Hurricane Irene, currently on track to hit the US Southeast, grew into a Category 2 hurricane late Monday and has the potential to develop into a monster Category 4 storm within 72 hours, according to the US National Hurricane Centre.
Tropical storm Irene was upgraded to hurricane status Monday morning, hitting Puerto Rico with maximum sustained winds of up to 120kph. The US National Hurricane Center said in early reports that 800,000 homes are without power.
The US National Hurricane Centre warned on Thursday that Haiti is still threatened by heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides as the weakened tropical storm Emily still had the potential to regenerate.
With tropical storm Emily due to hit Haiti Thursday, US weather experts warn of torrential rain and flash floods. Officials have issued a red alert, asking people in makeshift camps to evacuate them in vulnerable locations.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic are in the path of tropical storm Emily, meteorologists have reported. In the Dominican Republic, the military are moving people out of high-risk zones.
Tropical storm Arlene, which affected most of Mexico, has claimed at least 11 lives over the weekend and left tens of thousands of people homeless, local officials say.
The New York private intelligence firm that is working for Mr Strauss-Kahn's attorneys is believed to have sent investigators to Guinea, where the alleged victim was born and lived before emigrating to New York. Their mission is to unearth anything in the background of the 32-year-old chambermaid that would erode her claim to be the innocent victim of an unprovoked attack.
The US government stepped up emergency response efforts on Saturday after hundreds of tornadoes ravaged the country's south, killing at least 350 people and leaving thousands homeless.
President Sarkozy reshuffles his cabinet for the second time in three months. Also, one year after cyclone Xynthia hits the coast of France, survivors look back on the storm that left nearly fifty dead. Finally, France pays tribute to one of its biggest musical icons, singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.
Haitian families who lost their houses in January's earthquake now face a frightening new menace as a forecast hurricane bears down on the impoverished country. Residents of Corail-Cesselesse, a model relocation camp, have been advised to evacuate.
