Forensic workers and body-sniffing dogs searched New Orleans in earnest for corpses as crews cleared away mounds of rubbish and debris left behind by residents fleeing Hurricane Katrina.

Gunmen in Iraq kidnapped a Lebanese-American businessman today – the second US citizen seized this week in Baghdad – as the country’s almost daily routine of kidnapping and murder continued.

A suicide attack and roadside bombings killed six American soldiers as coalition troops stepped up pressure on Sunni insurgents before this week’s start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Rescue teams, insurance adjusters and US National Guard troops scattered across Florida today to help victims of Hurricane Charley and deliver water and other supplies to thousands of people left homeless.

More than 75,000 people were urged to evacuate the coast of North Carolina today as Hurricane Isabel weakened but remained a dangerous storm on a track toward land.