Across the World: Bangladesh

Storm alert

Authorities put tens of thousands of evacuation volunteers on alert and warned fishing boats to stay near shore as a cyclone approached Bangladesh's low-lying southern coast on Friday.

But a weather official said Cyclone Bijli was unlikely to cause any major damage. Official Sujit Kumar Dev said the storm, which is packing winds of up to 90 kmph, was still expected to bring heavy downpours, dangerous surf and high winds late on Friday.