Horrific news from Baghdad today, where hundreds of pilgrims have been killed during a Shia religious ceremony in Baghdad. It appears the crowd panicked amid reports that a suicide bomber was in their midst. We're talking to our correspondent Rory Carroll in Baghdad for an audio dispatch, and have compiled some photographs of the tragedy.
More tragedy on a huge scale in the US, where rescue workers are desperately trying to reach survivors of Hurricane Katrina, which is feared to have killed hundreds of people along the Gulf of Mexico. Breaches in the intricate system of levees that protect low-lying New Orleans from the waters that surround it are causing further flooding and raising concern about outbreaks of disease. We've an interactive guide explaining how the hurricane struck and the worst-hit areas, and we're trawling the blogs for tales by those who were caught up in the disaster.
Other news, in no particular order: scientists have deciphered the DNA of chimps; a woman has been arrested after a baby died in a house fire; Microsoft has bought a telecoms company in a direct challenge to Google in the burgeoning internet telephony market; and Kenneth Clarke has formally launched his bid for the Conservative party leadership.
And here on Newsblog, Eric Allison bemoans the introduction of a smoking ban at Old Trafford.
