The AP says that at least 50 people have been killed after a dam burst outside Indonesia's capital city following torrential rain. A wall of water was sent crashing into a crowded neighbourhood just outside Jakarta, killing at least 50 people and leaving more than a dozen others missing. According to the Times Online, an official said most of the dead had drowned in the flash flood, and the death toll was expected to rise as many people were sleeping when the disaster occurred and were unable to escape. "Hundreds of houses are flooded, tens of houses damaged, it was like a small tsunami," Rustam Pakaya, an official at the health ministry, said.

When Richardson's family decided to take her off life support, they say they fulfilled her wish to donate her organs. "It was very Natasha," noted a family friend quoted by People Magazine
.

"She spent so much time fighting the stigma of AIDS," the family friend tells People. "Someone like that would naturally donate her organs. At least by donating her organs something good could come out of [the tragedy]."

Her death has also raised awareness about traumatic head injuries that has already helped to save the life of one child whose parents took her to the hospital after hearing about Richardson's death.

Morgan McCracken was hit in the head by a baseball while playing with her father, Donald, in their Ohio backyard, and her parents ignored the injury when Morgan showed no symptoms, CNN reported.

When Donald and wife Connie McCracken saw that
Natasha Richardson had suffered a similar head injury - an epidural hematoma - they panicked and took McCracken to the ER, where she was diagnosed with the same affliction.

"Because of Natasha, we called the pediatrician immediately. And by the time I got off the phone with him, Morgan was sobbing, her head hurt so much," Donald McCracken told CNN.

Doctors told the McCrackens that if they had waited one more night to bring Morgan in, she likely would've died from the hematoma.

Figures from the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network showed that as of March 25 about 101,257 people were waiting for organ transplants in the United States with about 19 people dying a day while waiting for a suitable donor.

The PA: A suicide bomber has blown himself up in a mosque in north-western Pakistan during Friday prayers, killing or injuring about two dozen people, officials said.

The blast collapsed the mosque in Jamrud, a town near the Afghan border, and police are digging in the rubble for any survivors, said Bakhtiar Khan, a local government official.

Khan said "several" people had been killed or injured. He had no further details. Mohammed Bashir, another official in Jamrud said 23 people were injured
.

The BBC: US President Barack Obama is to unveil his long-awaited Afghan strategy review and is expected to send thousands more troops and civilian officials.

US officials say the announcement will focus on targeting "safe havens" for al-Qaeda and Taleban militants.

Al-Jazeera: China is marking "Serf's Emancipation Day", a new public holiday commemorating what it calls the overturning of the feudal hierarchy system in Tibet 50 years ago. Chinese authorities have compared the end of the Dalai Lama's rule in Tibet to Abraham Lincoln's emancipation of slaves in the US. Celebrations on Saturday in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa were being prepared in secret, although they were to be nationally televised.

"Nowadays we have roads, we have televisions and telephones, children go to schools, and we have savings in the banks, all made possible by the Communist Party," said one Tibetan man who had been born into what he described as a serf family in 1940. But critics of Beijing rule say Tibetans feel excluded from China's considerable economic investment in the region which has mainly benefited the Han Chinese who have migrated there in massive numbers. The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing says 50 years of Chinese control has left Tibetans with little political or religious freedom.

The BBC: The US military says it has evidence elements within Pakistan's military intelligence, the ISI, continue to provide support for the Taleban. Officials said that this support for militants had to end.  The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said the ISI had links with militants on both Pakistan's borders with Afghanistan and India.

US President Barack Obama has announced a new strategy for the "increasingly perilous" situation in Afghanistan. He said an extra 4,000 US personnel would train and bolster the Afghan army and police, and he would also provide support for civilian development. Two senior figures in the US military have spoken about the links they believe exist between elements in Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Taleban and al-Qaeda militants. "There are certainly indications that's the case," said Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a CNN interview.

The BBC: Pop star Madonna has been urged by Save the Children to reconsider her apparent plans to adopt another Malawian child. Malawian officials have indicated she will arrive in the African country this weekend in an attempt to adopt a four-year-old orphan called Mercy James. The UK-based charity said ideally orphans should be cared for by their extended family or community and taking them abroad was "not a solution".

Madonna took then 13-month-old David Banda to the UK from Malawi in 2006. The Reuters news agency reported that it was told Mercy James has "no father and mother, they both died", and an assessment had been completed on Thursday. Madonna is expected to arrive in Malawi to attend a procedural hearing at the country's High Court on Monday.

