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![Alleged terrorist bomber Umar Patek speaks during his trial on Thursday (May 31st). Patek offered a handwritten defense describing himself as a "deer" with a minimal role as opposed to the mastermind "elephant" the media portray him to be. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/31/120601-FANI_PATEK1-150_100.jpg)
Insisting that his role was minor and that he was remorseful over the devastation, Bali suspect Umar Patek pleads for a light sentence.
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![Police present six of the seven suspects arrested in connection with the September 2011 bombings in Ambon, at Maluku Province Police Headquarters on May 21st. [Petrus Oratmangun/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/31/120601_PETRUS_AMBONTERRORSUSPECTSARRESTED_SEA_ID-150_100.jpg)
The arrests are a blessing to the people of Maluku, a local religious leader says.
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Nineteen-year-old Arsuror Mahama of Thailand's Narathiwat province received a college scholarship, but her poverty-stricken family couldn't afford the transportation costs. The governor has stepped in to help.
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![Lady Gaga waves to fans upon arriving at the JetQuay CIP (Commercially Important People) terminal at Changi Airport in Singapore on Saturday (May 26th). After threats by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) to disrupt her June 3rd concert in Jakarta with violence, her management canceled the show as a precaution. [Tim Chong/Reuters].](/shared/images/2012/05/29/120530-HAPPY_ID_GAGA2-150_100.jpg)
It's just art, say locals in a part of Indonesia with a longstanding tradition of tolerance.
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![A woman walks on a sidewalk taken over by motorcycles in South Jakarta on April 2nd, 2012. [Enny Nuraheni/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/28/120529_YAMKO_ID_SIDEWALKS-150_100.jpg)
Motorcycles, vendors, and even potted plants are leaving less room for the millions who walk in Jakarta.
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![Lale Aishah is a Sasak noblewoman who has remained unmarried for fear of being cast out by her family in Batu Jai village, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. She turned 60 this year and lives in poverty.[Maya Karim/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/27/120528_MAYA_ID_NOBLEWOMEN-150_100.jpg)
2012-05-27
Marriage traditions for noblewomen in Lombok, unknown to most Indonesians, force difficult choices. Noblewomen who marry below their rank can be cast out of their families.
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![A Lady Gaga fan poses for a photo as she waits for the singer's May 23rd arrival at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok. The singer's scheduled June 3rd show in Jakarta remains in limbo as fans campaign to save it. [Sukree Sukplang/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/25/120526-FANI_GAGA_ID-150_100.jpg)
With efforts continuing to find a "win-win" solution allowing June 3rd concert to go ahead, fans are campaigning to save the show via social media.
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![Thai officials inspect the body of a suspected insurgent killed in a gunfight with police in Narathiwat province May 9th. Community leaders in the Deep South recently held a meeting this week to discuss solutions for ending the eight-year insurgency. [Reuters/Surapan Boonthanom]](/shared/images/2012/05/24/120525_AHMAD_TH_INSURGENCY-150_100.jpg)
"We can't wait for outside help. We have to help ourselves first," said one panellist at a landmark public discussion in Yala.
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![An Indonesian woman wears a LeeVierra brand swimsuit. Modest swimwear that complies with Islamic law can easily be found in Islamic fashion shops and shopping malls nationwide. [Photos by Yamko Rambe/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/23/120524_YAMKO_ID_SWIMWEAR-150_100.jpg)
In Indonesia, halal swimwear helps Muslim women venture into the water while professing their commitment to Islamic traditions. Increasingly, the modest attire has grabbed the attention of non-Muslim women.
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![Khru Suwimon Suwanat has been a schoolteacher for 36 years in the Deep South despite facing daily threats of violence. [Khabar/Ahmad Ramansiriwong]](/shared/images/2012/05/22/120523_AHMAD_TH_SUWIMON3-150_100.jpg)
Courage and commitment: a teacher's story
Khru Suwimon Suwanat has taught in Thailand's insurgency-ravaged Deep South for 36 years, turning down opportunities to move to safer areas.
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![On Monday (May 21st), prosecutors at West Jakarta District Court demanded a life sentence for Umar Patek, accused of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings. The defendant again apologised to the victims and their families, as well as to the people of Bali, the Christian community and the local and national governments. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/21/120522-FANI_ID_PATEK-150_100.jpg)
2012-05-21
Prosecutors seek life sentence for remorseful Patek
The accused Bali bomber's life should be spared because he regrets his actions and has co-operated with investigators, prosecutors told the West Jakarta District Court.
