World News: Indonesia's double disaster death toll rises to over 300

The death toll from a tsunami and a volcano rose to more than 300 today as more victims of Indonesia's double disasters were found.

Meanwhile, an official said a warning system installed after the deadly ocean wave in 2004 had broken from a lack of maintenance.

Hundreds were still missing after Monday's tsunami struck the remote Mentawi islands off western Sumatra, where officials were only beginning to chart the scope of the devastation.

At least 311 people died as the huge wave, triggered by an undersea earthquake, washed away wooden and bamboo homes, displacing more than 20,000 people.

About 800 miles to the east, in central Java, the Mount Merapi volcano was mostly quiet but still a threat after Tuesday's eruption that sent searing ash clouds into the air, killing at least 30 people and injuring 17.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rushed home from a state visit to Vietnam to deal with the catastrophes, which struck within 24 hours along different points of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a series of fault lines prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Iran's women's role slammed

Iran, where a woman convicted of adultery has been sentenced to death by stoning, is poised to become a board member of the new United Nations agency to promote equality for women.

The move has sparked outrage from the United States and also human rights groups.

Politician sorry for leaflet gaffe

A North Carolina politician has apologised after a campaign leaflet meant to tout his support for US troops featured a photo of Second World War re-enactors dressed as German soldiers.

The firm that produced the piece for Democratic state representative Tim Spear said it was responsible.

15 killed in car wash massacre

Gunmen killed 15 people at a car wash in a Pacific coast state where drug-gang violence has risen this year - the third massacre in Mexico in less than a week.

The gunmen, in three vehicles, drove up to the car wash in the city of Tepic and opened fire, said Fernando Carvajal, public safety secretary of Nayarit state. Fifteen men were killed and three injured.

The motive was not clear but investigators suspect it was the work of organised crime.

Nation mourns ex-president

Thousands of shocked Argentines gathered today to pay tribute to ex-president Nestor Kirchner, 60, who died suddenly of a heart attack. His wife and current president, Cristina Fernandez, now faces the prospect of running for re-election without her closest adviser.

Peace unit probed amid cholera crisis

Haiti: UN investigators took samples of foul-smelling waste trickling behind a Nepalese peacekeeping base in Haiti amid claims that sewage from the newly arrived unit caused the cholera epidemic that has made more than 4,000 people ill.

Burma: The top leader, General Than Shwe, will bow out of national elections next month, but his role in the country's political future remains unclear, a south-east Asian diplomat said.