MANILA, Philippines – Martial law in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao, originally aimed at quelling a terrorist attack in Marawi in May, has been extended for another year.

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – Faced with a powerful military keen to have martial law declared in Rakhine state, which nearly half a million people fled in three weeks, Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, avoided any mention of ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingya while broadly condemning human rights violations in her first major address on the issue.

MANILA, Philippines – Martial law in the southern Philippines and security forces' clashes with a local terrorist group in Mindanao made a mockery of Independence Day celebrations June 12, said a Philippine bishop.

MANILA, Philippines – The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines called for an end to martial law in Mindanao, saying that it is "not the proper response to terrorist attacks in just one city on a vast island."

MANILA, Philippines – Gunmen claiming to have links with the Islamic State group threatened to kill hostages, including a Catholic priest, who were taken from the southern Philippine city of Marawi May 23.