BBC News with Jerry Smit.

The Nobel prize-winning author Doris Lessing has died at the age of 94. She grew up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe before moving to London. Lessing wrote more than 50 books tackling issues as diverse as gender, race and communism. In 2007，she became the oldest author to win the Nobel Prize. The Swedish Academy described her as an author who has subjected a divided civilization to scrutiny with skepticism, fire and visionary power. Despite her success, Doris Lessing never forgot the experiences of her early years. “If you had a kind of bleakness in your childhood which I had, you never lose it. It doesn't matter if you were given 15,000 prizes and the congratulations of I don't know who gotten itself what make any difference.”

Large and destructive tornadoes have hit the American states of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Tornado sirens send residents rushing for cover as the fast moving storms cross the Midwestern region. At least one person is reported to have been killed. Susan Kiamfour is in Washington. “The authorities are calling it a very dangerous storm and 53 million people in the Midwest are in its path. Tornado winds blowing at up to 95km/hr, hail and thunderstorms are predicted. The storm has already hit central Illinois. One tornado has touched down and leveled homes near the city of Peoria and more storms are being spotted in surrounding areas. Hail stones, the size of tennis balls, have been also been reported and officials are warning of rapid moving thunderstorms ahead.”