As a part of his 10-day tour in Asia, President Barack Obama delivered a very personal speech at the University of Indonesia Wednesday morning. Echoing some of themes he raised in his famous speech in Cairo in 2009, Obama spoke about the need for mutual respect among Muslims and the importance of a joint effort to combat extremism. Indonesia is home to the largest population of Muslims in the world, and Muslims in Southeast Asia tend to practice a more moderate form of Islam than those farther west. Did President Obama navigate those differences in his speech? 

Tomorrow, December 26, is the 5-year anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. How have things changed since 2004? Indeed, have things changed? The BBC's Karishma Vaswani reports on the progress Indonesia's Aceh province. We also talk with Christoph Gorder, Vice President of Emergency Response with Americares, about what's still needed for the region to fully recover.

Two bomb blasts rocked the central business district of Jakarta, Indonesia, this morning. The explosions hit two American-owned hotels, killing eight people and injuring dozens more. Jim Della-Giacoma, South East Asia Project Director in Jakarta for the International Crisis Group, joins The Takeaway with more details.

A series of explosions killed at least nine people and injured at least 48 in Jakarta, Indonesia. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb blasts in the capital's luxury hotels. Indonesia suffered a number of bomb attacks — mainly linked to the militant group Jemaah Islamiah— in the first years of the century, but has been relatively peaceful since 2005. Joining The Takeaway from Jakarta with more of the story is Daniel Ziv, a filmmaker and the author of "Jakarta, Inside Out."

For accounts from an eyewitness to the bombings, watch the video below.

During the Vietnam War, the directors of the museum in Hanoi decided to hide their nation's valuable art work to keep it safe from the war. But they wanted to maintain their cultural pride. So they came up with an ingenious plan: hide the originals and fill the museum with well-crafted copies or forgeries. Now, curators at the Museum of Fine Arts in Hanoi have found that their walls are still covered with fakes. Where are the originals? We turn to Lawrence Pollard, BBC arts correspondent.

Today could be the end for a 25-year struggle in Sri Lanka between the rebel Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government. State television in Sri Lanka says the country's military has reclaimed all land previously held by the rebels and that the Supreme Leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels, or LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been killed by government forces in fighting in the north of the country. The Northern provinces have been embroiled in escalating violence in recent weeks and thousands of civilians have been displaced. The Takeaway gets the latest update from Sri Lanka from the Head of the BBC’s Tamil Service, Manivannan Thiramalai

A truce was announced this weekend between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan army after a quarter-century of civil war. But fighting continues despite government claims that it has defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers and killed a key leader. It's hard to independently verify what is happening on the ground: journalists and observers have been barred from the war zone. But it appears possible that the civil war may indeed be at an end. To help us understand the future for Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, The Takeaway is joined by Robert Blake, the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Here are President Obama's comments on the situation in Sri Lanka:

An American man swam across a lake in Myanmar and, as a result, a pro-democracy leader is imprisoned. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace prize laureate, has been taken to a top security prison in the capital for violating the terms of her house arrest, after John Yettaw, the American man, swam across a lake to enter her home, uninvited. It’s a mysterious story and the BBC’s Asia analyst Jill McGivering has been following it.

An estimated 50,000 Sri Lankan civilians remain trapped in a tiny strip of rebel-held territory that's fiercely fought over by Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces. The Red Cross says a ferry carrying aid to the area has turned back because of the fighting. Closely watching the fighting is the Sri Lankan diaspora here in North America. One in the diaspora, Ahilan Kadirgamar, joins The Takeaway to discuss his homeland's long civil war. Ahilan is a spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum, a diaspora network pushing for a political solution in Sri Lanka.

Today, Tamil separatist fighters ignored an ultimatum issued by the Sri Lankan government. Despite potentially risking the lives of tens of thousands of civilians, the Tamil rebels refused to surrender, trapping the civilians who are unable to flee the city. Fierce fighting continues now. Joining us with details of the ignored ultimatum is Somini Sengupta, South Asia Bureau Chief for the New York Times .

Soon the entire subcontinent of India will have a job. They must go to their nearest polling place and elect a new government. No one is making predictions on this election other than to forecast that whatever unwieldy coalition government is elected, they have a tough road ahead. The global economic crisis has not failed to hit India, slowing growth for the first time in years. Despite the influx of three stimulus plans, which dramatically increased the deficit, the nation is still struggling, and none more than the poorest. Here with an election guide is Somini Sengupta, the South Asia bureau chief for the New York Times.