The AP: Police in Madagascar's capital broke up an opposition demonstration by shooting into the air and using tear gas Saturday, Hospital officials said 34 people were injured. The demonstrators, supporters of Madagascar's ousted President Marc Ravalomanana, had tried to converge on a central square where the president's rival had held demonstrations in recent months.

Andry Rajoelina had led a campaign of street protests that, with backing from the military, brought Ravalomanana down earlier this month. Rajoelina had accused Ravalomanana of doing too little to help the country's poor majority.

The BBC says some 20,000 people have turned up for that service. He says the atmosphere is peaceful. Supporters of Mr Rajoelina have called for a civil service strike on Monday. Mr Ravalomanana, who fled after he was toppled on 17 March, is in Swaziland ahead of Monday's meeting by regional leaders to discuss possible sanctions against Madagascar.

The BBC: Turkey is holding local elections seen as a referendum on the governing Justice and Development Party (or AKP).

The AKP was put on trial last year and faced closure, charged with threatening Turkey's strictly secular system. Despite an economic downturn, the party - whose leaders are devout Muslims - has a clear lead in opinion polls. With a strong mandate, the AKP will likely focus on democratic reform, and a loan agreement with the IMF which will entail restrictions on spending. This is a local election, that feels like a national one. Almost every street is festooned with party flags and posters.

The Times Online: A  Colombian man has been accused of sexually abusing his daughter from a young age and fathering eight children with her in the latest of a series of incest cases that have appalled the world. Arcebio Alvarez, 58, abused his daughter from the age of 10 after she was left alone in his care when her mother died, the now 35-year-old woman has told police. He fathered three boys and five girls with her, aged from one to 19. All the children have been removed from the family home and are now in the care of the state.

According to the BBC, Mr Alvarez told the court in the central Tolima province:"We agreed to have a romantic relationship because we really loved each other. But she was not my own child," It is not clear whether his claim is true, or whether it would affect the charges he faces, but the woman says she always saw him as her father. "I always respected him as my father and he is my father," she said. "He never spoke about [incest], about why we were doing it. Sometimes I would ask him and he would say it was God's will."

The AFP: The death toll from ferocious wildfires that ripped through Australia's southeastern Victoria state in February has been revised down to 173 from 210, police said Monday. "We have been able to account for a number of people who were initially presumed missing as a result of the fires and this has impacted on the final figure," Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe told reporters.

Entire towns and more than 2,000 homes were razed by the worst wildfires in the nation's history, as record high temperatures combined with tinder-dry countryside to create unstoppable firestorms on February 7.

The Times Online says a number of animal remains collected by Disaster Victim Identification Teams were also discounted after examination. “When the searches were conducted in the field our DVI teams recovered what they believed to be around 210 sets of remains," he said. “These remains have since been scientifically examined at the coroner’s office. In some instances some remains have been examined and found to belong to one person, when originally suspected to be two or more."

Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes in Darfur, defied the international community last night by showing up at an Arab summit already bitterly divided over Iran and other Middle East issues. His arrival in the Qatari capital, Doha, seemed set to embarrass the Arab League at its annual conference, though the league is also expected publicly to urge the international criminal court to drop the unprecedented charges. It had been thought until almost the last minute that Bashir would stay away. His presence will be a extraordinary snub to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who is scheduled to attend today's opening session, the Guardian reports.

The Financial Times says a Sudanese source said many of Mr Bashir's advisers had told him not to go because his aircraft might be intercepted. Since the ICC issued the warrant, Mr Bashir has travelled to Eritrea, Egypt and Libya, but the trip to Doha is the boldest and most high-profile. Arab leaders have already condemned the warrant and Middle East governments and groups that are usually at odds have sent messages of support to Khartoum, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and militant groups Hizbollah and Hamas.

Reports are coming in that 15 Iranian missile experts are presently in Pyongyang; the two countries have shared missile technology in the past and some would suggest, are at it again. UK PM Gordon Brown has spoken with Japanese PM Aso to confirm that the UK takes the position that North Korea launching a satellite or missile would be in direct contravention of UN Security Council resolutions. Brown has promised to support Japan in the UN when it comes to punitive action. GRN Correspondent in Tokyo Julian Ryall says "there's actually a lot happening in terms of the imminent launch, including new US satellite images confirming the weapon is on the launch pad in North Korea and the Japan Coast Guard is being charged with recovering any debris that lands in the sea to determine the real purpose of the projectile. Warships equipped with anti-missile weapons have put to sea and PAC3 missiles are en route to northern Japan. Similar weapons systems have been shown to the media in the heart of Tokyo over the weekend. An intelligence report out of Seoul also suggests that a second missile is being readied, with the suggestion being that if there is condemnation of the first test then they could fire the second one as a show of force". For more details, click here for Julian Ryall's article on the Telegraph website.

