All Security Watch
How Myanmar's Buddhist-Muslim conflict has reached into IndonesiaIn Indonesia, a brawl between Muslim and Buddhist detainees from Myanmar left eight dead today. Both sides are caught in a painful cycle of events.
A gold rush in Indonesia you've never heard ofBuru Island, once used by Soeharto's New Order regime to house political prisoners, has been swept with gold fever.
Diplomatic fail whale? US embassy, Muslim Brotherhood clash over @TheDailyShowA less-than-diplomatic tweet from the US embassy in Cairo did not go over well in Egypt. Worse, perhaps, was its effort to make amends.
Hunt for Kony becomes a casualty of Central African Republic overthrowThe country's membership in the African Union has been suspended, putting a freeze on the AU's military effort there to catch notorious warlord Joseph Kony.
Sacred eels and peace in an occasionally troubled corner of IndonesiaIndonesia's Ambon City was racked by communal conflict a decade ago. My drive along the coast today reveals that much has changed.
Palestinian prisoners go on hunger strike en masse to protest inmate's deathThe hunger strikers charge Israel with failing to provide adequate care for the man, who was diagnosed with cancer. Israel's Prison Service says it took him to a hospital and was arranging an early release.- Did members of the Indonesian military storm a prison, murder inmates?Indonesia's tradition of stonewalling civilian investigation of military misbehavior could stand in the way of confirming or dispelling the allegations.
In Indonesia, and Southeast Asia, the return of optimism – and the bankers.Building booms, easy credit, and predictions that it can only get better from here. Shades of 1996.
Myanmar fire kills 13 Muslim students, adding to Buddhist-Muslim tensionsPolice are blaming the blaze in Yangon on an electrical short, but some of Myanmar's Muslims are suspicious following religious violence around the country.
A man with one name is playing with shadow puppets on an Indonesian volcanoAfter a decade-long absence, Monitor reporter Dan Murphy returns to Indonesia determined to avoid the usual journalistic cliches about the nation.
Reality check? North Korean parliamentary session shifts toneAfter weeks of belligerent talk, North Korea espoused a 'new strategic line,' saying its struggling economy as well as its military strength is a top priority.
North Korea's Kim Jong-un issues fresh round of threatsJoint US-South Korea military drills yesterday prompted harsh language from North Korea's leader himself today.
Pakistan: Afghanistan 'overreacting' in pulling out of military visitAfghan officers canceled a visit to Quetta, Pakistan, for military drills after scores of shells were fired across the countries' shared border. Pakistan is seen as key to promoting a stable Afghanistan.
Flares, gunshots, and fires, oh my: The latest South China Sea accusations flyVietnam accused China of firing on a fishing boat near the Paracel Islands, something China denies. China claims territorial rights over the entire South China Sea, but several nations dispute this.
Rebels capture strategic no man's land: Syria's seat at the Arab LeagueHowever, the ongoing Syrian conflict has caused divisions within Arab nations, and within the rebels themselves.- US-ally Bahrain blocks medical ethics conferenceBahrain successfully crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011, and now it has told Doctors Without Borders that their long-planned conference on medical ethics is unwelcome.
Hard times for Syria's rebels: top commander injured, PM rejectedThe rebel Free Syrian Army's Col. Riad al-Asaad was reportedly injured in a blast, while the Free Syrian Army rejected the political council's appointment of Ghassan Hitto as provisional prime minister.
Kerry wants Iraq to stop arms shipments to Syria. Why would Iraq agree?A sharp divergence in Iraqi and US interests was on display in Secretary of State John Kerry's surprise visit to Baghdad.
Politics over principle? Democrats seem more likely to support Obama's Iraq war than Bush'sRepublican support for the war has been in steady decline since 2003, but Democratic backing has actually risen significantly since Obama took office.
Assad lashes out after death of leading Syrian cleric and key Sunni allyA bombing targeting a Damascus mosque killed Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, a critical source of Sunni support for the Assad regime amid the Sunni-led uprising.
