BBC News with Gaenor Howells

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, says he is ready to take further action to

boost

economic growth after new figures show the American economy grew at an annual rate of 1.6% in the second quarter of this year. Mr Bernanke said he was considering

unconventional

measures. Here is Paul Adams.

The latest growth figures are not quite as bad as everyone expected, but they still make grim reading. Speaking at an annual gathering of central bankers in Wyoming, the Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke admitted there was still a long way to go.

But he gave his clearest indication yet that if the economy continues to slow, he'll consider another major purchase of debt or mortgage securities which could

stimulate

activity but would add to the country's already enormous deficit.

The United Nations says fresh flooding in southern Pakistan has displaced almost a million people in the past 48 hours. In one town in Sindh province, Thatta, tens of thousands have been forced to flee after the swollen river Indus burst its banks. Aid is

getting through

to some, but for many the situation is still desperate. Syed Shoaib Hasan reports from Islamabad.

Pakistan's army and international humanitarian agencies have been airlifting food supplies to

sustain

them till road links are restored. That may take several weeks as entire highways have been