8-Limbed Goddess
2-year-old Lakshmi Tatma comes from a poor family in India's eastern Bihar city. Born with eight limbs, she was first revered as an incarnation of the four-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. But her parents soon realised she needed medical help. Suffering from a rare birth defect known as a "parasitic twin", Lakshmi - the surviving fetus - absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped fetus.
A team of 30 doctors in southern Bangalore successfully performed an intensive 40-hour operation on her. They cut off her four extra limbs, removed her extra internal organs, salvaged her organs, rebuilt her pelvis area, separated the fused spines, corrected a deformed skeleton, and removed a "parasitic twin" growing out of her. Safe and stable after her grueling surgery and successful reconstruction, doctors say Lakshmi has a good chance of living past adolescence.

California Burning
Wildfires swept through southern California for five days in October, triggering the largest evacuation in the state's history. Almost a million people were driven from their homes; jails, hospitals and nursing homes were also emptied. The fires scorched close to 700 square miles of land, caused extensive property damage and destroyed more than 1,500 homes. Close to 9,000 firefighters were mobilised on a 24-hour round-the-clock watch, as U.S. President George W. Bush signed a major disaster declaration for California.
In late November, fast-moving wildfires hit California again, attacking the wealthy enclave of Malibu for the second time. Close to 4,500 acres were blackened, more than 30 homes destroyed and as many as 14,000 residents were forced to flee. Several Hollywood productions were also disrupted.

Dragon Boat Tragedy
Five Singaporeans who took part in a dragon boat race as part of Cambodia's Water Festival drowned when a sudden wave capsized their boat in the Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh.
Jeremy Goh Tze Xiong (24), Chee Wei Cheng (24), Stephen Loh Soon Ann (31), Poh Boon San (27) and Reuben Kee (23) were members of Singapore’s national dragon boat team.
About 15m from the bank, a sudden wave smashed their 500kg traditional dragon boat into the pontoon, and the rowers were sucked under 9m-deep waters. Divers found all five missing young men after a 40-hour search.
Before leaving for Singapore, survivors paid their last respects to their five team-mates who drowned. The families of the five deceased rowers were also at the scene of the accident to pray and perform rites.

Monkey God Tree
A tree with strange formations resembling a monkey is sighted at Jurong West Street 42 in September this year. According to local legend, a vehicle had crashed into the tree, causing the bark to peel off to reveal the image of a monkey many believed to be the Monkey God.
People started lining up to leave bunches of bananas, joss sticks and paper money by the tree. Over the course of several days, the offerings grew, as did the request for blessings ranging from good fortune to good health.

Myanmar Monks Protest
As the economic suffering and oppression in Myanmar reached its peak, more than 10,000 Buddhist monks took to the streets of Yangon in a mass protest against the military-backed government. Tens of thousands of people joined the monks, in the biggest demonstration against the ruling generals since they crushed student-led protests nearly 20 years ago.
Chanting "democracy, democracy", the monks marched through the heart of Myanmar's main city in defiance of a threat by the ruling generals to send in troops to end the anti-junta protest.

NDP 2007
An explosion of fireworks lit up the sky around Marina Bay in the grand finale of the National Day Parade 2007, delighting thousands of spectators. The highlight of every parade since 1966, fireworks exploded over the Marina Bay floating stage and city skyline, as Singapore celebrated her 42nd year of independence.
The night sky was transformed into a kaleidoscope of colours witnessed live by more than 100,000 people who ringed the Marina waterfront. The first National Day Parade (NDP) on water set sail in grand style, as sea forces joined in for a three-pronged Air-Sea-Land parade for the first time ever.

Paedophile Caught
The combination picture shows various pictures of Christopher Paul Neil, 32, a suspected Canadian paedophile accused of sexually abusing young boys across Southeast Asia. He had posted pictures of himself on the Internet raping young boys, with the original image digitally 'swirled' (bottom left) to disguise his face. The original photo (bottom right) was decoded by a special crimes unit in Germany.
Nicknamed "Vico", the schoolteacher was nabbed in northeastern Thailand on 19 October, after a worldwide manhunt following an unprecedented global appeal from international police organization, Interpol, for public help in tracking him down.

Bhutto’s Bloody Return
Two suicide bombs welcome former prime minister Benazir Bhutto home on her first day back in Pakistan after an 8-year absence. She narrowly survived the assassination, but 140 people were killed and dozens wounded. President Pervez Musharraf was quick to condemn the attacks as a "conspiracy against democracy".
Granted immunity from prosecution on corruption charges as part of a political bargain with Musharraf, Bhutto was hoping to make a political comeback. But Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Nov 3, placing Pakistan under martial law. 10 days later, Bhutto is put under house arrest in Lahore, and calls for Musharraf’s resignation.
Soon after former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns from exile, Musharraf resigns from the Army and is sworn in as a civilian leader. Bhutto is freed from house arrest, and Musharraf announces the state of emergency will be lifted on Dec 16, the constitution restored, and general elections to be held on January 8, 2008. 

The "Tree Man"
A 32-year-old Indonesian, Dede, has been dubbed the "Tree Man" for massive bark-like warts growing on much of his body. The horn-like extensions started appearing on his body when he was a teenager, the gnarled woody growths now sprouting from his hands and feet in long, root-like tendrils that leave him unable to work.
Initially barred from traveling to the U.S. where doctors are willing to treat him, Indonesian Health Minister, Siti Fadillah Supari, now says an Indonesian medical team will cooperate with the U.S.

Singapore Twister
A waterspout sighted off the east of Singapore in May this year kept thousands of Singaporeans transfixed, as many scrambled for their cameras and mobile phones to capture the natural phenomenon as the water funnel rose majestically from the sea.
Waterspouts are common in tropical waters, and there are usually one or two sightings off Singapore a year.