Indonesia's former President Suharto, whose legacy of economic development was marred by graft and human rights abuses during his 32 years in power, died yesterday, aged 86, after suffering multiple organ failure.
"I invite all the people of Indonesia to pray that may the deceased's good deeds and dedication to the nation be accepted by Allah the almighty. And to the family who are left behind, may Allah give them strength to face this trial," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in a statement.
"Mr Suharto has done a great service to the nation."
Suharto had been in critical condition in hospital since January 4. Despite his humiliating overthrow in 1998, many of the region's leaders and Indonesia's elite had rushed to his bedside to pay their respects as he lay dying.
Unlikely cyberspace hero
Jerome Kerviel's handful of internet friends might have melted into the ether after he was accused of committing the biggest fraud in banking history, but he has found thousands of new fans in cyberspace.
The 31-year-old trader had 11 friends visible on the facebook.com networking website when news broke on Thursday he had been blamed for a $7 billion loss at France's Societe Generale bank. Within 24 hours that number had dropped to one.
At the same time newfound admirers and comics filled the facebook void, creating three fake profiles of the previously anonymous derivatives trader and 21 support groups.
One of the groups is named Jerome Kerviel Should Be Awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, and had attracted 1,209 members from around the world by yesterday morning.
A straight forward Jerome Kerviel FanClub drew 865 members.
Another more ambitious group was named "If five billion persons join this group and give €1 we save Jerome Kerviel career". It had just 455 members by Sunday, suggesting the Frenchman had some way to go before salvaging his job.
Gauging UK bird population
Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has urged Britons to spend an hour in the garden over the past weekend to help it measure the country's changing bird population.
The RSPB hoped up to half a million people would have taken part in its 29th Big Garden Birdwatch to gauge how climate change is affecting the numbers and variety of birds in Britain.
It wanted the bird watching community, affectionately referred to in Britain as "twitchers", to record the highest number of each species seen in their garden over an hour.
The RSPB is predicting that the goldfinch will enter the top 10 for the first time since the survey began due to the mild weather as well as changing bird feeding patterns, while blue tit numbers could be down due to the summer's heavy rainfall.
Odds on Irish EU vote
The odds indicate Ireland will pass the new European Union reform treaty in a referendum this year, but only just, an Irish bookmaker said over the weekend.
Paddy Power is offering odds of 2/5 that Irish voters back the Lisbon treaty in the only referendum planned by an EU state. A "Yes" vote would pave the way to ending years of diplomatic wrangling over reform of the bloc's institutions.
The odds on the Irish rejecting the treaty - and torpedoing the replacement for a EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 - are also short at 7/4.
"It's still neck and neck as to whether or not Ireland will pass the upcoming EU referendum," Paddy Power said in a statement.
"The odds of it being passed are favourable but it's by no means a certainty."
Chavez swaps coffee for coca
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez switched from coffee to another stimulant during a speech over the weekend - he popped a coca leaf into his mouth and chewed it while defending the use of the plant. Bolivian President Evo Morales, an advocate of the Andean nation's indigenous coca growers, brought Mr Chavez coca leaves while in Caracas for a summit of Latin American leaders allied with Mr Chavez.
"I knew you wouldn't let me down, my friend, I was running out," Mr Chavez said as he received the leaves from Mr Morales during the televised summit. He broke one in half and chewed it, drawing applause.
"Capitalism and international mafias have converted (it) into cocaine, but coca is not cocaine," he said.