National tourism agency to axe 70 jobs and close its offices in 13 countries as government cuts bite

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, is to cut up to 30% of its staff and close its offices in 13 countries just as it prepares for an expected rise in overseas visitors generated by the royal wedding in April and the Queen's diamond jubilee and the London Olympics and Paralympics next year.

Malaysia is the unsung culinary hero of Asia. Susan Smillie eats her way around the most gastronomically diverse country in the region

Food blog: Is the sheer variety of Malaysian food overwhelming for UK restaurant goers?

There's one word you'll become familiar with if you spend time in Malaysia: makan. For makan is to eat; and eat (and eat) you will, about seven times a day if you follow local customs. Chances are, though, you'll still leave with that niggling feeling that you've missed some great eating experiences, such is the range and quality of food on offer.

Visitors are flocking back to Jesus's birthplace but border controls mean Israelis call the shots

Dawn Lawrence pulls her wheeled suitcase up and down the narrow, cobbled streets of Bethlehem. Shouts of "welcome, welcome" ring out as she passes shopkeepers standing in the doors of their stores selling carved wooden biblical figures. Lawrence pays no attention to them. She has a mission: finding a place to spend the night in this Palestinian town, amid an unprecedented tourist boom.

But here is one, a miniature Masada or Montsegur right in the heart of Cheshire, county of cheesemakers and footballers' wives. Rising abruptly from the plain and its hobbity world of thatch and narrowboats, Beeston Castle is every warlike child's dream.