When tightly controlled societies open up, long-suppressed sectarian tensions can flare. That's been happening in Myanmar. And the twist is that Buddhist monks, widely viewed as pacifists, are part of this rising Buddhist nationalism.

British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace warned well over a century ago about the risks to diverse forms of life in places like Indonesia. His words are more compelling today than when he wrote them.

Charles Darwin is known as the father of evolution. But another British naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, played a major role in developing the theory of natural selection before fading into obscurity. A trip to what's now Sulawesi in Indonesia, and the unique animals he found there, helped form his seminal ideas.

After decades of military rule, Myanmar is experiencing rapid economic and social reforms. But some now fear that long-suppressed ethnic and religious tensions will be hard to contain. Violence between Buddhists and Muslims that began in the western part of the country last year now appear to be spreading.

Whether it's pan-fried or baked into crispy snacks, the Indonesian soybean cake called tempeh is catching on in America as an alternative to meat. For the residents of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, it's basic, everyday fare.

As a member of Parliament, she is now at times working alongside the government, a development that could cost her backing from her traditional supporters.

Myanmar's contacts with the world are now expanding rapidly. President Obama's visit last November was a sign of that shift. And China is building major oil and gas pipelines that link the two countries.

High-level diplomacy helped avert a disaster last month, in a dispute over the unpaid water bill of one of Christendom's holiest sites. The water company that supplies the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem said it owed $2.3 million. Eventually, the bill was waived — but the church now promises to pay going forward.

A 1,000-year-old statue, a vine-and-moss-covered temple complex and a country's turbulent history lie at the heart of a legal battle pitting the Cambodian government against Sotheby's auction house. Officials say the statue was looted from an ancient Khmer temple; Sotheby's says that's not provable.

The opposition leader in Myanmar arrives in the U.S., where she is being feted as if she were a head of state. She will receive honors that include the Congressional Gold Medal.

Government troops are battling rebels for control of Syria's largest city, Aleppo. The government launched a major offensive over the weekend to retake neighborhoods held by the Free Syrian Army. Both sides appear to be preparing for a battle that could prove crucial to the outcome of the 17-month-old uprising.

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, religious authorities recently broke up a meeting of a controversial religious group. The group is observing the Prophet Muhammad's birthday with a campaign to promote what it describes as an "Islamic sex life," based on polygamy and the obedience of wives to their husbands. The group's critics are not sure whether it's a joke to be dismissed or a threat to be eliminated.

The death of North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader was announced Monday by state television. Kim's iron rule and nuclear ambitions for his isolated Communist nation dominated world security fears for more than a decade.