South East Asia

The National League for Democracy documents the serious irregularities in the voting on May 10: voters found their ballots already marked "yes", and others were threatened. Aid is still slow to arrive for the victims of Nargis. International aid workers warn of an "unimaginable" health disaster.

He was condemned to death in 2003, for the 2002 bombing that killed 202 people. After many delays, the execution has been scheduled to take place in a small town in central Java. But it could be delayed again following the announcement of a new appeal.

The junta suspends aid to 1.5 million survivors in need of food and shelter, in order to send the army to the polls. Meanwhile, it is confiscating material from all over the country with the excuse of collecting aid. The protests of the Burmese exiles in Japan, Malaysia, Thailand.

Davao’s Assumption College launches programme that includes the history of indigenous peoples and audio-visual material about the guerrilla. For the college president only peace education can change the situation in Mindanao, the predominantly Muslim island torn by 40 years of insurgency.

The first cases of cholera and an alarm over deaths from hunger. But in the area of Yangon, the officials of the regime are permitting aid for the victims of the cyclone only in exchange for a favourable vote on tomorrow's referendum on the new constitution. The regime clarifies: yes to aid from abroad, but no to aid workers.

Members of Burma’s 1990 parliament-elect make an appeal. Their original election victory was never recognised by the ruling junta. They tell world governments it is time to speak up because for their people even moral support is important.

In Penang state an Islamic tribunal emits a rare sentence accepting the request of a woman to leave Islam. In recent years, Islamic judge’s closure on conversion cases has provoked strong political and social tensions.

The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions launches a campaign to collect funds for the emergency in the south of the country. The number of victims continues to rise, together with the alarm over sanitary conditions, but the junta says the situation is "returning to normal". Tonnes of food aid from the UN are at the border, waiting for permission to enter from the military regime. The people are beginning to sell family heirlooms on the black market in order to eat.

The archbishop of Yangon, a city devastated by the cyclone, reports that he will use diocesan funds to buy and distribute food, medicine, and tents among the survivors. A special committee has been created to provide essential aid to 60,000 families. Help also from the Churches of India and Thailand.

According to Save the Children, "millions" are homeless, while the decomposing bodies increase the risk of serious disease. Many areas are still isolated and lack food and water. The rice paddies of the Irrawaddy have been damaged, and food prices are sky high; three days from the constitutional referendum, the frustration of the population could reignite protests against the regime.

Benedict XVI wanted beside him Karekin II, who is paying a visit to the Holy See. An exchange of greetings highlights hope in the journey toward full unity. This evening, the concert of the philharmonic orchestra of Beijing. The Chinese embassy relates the event to the Olympics and to an "improvement" in relations with the Vatican. A new appeal for solidarity toward Myanmar.

According to the state TV the death toll exceeds 15 thousand, with a further 30 thousand missing. The scale of the disaster force the generals out of isolation. Aid arrives from ASEAN neighbours as well as the EU and USA, the latter specifying: we will check that the funds are spent correctly.