News in Brief

Typhoon hits China, Taiwan
Afp, Beijing

China evacuated more than 300,000 people and drafted in thousands of soldiers as a typhoon which brought torrential rain and powerful winds to Taiwan began to batter the mainland yesterday.
The typhoon had slowed since it ripped roofs from homes and uprooted trees in Taiwan, killing one person and injuring at least 30 after it struck the island at 03:00am yesterday.

Riots flare in Northern Ireland
Reuters, Belfast

Protestant marchers in Belfast threw bricks and bottles at police, who responded with water cannon and rubber bullets as Northern Ireland's annual parade season descended into violence on Friday.
Pro-British Protestants march every summer in the British-ruled province, a regular flashpoint for sectarian violence as Catholics, many of whom favour unification with Ireland, see the parades as provocative.

Pamplona bull stampede injures 21
Afp, Pamplona

Daredevil bull-runners were crushed in a pile-up in the Spanish city of Pamplona yesterday during its famed San Fermin festival, with at least 21 people hospitalised, officials said. Spanish media said it was the worst stampede in decades at the festival.

New case filed against Musharraf
Pti, Islamabad

The Islamabad HC on Friday ordered the registration of a case against the former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for his alleged involvement in the Lal Masjid operation. On July 3, 2007, Musharraf had ordered a military crackdown against the mosque for challenging the writ of the state, in which hundreds of students were killed.

Third person dies in Asiana crash
Reuters, San Francisco

A Chinese girl died in hospital on Friday, becoming the third fatality in the crash of an Asiana Airlines jet at San Francisco airport last Saturday, doctors and Chinese officials said.
The crash landing of the Boeing 777 also killed two Chinese teenage girls and injured more than 180 other people.