For more, read Somini Sengupta's article, As Elections Near, Tightrope Awaits in India, in today's New York Times.

In Bangkok, anti-government protests have turned violent. Supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are calling for the removal of the current ruler, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who took office four months ago. Thai soldiers dispensed tear gas and fired shots at the protesters, who responded with throwing gasoline bombs. Around 70 people are injured, but there are no reported deaths. For more we turn to Seth Mydans, the Southeast Asia correspondent for the New York Times.

For footage of the violent protests, watch the video below.

In a sign of further democratization in the world’s largest Muslim nation, Indonesia, holds parliamentary elections today. But holding an election in this nation is a huge proposition. 170 million voters, spread out across an archipelago of thousands of islands, with more than 300 local languages and a population that spans from rural hunter-gatherers to an urban elite. But this is a country that’s come a long way. The Economist this week says Indonesia has gone from being an “authoritarian basket case to a regional role model” and that Indonesia has “a fair claim to be South-East Asia’s only fully functioning democracy”. To help us assess those claims and to ask why this election is of interest to Americans, we are joined by Dr. William Liddle, an Indonesia expert at the University of Ohio and from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, the BBC’s Indonesia correspondent, Lucy Williamson.

The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, and his counterpart from Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, met in the Turkish capital Ankara yesterday. They agreed to increase military cooperation against Islamist extremists. It’s a significant step, because relations between Afghanistan and its neighbor Pakistan have been frosty after Afghanistan had accused Pakistan of not doing enough to prevent militants attacking from the Pakistani side of the border. The meeting came as the Commander of U.S. forces in the region, General David Petraeus, told a Senate hearing that the fight against the Taliban in Pakistan would continue because, as he put it, the Taliban pose a threat to Pakistan’s very existence. Rob Watson is the BBC’s Defense and Security correspondent, he joins us now.

Yesterday's strike in Lahore, Pakistan was aimed at killing and terrorizing future law enforcers, and demonstrated once again the militants’ ability to reach deep into the Pakistani heartland. Today, more questions are emerging about what the attacks mean for the country, how the U.S. might respond, and if the Taliban are actually responsible. Urmila Venugopalan, Asia Editor at Jane's Information Group, joins us with an analysis.

For more background on the attack, here's a BBC report:

Today is the first day of the long-awaited first trial at Cambodia's Khmer Rouge tribunal. The man best known as Comrade Duch faces charges of crimes against humanity for his role in the torture and murder of thousands of people. The BBC's Guy De Launey is follow the story in Phnom Pehn and he joins The Takeaway with an update.

For a brief overview of the history of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the travesties leading up to the tribunal, watch the video below.

President Obama plans to announce an expansive new plan for Afghanistan in a speech at the White House this morning, committing thousands more troops and starting what's being called a "civilian surge." He told Congressional leaders that he'll set the first benchmarks for progress in fighting al Qaida and the Taliban. Obama's plan also reportedly intends to "recast" the Afghan war as more of a regional issue, involving Pakistan, India, China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. Thom Shanker, Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times, and Mark Mazzetti, defense correspondent for the New York Times, join The Takeaway for more on what's next in the region.

For more, read Thom Shanker's article, In New Afghan Strategy, Obama Will Add Troops in today's New York Times.

Imagine if, after 9/11, the U.S. government said it was so concerned about another attack, that it decided the World Series would be played outside America. Well, that’s pretty much what’s just happened in India. After the Mumbai attacks and rumbling instability in neighboring Pakistan (remember the recent attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team there?) the Indian government moved the Indian Premier League cricket competition...to South Africa. To discuss the global implications of this move, The Takeaway is joined by Alex Capstick, the BBC’s Sports News correspondent.

The Pakistani government agreed early this morning to reinstate the former chief justice of the Supreme Court. Many see it as a major concession to opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was threatening to stage a mass protest after he broke free from alleged house arrest at his residence. Joining The Takeaway with analysis on what's next for Pakistan is Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist and author of Decent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.

Bad sportsmanship took an ugly turn as Pakistani gunmen attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team on its way to play in the Pakistani city of Lahore. At least five Pakistani policemen protecting the team's bus were killed, while seven cricketers and their assistant coach were injured. For more we turn to Schwaib Hassan, the BBC's Pakistan correspondent, who joins us from Karachi.