Comment: loneliness is a silent gnawing pain

In a noisy, chattering world loneliness is never talked about, but an increasing number of people feel trapped in isolation

Britain stuck to ‘no negotiation’ policy

Despite criticism from the families, the Government never agreed to negotiate for fear of encouraging more kidnapping

Air passenger with chemicals held last month

Somalia prevented an attack a month before Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to set off explosives on a flight to Detroit

Postcode lottery over removal of DNA records

Some forces refuse to remove records once a person is declared innocent, others comply with 80 per cent of requests for deletion

Oldest donkey is an ass for losing birth details

Rosie is believed to have reached the equivalent of 162 human years, but her birth certificate is missing

Hostage’s fate tied to that of militia brothers

The release of Peter Moore was dependent on the handing over of Laith and Qais al-Khazali, captured by US forces in 2007

Peter Moore’s family say they can smile again

The freed hostage’s mother talks of a ‘complete and wonderful shock’ and his estranged father hopes to end their differences

Moore went for a job and ended up a hostage

Many questions remain about the masterminds behind the plot. It remains to be seen whether anyone will be prosecuted

Samaritans give a hearing without judgment

The charity offers emotional support to anyone who calls, e-mails or texts, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

Keep Peter Moore from the public gaze

Surviving kidnapping leads to confusion and often guilt and those with a grounded day-to-day psychology recover best

'Facebook is fuelling loneliness'

Samaritans say that the proliferation of social networking sites has added to what is a growing problem for young people

2009: the year of living frugally

Some may think the Strauss family take thrift to extremes, but we’ve all been tightening our belts this year

Rival claims over Mousavi's whereabouts

Iranian state media reports that opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has fled Tehran, days after his nephew was killed

British missionary released in Gambia

Fiona Fulton is freed after serving a year's hard labour for criticising the Government but her husband remains in jail

Pupils save lollipop man from retirement

Children at a school near Preston were so upset at the thought of losing their lollipop man that they petitioned to save him

REACTION: the release of Peter Moore

Peter Moore's father, Graeme Moore, told The Times that he was 'overjoyed' with the news

TIMELINE: Iraq kidnappings

Four guards and an IT consultant were seized in May 2007. Three are dead, one presumed dead and the fifth is free

Released Iraq hostage: I thought I was about to be executed

Peter Moore, freed after two and a half years, told his family he thought he was 'going out to a bullet in his head'

Seven killed in treacherous weather

Avalanches in Scotland killed three climbers today and four people died in following accidents on the roads

Mother dies after father kills daughter

Detectives described a 'very traumatic' scene at the house in Aldershot where the shooting took place