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.