Man in 'coma' for 23 years was awake all along

Rom Houben was paralysed in a car accident and presumed comatose but he was conscious – just unable to communicate

David Frost honoured for his career at Emmys

Political broadcaster Sir David Frost led the charge of British winners at the International Emmy awards in New York

Long sentence demanded for Khmer Rouge jailer

Cambodian prosecutors tell court that Khmer Rouge's torturer-in-chief was 'the personification of ruthless efficiency'

Chinese protest over suburban incinerator

Hundreds of middle-class Chinese have demonstrated against an incinerator they fear will damage the environment and property values

Surgeons cut up rough over US tax on Botox

Senators hope that a tax on plastic surgery will help to cover the $850 billion cost of overhauling the medical system

Britain tries to stop France taking key EU job

Gordon Brown was criticised for securing Baroness Ashton as foreign chief when he should have been aiming for an economic role

Colonel S is proof corruption can be tackled

Prosecution of police chief possible thanks to huge investment in time and money from US, Britain and other Western nations

Campaigners murdered in run-up to elections

Convoy ambushed by armed men in Philippines while driving to nominate a candidate for the governorship of province

Big Bang machine in double proton beam advance

Beams of protons are circulating in both directions around the Large Hadron Collider for the first time

Gunmen kill 20 in Philippines pre-election attack

Wife and sisters of election candidate among the victims, some of whom were beheaded in attack blamed on rival politician

Karzai refusing to sign ministers' arrest warrants

At least five current or former Afghan ministers face corruption charges if newly re-elected President will sign warrants

Widows protest after 104 killed in Chinese mine

Security guards try to remove women as Chinese officials admit they have been slow to provide information about dead

Kangaroo attacks dog then turns on farmer

Skippy no longer has same significance, says man who suffered gash so deep it almost perforated his stomach lining

Survivor describes chaos as Indonesian ferry sinks

A survivor claimed a ferry which sank in Indonesian waters, killing 29 people, was overloaded and its life boats were leaking

Chávez defends the ‘bad guys’ of the world

Venezuelan President says Carlos was not terrorist but 'revolutionary fighter' and hails Mugabe and Ahmadinejad as 'brothers'

Lure of deep proves irresistible to science

Life in the deep has a special lustre for scientists because it is all but unexplored and the discoveries keep on coming

Fifa bans Iraq from international football

The decision, taken after sectarian infighting among the country’s sport officials, deprives Iraqis of one of their few joys

British to train Afghan militias

UK attempts to step back from frontline operations by training local militias to take responsibility for Afghan security

Afghan tribal splits: ripe for exploitation?

The dynamics behind the Afghan insurgency make ‘playing the tribal game’ a highly complex task for Nato strategists