Hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh have been made homeless by three days of storms and heavy rain. At least 15 people were killed. From Dhaka, Anbarasan Ethirajan reports.
In many low-lying areas, the storms surged with waves of about two metres flooded many homes. Thousands of people had to leave for higher ground. Some took refuge at cyclone shelters while many simply set up camp beside the roads. Storms and tidal surges are nothing new to this country where many are killed nearly every year. But the events of the last few days have shown how a large number of people can be affected in a very short space of time.
A kidnapped British aid worker, Linda Norgrove, has been killed during an attempted rescue operation in eastern Afghanistan. According to one report, her captors threw a grenade into the room where she was kept when American special forces attacked. Nato say eight of the hostage takers were killed. Local officials say the abductors had links to al-Qaeda.
World News from the BBC.
A delegation from the United Nations Security Council has ended a visit to Sudan by expressing its concern at the situation there. A referendum on independence for the south is expected in January. From Khartoum, James Copnall reports.
The Security Council acknowledged that the timetable for the referendum on possible southern independence was extremely tight following a number of delays. But Mark Lyall Grant, UK's ambassador to the Security Council, said holding the referendum on time on 9 January was still doable. On Darfur, the Security Council called for the rebel movements not participating in negotiations to come back to peace talks without conditions. It also called on all sides to end hostilities. On Thursday, when the diplomats were in Darfur, the Sudanese armed forces attacked rebel positions.