The PA: A former teacher accused of carrying out the murderous policies of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge has gone on trial. The UN-assisted genocide tribunal's indictment against Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, described medieval methods of torture and execution allegedly carried out by the defendant when he commanded the communist group's main prison when it held power in 1975-79. It adjourned before either prosecutors or the defence could deliver opening statements. "Several witnesses said that prisoners were killed using steel clubs, cart axles, and water pipes to hit the base of their necks," it charged. "Prisoners were then kicked into the pits, where their handcuffs were removed. Finally the guards either cut open their bellies or their throats. After the executions were complete, the guards covered the pits."

Reuters say An Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed two Palestinians militants in the central Gaza Strip close to the border fence with Israel, medical workers said. Residents of Maghazi refugee camp, near the scene of the incident, said a helicopter fired two missiles at militants who had launched a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli force. The medical workers said two militants were killed and two other gunmen were wounded. An Israeli security source said Israeli fire was directed against militants who tried to plant explosive devices along the border fence. The clash was the first confirmed confrontation in the Gaza Strip this month in which militants have been killed in action with Israeli forces. In other Israel news AP report the country's new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who dismissed peace talks with the Palestinians during his election campaign, now adopts a more conciliatory tone, reflecting the same pragmatic streak that in the past allowed him to navigate complex domestic and global politics.

Reuters: More than 300 African migrants are feared to have drowned after their boats capsized off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday. Up to three vessels lacking lifeboats are believed to have sunk off Libya in heavy winds as they headed for Italy, while a fourth boat in difficulty was towed to shore, IOM spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy said. According to the group's figures, some 33,000 people crossed from North Africa to the Italian island of Lampedusa alone in 2008. Many of the boats are not seaworthy and deadly accidents are frequent. Some of the survivors managed to reach the shores of Italy while others have been intercepted and returned to Libya, said Laurence Hart, an IOM official in the northern African country. "Rescue operations are ongoing," Hart told The Associated Press over the phone from the Libyan capital, Tripoli. He said the number of missing ranges between 300 to 500 people but that an exact causality figure has not been confirmed. "It all took place in the past 36 hours. Some of the migrants have arrived on the Italian coast," he said. "We have a very high number of landings. We have a number of causalities. We have a number of people intercepted and returned to Libya."

The top Taliban commander in Pakistan is claiming responsibility for the deadly attack on a police academy in the country's east. Baitullah Mehsud made the claims — and others — in a phone call to an Associated Press reporter Tuesday. He also promises an assault on Washington "soon" — one he says will "amaze" the world. According to the BBC, eighteen people, including two civilians, eight policemen and eight militants, were killed and 95 people injured during the eight-hour battle to wrest back control of the academy, the interior ministry says. Pakistan's interior minister earlier identified the Taleban as well as other extremist groups as possible perpetrators, and suggested a foreign state could also be involved. For  Saeed Shah's article on the Guardian, click here.

British forces were on Tuesday to launch their official withdrawal from Iraq, a months-long process ending a role that kicked off with the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Senior American, British and Iraqi officers were expected to mark the occasion in recognition of the 179 British soldiers, airmen and sailors who have died in Iraq over the past six years. "It is the beginning of the drawdown of coalition forces of which Britain has been an integral part," a British officer told the AFP. "Although this is the start of a withdrawal, there is still work to be done and that will continue until the last British soldier has left the country."

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in the Middle East seeking support for his idea of a new oil-backed currency to challenge the U.S. dollar. Chavez says, according to the Associated Press, he plans to outline his proposed "petro-currency" during a summit of leaders from South American and the Arab League in Qatar. Chavez has long criticized the dominance of the dollar and plans Tuesday to seek Arab backing for a new currency backed by the resources of major oil producing countries, such as Venezuela and other OPEC members. Chavez is scheduled to travel to Iran and China after the summit. The gathering in Qatar is expected to concentrate on trade between the two regions. Arab nations also want to counter efforts by rival Iran to build closer ties in Latin America.

