Northern Cuba battered

Hurricane Ike battered northern Cuba overnight with giant waves and torrential rain, but it now weakened slightly as it moves over the island.



The Category Two storm destroyed several houses along the coast.



The communities of some 800,000 people have been evacuated.



The Cuban Meteorology Institute said the eye of the hurricane came ashore near Punta Lucrecia about 510 miles south-east of the capital Havana.



Forecasters said Ike is likely to reach Havana by tomorrow morning.



Correspondents said a direct hit on the densely populated city of two million people with its unsafe colonial buildings could be devastating.