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![Vehicles are stuck in a traffic jam at the central business district in Jakarta in January. The government is aiming to curtail auto sales with new regulations set to roll out in June. [Reuters/Supri]](/shared/images/2012/05/20/120521_YOGITA_ID_AUTOECONOMY-150_100.jpg)
The government is trying to cool the supercharged vehicle loan sector with new down payment requirements. But the vehicle industry is crying foul.
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![Customs officials arrest a suspected Filipina drug smuggler, Maria Cecilia Lopez, at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali last year. Despite stiff penalties, the drug trade remains active on parts of the island, including the resort town of Kuta. [Stringer/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/18/120519-GRACE_SEA_IN-150_100.jpg)
Terror attacks which damaged the Bali economy may have forced some into the drug trade, despite stiff penalties.
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![An FPI-Free Indonesia supporter holds a sign at a rally attended by about 50 people in front of the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta on May 10th, 2012. The group is demanding a stop to violence committed in the name of religion. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/17/120518_FANI_ID_FPI2-150_100.jpg)
Indonesia's reputation for pluralism and diversity is under threat by militant ideologues and their supporters, civil liberties activists say.
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![A Muslim boy participates in a demonstration calling for an end to violence in the Philippines. A poverty alleviation programme in the country seeks to empower local communities, placing decision-making responsibility in the hands of local residents. [Romeo Ranoco/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/16/120517_CHRISTIAN_PP_REBELS2-150_100.jpg)
Involving local communities in decisions that affect their well-being has helped defuse grievances and may be tied to a reduction in violence by a Muslim rebel group, experts say.
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Tens of thousands of fans are outraged, but conservative Muslim groups say Lady Gaga does not belong in Indonesia.
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![The dead body of a Muslim villager slain by insurgents lies on the ground after a 2011 attack in Pattani province. The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation completed a fact-finding mission to Thailand's Deep South on Sunday, rejecting separatism and calling for a peaceful solution. [Surapan Boonthanom/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/14/120515-STEPHEN_TH_SBPAC2-150_100.jpg)
Delegation sees hope in the troubled south, while stressing the need for an end to the bloodshed.
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![At the apex of Vesak celebrations at Borobudur temple in Indonesia, thousands of lanterns were released into the moonlit sky. [Zahara Tiba/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/13/120514-ZAHARA_ID_VESAK1-150_100.jpg)
The focus is on harmony and tolerance as the country's Buddhists – along with visitors from across the globe – gather at the famed Borobudur temple.
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![Boontan Khatikumtan (centre) waved a white cloth to gain the attention of Thai Marine Police on April 25th. Police rescued Khatikumtan and seven others who were allegedly forced into labour aboard two Malaysian-registered trawlers in the Gulf of Thailand off Narathiwat. [Photos by Ahmad Ramansiriwong/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/11/120512-STEPHEN_TH_FISHERMEN-150_100.jpg)
Allegedly forced into slave labour and beaten into compliance, one man flags down the Thai Marine Police and secures freedom for himself and seven companions.
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![People cover their mouths as a sign of protest during a rally in Jakarta on August 15th, 2010, demanding the government do more to protect freedom of religion and to punish hardline groups which have attacked minority faiths. Shia Muslims are among the groups which have recently come under pressure in Indonesia despite its history of tolerance and pluralism. [Supri/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/10/120511_FANI_ID_SHIA-150_100.jpg)
Amid increased harassment of Shia Muslims and other religious minorities, the country's moderate Muslim organisations are calling for tolerance.
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![Osama bin Laden is shown in a frame grab from an undated video recovered from his compound in Abbottabad after his May 2, 2011, death. Some of the thousands of documents recovered from his compound were released May 3. [Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/09/120510-KHABAR_BINLADEN-150_100.jpg)
2012-05-09
Osama bin Laden spent his final years fretting about al-Qaeda affiliates in Pakistan, Iraq and Yemen because he thought their recklessness hurt the mission’s cause worldwide, according to documents released by the U.S. government last week.
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![In a police photo released April 29th, confessed Runda Kumpalan Kecil (RKK) member Ampan Wangoh identifies Saelaow Dorlaowmae, also known as Arharma, as an alleged leader of Wangoh's RKK bombing cell. Arharma remains at large. [Photo courtesy of Bangnara/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/08/120509-STEPHEN_TH_RKK2-150_100.jpg)
2012-05-08
Arrests could help shed light on extremist networks operating in the Deep South.
