Dhaka  - Cyclone Rashmi killed at least 11 people in Bangladesh when it made landfall in the country's south-western region, media reports said Tuesday.

The tropical cyclone with wind speeds between 60 and 80 kilometres per hour ripped through nine coastal districts, an official at the disaster management ministry said.

District administrations in the coastal areas confirmed at least 11 deaths and reported that some fishermen remained missing in the Bay of Bengal.

Standing crops were affected in low-lying areas of coastal districts inundated by water surging up to two metres higher than normal tides, The Daily Star reported, quoting officials at the Agriculture Extension Division.

Wellington  - Axa New Zealand Ltd said Tuesday that it had frozen three managed mortgage funds worth a total of 225 million New Zealand dollars (121.5 million US dollars) to head off a feared run of withdrawals from 5,000 investors.

Ralph Stewart, chief executive of the insurance and investment management firm, said withdrawals from the Mortgage Distribution Fund, Mortgage Investment Fund and Axa Investment Portfolio had been suspended for 30 days.

New investments in the funds have also been suspended although investors would receive scheduled interest payments as usual, the firm said.

Hong Kong  - Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang Tuesday announced a 12-strong task force of business leaders and politicians to tackle the impact of what he called the "financial tsunami."

The task force, which will be headed by Tsang and his financial secretary, will meet regularly to decide on policies to help shield the wealthy city of 6.9 million from the global economic slump.

He appointed Standard Chartered Bank chairman Mervyn Davies and Victor Fung, head of trading conglomerate Li & Fung, among others.

Hong Kong stock prices have fallen dramatically since the onset of the global financial crisis, losing nearly 13 per cent of their value Monday for the biggest one-day drop in 11 years.

London, Oct 28 : A scientist has predicted that later this century, nuclear-powered aircraft will be transporting millions of passengers around the world.

According to a report in The Times, the scientist in question is Ian Poll, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Cranfield University, and head of technology for the Government-funded Omega project.

Because the aircraft will no longer need to land to refuel, it might mean non-stop flights from London to Australia or New Zealand.

The flights will also produce no carbon emissions and therefore make no contribution to global warming.

Professor Poll is calling for a big research programme to help the aviation industry convert from fossil fuels to nuclear energy.

Melbourne, Oct 28 : An Australian study has revealed that yoga head stands, swimming, or playing a musical instrument may put the eyes at risk.

The researchers from University of New South Wales School of Optometry and Vision Science have found that swimming, gym workout or playing a musical instrument can exacerbate eye diseases like glaucoma and short-sightedness.

New Delhi, Oct 28 : Ahead of the third Test beginning in New Delhi from tomorrow, the Aussies, who are already behind 0-1 in the four-match series, are facing a tough time with captain Ricky Ponting being in continuous pain following surgery on his right wrist in July.

During the second Test in Mohali last week which Australia miserably lost by 320 runs, Ponting required a cortisone injection in his wrist to overcome his pain, reported foxsports. com.