued today follows the visit by the Prime Minister Najib bin Abdul Razak on July 18. Catholics are about 3% of the population in this country.

The Saint Peter Jesuit Seminary in Mertoyudan (Central Java) organises a conference for the benefit of seminarians. Muslim and Catholic leaders note the growth of religious sectarianism and confessional hatreds in the country, which can only be stopped by mutual understanding and respect.

In a country where development is uneven, based on material success, a moral vacuum, and corruption and crime, Catholic social groups play a fundamental role. Here are some thoughts about their work and importance.

The priest, one of the founders of a movement for democracy that calls for an end to single party rule, is serving a sentence of 8 years in prison. He was released last year for serious health condition.

The opposition leader and the Labour minister meet for more than an hour. Few details are release about what they discussed, but the focus remains the rule of law. More meetings are expected in the future. The UN’s Ban Ki-moon is encouraging the dialogue and has renewed his appeal for the release of the country’s 2,000 political prisoners.

Asian nations believe Washington will overcome the current impasse between President Obama and Congress, but are still afraid that US debt will be downgraded. US treasury bills have always been safe investments for Asia. European shares are down as well.

After a two-year deadlock, US Secretary of State Clinton invites North Korea’s deputy foreign minister to New York for talks on restarting stalled denuclearisation talks. However, “we do not intend to reward the North just for returning to the table” or “give them anything new for actions they have agreed to take,” she said. A ruined Communist regime must accept.

In his State of the Nation address, the president highlighted the good results of his administration’s fight against corruption. He also stressed his willingness to defend islands in the South China Sea against Chinese claims. He did not however touch hot issues like employment and agriculture. Sources that spoke to AsiaNews say he is a vassal to big agro- and industrial business interests and international organisations. Thousands take to the streets in Quezon City to protest against his policies.

Affiliated with Jamaah Ashrut Tauhid, Abrory M. Ali was using the school to make bombs for attacks against the local police. The authorities suspect a nation-wide terrorist plan. On 12 July, an explosion at the school killed one student. For the authorities, he was preparing a bomb.

Prominent Muslim religious figure intimates that the use of the word "Allah" for God has to stop because it can arouse the wrath of the Islamic community. The attack comes only days after Pope Benedict XVI received the Malaysian Premier to establish diplomatic relations with the Holy See.