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Umar Patek, on trial for his alleged role in Indonesia's deadliest terror attack, said he was sorry "from the bottom of my heart".
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![Kritika Jareonsuk, 23, lost her mother Supaporn Jareonsuk as a result of the May 3rd ambush attack in Pattani's Sai Buri District. Kritika's father died years earlier in the Deep South unrest. [Bas Pattani/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/07/120508-PATTANI_BOMBING1_TH-150_100.jpg)
Spate of killings raises fears, prompts calls for heavier security.
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![With the largest number of vehicles in Southeast Asia at nearly 51 million cars, traffic gridlock is on the rise in Indonesia. In 2011, some 880,000 new cars took to the road. [Photos by Yamko Rambe/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/06/120506-YAMKO_ID_TRAFFIC1-150_100.jpg)
A proliferation of cheap cars and motorbikes make for tense times on the city's streets.
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![Protesters wave flags as they chant anti-government slogans during mass demonstrations inside Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt on February 8th, 2011. The popular uprisings known as the Arab Spring contrast sharply with al-Qaeda's programme of violent extremism. A recent poll found more than 70% of Egyptians view al-Qaeda unfavourably. [Dylan Martinez/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/04/120505-KHABAR-BINLADEN1-150_100.jpg)
Newly-released letters suggest that Al-Qaeda's woes have been long in the making.
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![According to testimony given Thursday (May 3rd) by ex-militant Iqbal Huseini, alleged 2002 Bali bomber Umar Patek disagreed with Jemaah Islamiyah's choice to attack public targets that would lead to civilian casualties. [Enny Nuraheni/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/03/120504-OKTOFANI_ID_PATEK-150_100.jpg)
Bali bombing suspect Umar Patek was concerned that violence against civilians went against Islamic teachings and created a bad image for Muslims, according to a fellow militant who testified at his trial.
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![The Baby Hatch in Petaling Jaya, outside Kuala Lumpur, is a place where individuals can anonymously leave an unwanted baby. A sensor under the mattress immediately alerts an on-site caretaker to retrieve the baby; the closing of the door triggers lights and ventilation inside the hatch. After a week, babies are turned over to the State Welfare Organisation to start the adoption process. [Hana Kamaruddin/Khabar]](/shared/images/2012/05/02/120503_HANA_MY_BABIES-HATCH-150_100.jpg)
A Malaysian non-profit works to end the tragedy of baby dumping.
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![Bombings in 2002 ravaged the town of Kuta in Bali, pictured above. Testifying at the trial of accused bomb-maker Umar Patek,Kuta Muslim leader Agus Bambang Priyatno demanded that violent Islamists stop undermining the image of Islam. [Johnathan Drake/Reuters]](/shared/images/2012/05/01/120502-FANI_ID_ISLAM-150_100.jpg)
A witness at the trial of Umar Patek said extremists have taken the lives of innocent Muslims and are undermining Islam.
![Iranians sit on a boat at Denspar's Benoa port on May 12th, 2013. They were among 95 asylum seekers from Iran arrested by Indonesian marine police while sailing through nearby Badung strait. [Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP]](/shared/images/2014/02/15/140215_ANDHIKA_SAMUEL_IRANIAN_VISA_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Indonesia's Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu) opens a Jakarta forum involving religious leaders January 22nd. [Yenny Herawati/Khabar]](/shared/images/2014/02/14/140214_YENNY_MUSLIM_VOTING_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Imlek Festival goers in Solo celebrate the Chinese New Year. The festival went from January 23rd through January 29th. [Yenny Herawati/Khabar]](/shared/images/2014/02/13/140205_YENNY_ID_IMLEX_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Opposition forces prepare to storm the headquarters of the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters in Aleppo, Syria on January 7th. Indonesian jihadists are among 8,000 foreigners fighting in the Syrian civil war. [Medo Halab/AFP]](/shared/images/2014/02/12/140203_ISMIRA_OKKY_ID_SYRIAN_JIHADIST_RETURNED_VG1-100_67.jpg)
![Typhoon Haiyan survivors prepare to board Australian and US C-130 aircraft departing storm-ravaged Tacloban on November 18th. [Photo courtesy of US Marines]](/shared/images/2013/11/26/131126-FORUM_TYPHOON2PE1_PP-270_180.jpg)