A US army major has shot dead 12 of his fellow soldiers at a military base in Texas. Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a military psychiatrist at Fort Hood military base, was responsible for the attack in which another 31 people were injured.

In what Sarah describes as a "particularly fluid running theme" correspondents Paul Adams and Matthew Price gave their analysis of the details of the events as they unfolded.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 70%-owned by taxpayers, announced a pre-tax loss of £2.2bn for the third quarter. Speaking on the programme the bank's chief executive Stephen Hester said he expected losses "well into next year".

Gordon Brown has spoken of the government's commitment to the war in Afghanistan, saying the UK "cannot, must not and will not walk away."

Speaking before Brown's speech, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander outlined "the steps that the government and the armed forces are taking to ensure that that service and sacrifice that we've witnessed this week is not in vain."

And finally, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the US children's show Sesame Street, correspondent Kevin Connolly went to the set in New York to speak to their star performer Elmo .