Anne King has fostered children for two decades. But she found looking after young asylum seekers more challenging – and rewarding – than she could ever have imagined

Officials warn death toll will rise as 11ft-deep waters brought by tropical storm start to recede

Pounding rain from a tropical storm swelled rivers and sent walls of water crushing into two southern Philippine cities in the thick of night, killing at least 436 people, many caught in their beds, officials said today.

A 14-year-old American boy held hostage in the southern Philippine jungle by the feared Abu Sayyaf rebel group has made an audacious escape, fleeing barefoot and surviving on coconuts for two days while following a river to the nearest village.

A kidnapped American teenage boy escaped from suspected al-Qa'ida-linked militants and wandered without shoes for two days in a southern Philippine jungle before villagers found him, ending his five-month captivity, officials said today.

Today the first non-stop flight from the UK to Vietnam touches down in the capital, Hanoi, and opens up a nation.

Simon Read looks at an alternative Christmas gift that could help a small business abroad

An American was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in a Thailand prison yesterday after he pleaded guilty to defaming the country's king in material he posted on the internet while living thousands of miles away in Colorado.

'Brother No 2' takes the stand at UN tribunal – and blames Vietnam for massacre of millions

Thaksin Shinawatra, the fugitive former Prime Minister, could be reissued his Thai passport within weeks as a "New Year present" from the government, Thailand's Foreign Minister said yesterday.

Pol Pot's deputy, accused of orchestrating the Khmer Rouge's "killing fields" of the 1970s, said yesterday that he acted for the sake of Cambodia and to protect the country from invaders.

Ian Thorpe suffered another disappointment on his comeback by failing to qualify for the 100m freestyle final in Beijing yesterday.

Thailand's catastrophic floods may take up to six weeks to recede, the prime minister said today, as the human toll from the crisis rose to 356 dead and more than 110,000 displaced.