Topic: Southeast Asia

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Reforms in Myanmar: 4 reasons the military changed course

For more than half a century, Myanmar’s military governments were synonymous with brutality and corruption, but a year ago the military stepped aside, handing power to a nominally civilian government. Here are four reasons why this change occurred.
What is Eid al-Fitr?

For most Muslims, Eid al-Fitr, the joyous end to the month-long fast of Ramadan, began last night. What's it all about?
Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 06/01
The world in 2011: Trends and events to watch in every region

Monitor staff writers and correspondents in each of the world's regions share what they expect to be top headlines in 2011.
Israel wildfire: How it stacks up with five other devastating blazes

Israeli officials are racing to contain wildfires that began in northern Israel on Thursday morning, prompting the evacuation of 17,000 and a rare request for international assistance. But while these fires are devastating for Israel – as of Friday they've killed at least 42 people and burned an estimated 8,600 acres in the tiny country – they are far smaller than other major forest fires around the globe.

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Southeast Asia embraces China trade, but how's the relationship? It's complicated.

Lower export barriers are spurring trade and investment from China, but local producers now worry that a flood of cheap Chinese imports will put them out of business.
Website editor's trial in Thailand a test case for media freedom

The editor of the popular Thai website Prachatai.com faces up to 50 years in jail for hosting comments that the government charges undermine national security.
Africa Monitor
West Africa Rising: Senegal hopes new $450 million airport will make it a world trade hub

Senegal's government wants its new airport to become a 21st-century global hub, but why don't African infrastructure projects link the region's cities to each other better?
That new species of big cat? Turns out it's actually two new species.

First identified only in 2006, the Sunda clouded leopard actually comes in two distinct types.
Barbicambarus simmonsi: New giant crayfish species discovered, and it's really big

Barbicambarus simmonsi: The new giant crayfish should not have been easily overlooked, as it is huge – twice the size of other species, the team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Eastern Kentucky University said.
It's time to expand the UN Security Council. But who gets a seat?

Nigeria and South Africa are potential African members. Japan and India would serve as democratic counters to China. Brazil and Mexico are potential Latin American representatives. Italy and Germany argue they deserve seats. The decision will be challenging, but it is long overdue.
With Hu, Obama more direct about US expectations of China

Obama and Hu, at a joint news conference Wednesday, stressed benefits of US-China cooperation. But Obama also urged 'level playing field' for US firms, as Hu stressed principle of 'mutual respect.'
Australia flooding of 'biblical proportions' slashes coal, agriculture exports

Australia flood rescue and relief efforts are under way to deal with what officials have called a "disaster of biblical proportions."
The world in 2011: Trends and events to watch in every region

Monitor staff writers and correspondents in each of the world's regions share what they expect to be top headlines in 2011.
Iran is not a rogue state, says Australia in WikiLeaks cable

In cables published today, Australia says the US should not see Iran as a rogue state, rather that Australian officials believe that Tehran sees a "grand bargain" with America as its best way to ensure national security.
Outside Cancún climate conference, Caribbean Sea testifies to global warming

2010 was one of the deadliest years on record for coral reefs. The Caribbean Sea just outside the Cancún climate conference offers evidence of global warming's negative effect.
Israel wildfire: How it stacks up with five other devastating blazes

Israeli officials are racing to contain wildfires that began in northern Israel on Thursday morning, prompting the evacuation of 17,000 and a rare request for international assistance. But while these fires are devastating for Israel – as of Friday they've killed at least 42 people and burned an estimated 8,600 acres in the tiny country – they are far smaller than other major forest fires around the globe.
Stock exchange linkup for three Asian nations

Stock exchange alliance of Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand will give investors simultaneous access to all three markets.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives Russia's tiger summit a helping hand

A five-day tiger summit aimed at conservation generated a $1 million donation from Leonardo DiCaprio. The world's remaining 3,500 tigers are at risk from poaching and loss of habitat.
Khmer Rouge film spurs Cambodians worldwide to revisit buried history

Cambodian diaspora revisits the country's brutal Khmer Rouge history in 'Enemies of the People,' a new documentary competing for an Oscar.
Tiger trade in Myanmar and China targeted by wildlife group

Tiger trade: The markets, in an area of northeastern Myanmar controlled by the Wa minority, are considered one of the world's hot spots for wildlife trafficking, and among the only places left where tiger parts are openly sold.
Japan abandons bid to make China a key pillar of its foreign policy

China's recent aggressive behavior over disputed islands spurred Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan to turn his back on earlier efforts to rebalance ties with China and the United States.
Obama lauds Indonesia for religious tolerance, democratic reform

While visiting his former hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia, President Obama focused his speech Wednesday on development, democracy, and religious tolerance while sprinkling his delivery with cultural references.
Obama arrives in Indonesia to fanfare, but Mount Merapi ash will cut visit short

President Obama's visit to Indonesia, the world’s fourth-largest democracy and the country with more Muslims than any other, is expected to cover a broader range of issues than his trip to India.
Did Merapi volcano ash damage the Qantas A380 engine?

Indonesian authorities say the Merapi volcano had nothing to do with Thursday's Qantas A380 engine emergency. But ash clouds from Indonesia and elsewhere have been a hazard to aviation before.
Australia's Julia Gillard struggles to sell asylum center plan to neighbors

Illegal immigration has long been a political hot potato in Australia, which has a lot of foreign-born residents and an economy that is increasingly integrated with Asia. Australia's neighbors aren't biting on Julia Gillard's asylum center plan.
AQAP bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri emerges as key Yemen suspect

Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a Saudi national accused of being the top bombmaker for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is now likely to be a focus of counterterrorism efforts.
Biodiversity study sounds an extinction alert (for things with spines)

Biodiversity researchers warn that 20 percent of vertebrate species are threatened with extinction, largely because of human damage to habitats. But conservation efforts, they say, are effective.
Indonesia tsunami kills 113; scores more missing

Indonesia tsunami: Though hundreds of disaster officials were unable to get to many of the villages on the Mentawai islands — reachable only by a 12-hour boat ride — they were preparing for the worst.
Indonesia volcano: Mount Merapi erupts, 20 hurt by hot ash

Indonesia volcano Mount Merapi has erupted just before dusk on Tuesday. Scientists have warned that pressure building beneath Merapi's lava dome could trigger one of the most powerful blasts in years.