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Typhoon lashes China's coast; 900,000 evacuate

By Times Wires
Published August 20, 2007

BEIJING

At least 13 people were killed as a tornado and Typhoon Sepat hit the Chinese mainland after more than 900,000 were evacuated as a precaution, state media reported Sunday.

Xinhua News Agency said the tornado, believed to be formed under the influence of the typhoon, killed at least 11 people and seriously injured six in Zhejiang province in eastern China.

Sepat was moving north up the coast packing winds of about 75 mph, Xinhua said. Heavy rains caused by Sepat also led to a train station collapsing west of Fuzhou, Fujian's capital. Sepat later weakened to a strong tropical storm.

JERUSALEM

Israel turns away Darfur refugees

Israel said Sunday it will no longer allow refugees from Darfur to stay after they sneak in from Egypt, drawing criticism from those who say the Jewish state is morally obliged to offer sanctuary to people fleeing mass murder.

Israel has been grappling for months over how to deal with the swelling numbers of Africans, including some from Darfur, who have been crossing the porous desert border. The number of migrants has shot up to as many as 50 a day, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Official: Afghan police free captive

Afghan police freed a female German hostage from a Kabul neighborhood and arrested a group of kidnappers early today, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

The 31-year-old aid worker was freed during a raid in the western part of the capital not far from the restaurant where she was seized Saturday while dining with her husband, said Zemary Bashari.

[Last modified August 20, 2007, 00:59:47]