BBC News with Jonathan Izard

The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has defended US military operations in Afghanistan. She was responding to criticism from the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who had said that such operations, especially night raids, by American special forces should stop as they disrupt daily life. Kim Ghattas reports from Washington.

Hillary Clinton forcefully defended the American military and civilian strategy in Afghanistan. She said the military operations were having a significant impact on the insurgent leadership and their networks, and she said they were also in the best interest of the Afghan people and their government. She added that the use of intelligence-driven, precision-targeted operations against high-value insurgents and their networks was a key component of the strategy. She insisted those were conducted in full partnership with the government of Afghanistan and pointed out that Afghan forces were included on each operation. But Mrs Clinton did acknowledge that Washington was sensitive to concerns expressed by President Karzai.

A huge fire has destroyed a high-rise apartment building in Shanghai, killing at least 42 people. At least 90 others were injured. This survivor spoke of an urgent need for assistance.

"All of my relatives and friends have been driving to all the different hospitals. As a family member, what can I do in this situation? How can I calm down? I have only one thing to say - I ask the Communist Party to come and help quickly."