Rescuers have begun a block-by-block search of tens of thousands of Houston homes looking for anyone - alive or dead - who might have been left behind in Harvey's floodwaters.

An inter-island ferry carrying more than 700 passengers and crew caught fire today as it neared port on the island of Borneo, an Indonesian television channel reported.

Hurricane Rita ploughed into the Gulf of Mexico coast early today, lashing Texas and Louisiana with driving rain, flooding low-lying regions, knocking power out to nearly a million customers and sparking fires across the region.

Locals and foreign holidaymakers were celebrating Valentine’s Day in Thailand today by getting hitched underwater, on the backs of elephants and even swinging from cliffs.