Two Europeans, a man and a woman, were kidnapped by armed tribesmen in a suburb of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday, tribal sources and an official said, the  AFP  reports. The pair, whose nationality was not immediately identified, were taken to Bani Dhibyan, in ragged terrain 90 kilometres (55 miles) southeast of Sanaa that is difficult to access, the official said. The abductors are demanding the release of two of their relatives arrested by the authorities, the official added. The BBC says Yemen has a history of kidnapping by tribesmen, in most cases those taken are released unharmed soon after. The last Western tourist to be kidnapped in Yemen, the poorest of the Gulf states, was a German engineer who was seized in January and released a few day later. Yemen is a mainly Sunni Muslim country that faces unrest on several fronts: a Shia uprising in the north, disaffection from southerners who lost a civil war in the 1990s, and occasional attacks blamed on al-Qaeda militants.

Reuters says the head of the Philippine Red Cross sought assurances from Islamic militants about the safety of three kidnapped Red Cross employees on Wednesday, a day after a rebel deadline to behead one of the captives expired. The Abu Sayyaf rebel group had demanded the withdrawal of troops from the remote Jolo island and threatened to kill one of the hostages if the demand was not met by 2 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Tuesday. Two of the hostages are Europeans. "I want to talk to the three, it's confidence building again," Senator Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine chapter of the Red Cross, said in a radio interview. Three workers for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were taken hostage by gunmen on 15 January. Swiss national Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba have since been held in the jungles of Jolo Island, Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. The three aid workers were abducted after a visit to a local prison, where the ICRC is funding a water project, the BBC says.

A suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles Wednesday at an alleged hide-out connected to a Taliban leader who has threatened to attack Washington, killing 12 people and wounding several others, officials said. The attack came a day after Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a police academy
in the eastern city of Lahore, saying it was retaliation for U.S. missile strikes on militant bases on the Afghan border. Mehsud also vowed to launch an attack on Washington or even the White House in phone interviews with
The Associated Press and local media. The FBI, however, said he had made similar threats previously and there was no indication of anything imminent. A local intelligence official told The Associated Press that the compound attacked Wednesday in a remote area of the Orakzai tribal region near the Afghan border belonged to one of Mehsud's commanders. Up to 30 suspected militants were at the compound when it was hit, and the Taliban have moved the dead and injured to an undisclosed location, he said.

G-20 protesters in downtown London have smashed windows and entered the Royal Bank of Scotland building, the PA

reports. They have also tried to storm the Bank of England. At least 4,000 protesters have jammed into London's financial district for demonstrations Wednesday. Protesters broke windows and scrawled the word "thieves" on the side of the Royal Bank of Scotland building. Protesters were also pelting riot police with eggs and fruit and confronting them at barricades. Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference in London ahead of the Group of 20 summit being held Thursday. World leaders are gathering with hopes of resolving the global financial crisis. Eight people have been arrested in the G-20 demonstrations so far. There have been no reports of injuries.
GRN correspondent Dave Keating is in the City of London amongst the g20 protestors - he is available for phoners.

Sri Lankan government forces have cut off an essential supply route to Tamil Tiger rebels trapped in the jungle, the defence ministry said Thursday.The Tiger guerrillas are battling to hold back a military assault that has pushed them into a 21 square kilometre (eight square mile) patch of land in the northeast of the island."With the fall of Pachchapulmudai (village), the LTTE lost their last supply route used for reinforcement and logistic transportation to Puthukkudiriruppu junction," the ministry said, the AFP reports. According to the defence ministry, heavy fighting is still continuing in the area and soldiers have recovered at least 21 bodies of rebels killed in the fighting on Wednesday, the BBC says.  

The Times Online: Military and civilian authorities across north-east Asia were on alert today, with reports that North Korea has begun to fuel a long-range rocket in advance of its scheduled firing in the next few days. Meanwhile the North Korean military threatened instant retaliation if any steps were taken to shoot the rocket down. The CNN news channel quoted senior US military sources as confirming that the rocket was in the final stages of launch preparations and could be fired as early as this weekend. A South Korean newspaper reported that North Korea’s most up to date jet fighters had been deployed to protect the launch site at Musudan-ri in the north-east of the country. “Our revolutionary armed forces ... will not hesitate to mount retaliatory strikes if hostile forces show the slightest signs of moving to shoot down our satellite,” said a statement by North Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. “If the brigandish US imperialists dare to infiltrate spy planes into our airspace to interfere with our peaceful satellite launch preparations, our revolutionary armed forces will mercilessly shoot them down.”