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that towns in its path would have to weather the storm for longer, he said.
• Even before the brunt of the storm hit, at least 18 deaths related to Mahasen were reported in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
• The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had said Wednesday that depending on its trajectory, the storm could bring life-threatening conditions to about 8.2 million people in Bangladesh, Myanmar and northeast India. But the storm appeared to spare at least some areas once thought to be at risk.
• In the seafront resort town of Cox's Bazar, tens of thousands of people had fled shanty homes along the coast and packed into cyclone shelters, hotels, schools and government office buildings. But by Thursday afternoon, the sun was shining and local government administrator Ruhul Amin said he planned to close the shelters by that evening.
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• KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber rammed his car into a NATO convoy in the Afghan capital on Thursday, killing at least six people in the explosion and wounding more than 30, officials said.
• A Muslim militant group, Hizb-e-Islami, claimed responsibility for the early morning attack and said it had formed a special "martyrdom" unit to attack foreign troops. The announcement could mean a steep escalation for the movement, which is based in northeastern Afghanistan and which has fought against the American-led coalition but is also a fierce rival of the Taliban.
• Body parts littered the scene of the blast in eastern Kabul, and one coalition vehicle was reduced to a mangled pile of metal. The explosion was powerful enough to rattle buildings on the other side of the city.
• NATO spokesman Lt. j.g. Quenton Roehricht said the international alliance can "confirm an explosion occurred on a coalition convoy in Kabul this morning," but provided no further details.
• Kabul provincial police spokesman Hashmad Stanakzi said the suicide bomber attacked at about 8 a.m. with a car packed with explosives. "The explosion was very big. It set the nearby buildings on fire," Stanakzi said.
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