A renowned Buddhist teacher has protested the eviction of his followers from a monastery in southern Vietnam's Lam Dong province, and a group of Vietnamese intellectuals have issued a petition to support them. Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese-born Zen master who popularized Buddhism in the West, wrote a letter last week to President Nguyen Minh Triet criticizing the police eviction of nearly 400 from Bat Nha monastery. His followers say a mob including undercover agents descended on the monastery Sept. 27, damaged buildings and forced the devotees out, beating some with sticks.

Philippine Sen. Rodolfo Biazon Aug. 17 called for suspension of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), claiming the group helped fight the military during last week's clash on Basilan Island. The firefight left 23 government troops dead in Tipo-tipo district, in what the government called a "counter terrorism" operation aimed at the Abu Sayyaf group. (Manila Times, Aug. 18; Inquirer, Manila, Aug. 17)

Nine people were killed in explosions at the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels in Jakarta July 17. Some of the victims were attending an Indonesian business forum held at the Marriott. Timothy Mackay, CEO of Holcim Indonesia, local unit of Swiss cement maker Holcim Ltd, was killed. Noke Kiroyan, a former chairman of Rio Tinto's Indonesian operations, was hospitalized. Also injured was James Castle, founder of forum host CastleAsia. No group claimed responsibility, but authorities suspect Jemaah Islamiyah, which attacked the Marriott in 2003. (Jakarta Globe, China Daily, WSJ, July 17)

A police officer who was reported missing July 12 was found dead the next day near a mine operated in West Papua by the US conglomerate Freeport. The death followed fatal ambushes over the weekend of a security guard and an Australian mining expert working for Freeport in the same area. Indonesian authorities blamed Papuan separatists. (NYT, July 13)

CIA director Leon Panetta met Philippine President Gloria Arroyo July 12 for a closed-door security meeting—days after the UN World Food Program suspended aid work in Mindanao in response to a wave of deadly bombings. Panetta's visit came just hours after Islamist militants in conflicted region freed an Italian Red Cross worker they had held for six months.

At least six people were been killed and many others wounded when a powerful bomb exploded on the southern Philippine island of Jolo on July 7. The bomb, hidden on a motorbike, exploded outside a hardware store; the store owner was one of those killed. The blast was followed around two hours later by a car bomb attack next to a parked military patrol jeep in Iligan City. The second blast wounded at least 24 people, including three soldiers. Police said they had also defused another bomb near the Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo. On July 5, a bomb blast outside a cathedral in the Cotabato killed five people and wounded 55. Authorities blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the Cotabato attack, Mohaqher Iqbal, although MILF spokesman Mohaqher Iqbal denied any involvement. (BBC News, Philippine Star, July 7)

The largest mosque on the Indonesian island of Java was blockaded this week by local residents who fear that radical militants including cleric Abu Bakar Bashir have been using it to promote their teachings. Indonesian media report that Muslims in Surabaya blocked the entrance to the al-Ihsan Sabililla mosque for three days before agreeing to reopen it. Bashir, one of the key leaders of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, visited the mosque recently and gave several sermons.

An ambush on a convoy of Indonesia's elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob) left one officer dead in the restive province of West Papua June 24. The attack in the rugged Puncak Jaya district is the latest in the Tingginambut area, where pro-independence rebels are believed to be active. The attack comes just two weeks before Indonesian presidential elections. The district also saw violence in the lead-up to legislative elections on April 9. (Jakarta Globe, June 24)