On My Wade Home

Holding her school bag above her head, a student crosses a submerged area in Kampung Melayu district, East Jakarta. Flooding returned to Kampung Melayu and neighboring Bukit Duri as the Ciliwung river overflowed, forcing many local residents to flee to higher ground.

Light a Fire

Afghans watch as authorities burn 16 tons of confiscated narcotics in Kabul.

Liquid Assets

Villagers carry their belongings on a makeshift raft through a flooded rice paddy in Karawang, West Java. Floods inundated villages across the regency after the Citarum River burst its banks, forcing thousands to evacuate.

Favorite Stamp

A visitor takes a picture of US President Barack Obama, which was made from stamps displayed at an international philately exhibition in Jakarta.

Carnage

An image from lifenews.ru shows a damaged subway coach after a bomb explosion at the Lubyanka metro station in Moscow. Two female suicide bombers killed at least 38 people and injured another 38 on two Moscow metro trains during the rush hour, official said.

Finding Balance

Nursery school children wash their hands before eating lunch at Hinagiku nursery in Moriyama, western Japan. Expanding child-care facilities and paying more attention to work-life balance would help the cpuntry by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD.

Shopper’s Delight

A woman sorts through batik clothes before diciding what to buy. As one of Indonesia;s top tourist destinations, Yogyakarta offers a variety of products ranging from handicrafts to batik items.

Cultural Show

Indonesia’s well-known dancer M. Miroto (left) performs “Umbra Penumbra” – a contemporary dance – at Singapore House during a recent fund-raising event for the fortcoming Indonesian Dance Festival in Jakarta. The event was organized by Gouri Mirpuri, the wife of the Singaporean Ambassador to Indonesia Ashok Mirpuri.

Kiddies In The Middle

Children-eat bread and porridge at a makeshift camp for displaced people near the village of Kibati, some 12 kilometers north of Goma, in eastern Congo. Bombs, rockets and mortar shells exploded in eastern Congo, with the Congolese army claiming it came under attack by troops from neighboring Rwanda.

Motherly Love

Mothers and their babies wait their turn to consult with a doctor at a community health center in Tbet, South Jakarta.

Popular Spot

Browsing around Orchard Road is never complete without swinging by Takashimaya, especially when a sale is on.

Fitting In Fine

Two wild deer walk toward shops and houses in the Pananjung tourist hot spot in Pangandaran, Ciamis regency, in West Java. The prevalence of deer in the region has helped the area regain its attraction after it was hit by a tsunami in 2006. Residents say the animals pose no threat.

Survival Instinct

Palestinian women cook over a fire due to a shortage in cooking gas in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak rebuffed a call by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through crossings Israel has largely sealed in two weeks of violence.

Soursop Fruit

A fish seller on Carita beach holds up a packet of dried, salted fish. The seller also offers visitors sirsak (soursop) fruits, as seen in the basket at bottom left.

Food and Water

Children eat their lunch perched in the middle of the floodwater that washed through their area in Jl. Pemuda in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. Four days after the flooding began, 10 subdistricts in three districts in Samarinda are still under water. Many organizations and groups are helping the victims by sending food.

Carita Beach

Visitors to Carita beach, West Java, take a leisurely stroll along the beach’s soft, white sand.

Music of The Streets

Several street children play musical instruments on Jl. Asia Afrika in South Jakarta. Busking at busy traffic intersections is one of the ways street kids beg for money.

Shopping Time

The hustle and bustle of shoppers fill Vivocity, one of Singapore’s huge malls and gateway to Sentosa Island.

Sailing Close To The Wind

Lapang islanders in East Nusa Tenggara prepare to board traditional sail boats still widely used in the archipelagic province due to the lack of modern ferries. High waves and strong currents have made the area notorious for fatal boat accidents.

Row Your Boat

Teo Samuel, 10, takes a fisherman’s catch to the Hamadi fish market in Jayapura, Papua. Fishermen who live on their fishing vessels often pay children like Teo to take their catch to the market, paying them with cash of fish.