An overloaded river ferry capsized on its way to a Buddhist ceremony in Cambodia, killing 17 passengers in a tributary of the Mekong River, an official said.

Taxpayers today pledged more than half a million euro to the victims of the typhoon and earthquake in southeast Asia and the Pacific.

One of the most destructive storms in years extended its deadly path across Southeast Asia today crushing homes in Cambodia and Vietnam after submerging much of the Philippine capital Manila.

Authorities evacuated 170,000 people as Typhoon Ketsana approached and heavy winds began lashing Vietnam's central coast, officials said today.