"God will be the Judge and Jury this time"

Death toll from Typhoon Xangsane at 48


Worker try to clear up the portion of a busy road as a giant billboard fell during strong winds brought by Typhoon Xangsane in suburban Manila on Thursday Sept. 28, 2006. Typhoon Xangsane unleashed fierce winds and rains across the northern and central Philippines, killing at least seven people as it slammed into Manila, shutting down the capital amid widespread floods, officials said. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from a powerful typhoon that cut across the northern Philippines rose Friday to at least 48, with dozens of people missing in floods and landslides, officials said.

Residents mounted a massive cleanup and the financial markets, schools and government offices in the capital, Manila, remained closed for a second workday since Typhoon Xangsane slammed ashore late Wednesday.

Most of the deaths occurred in Laguna province, south of Manila, said Romeo Panisales, a provincial social welfare officer.

At least 19 people were killed in landslides and flash floods in the town of Santa Rosa and another 15 in five other towns. Another 29 people were missing in the same province.

The coast guard reported a yacht with at least six crew members was missing in Manila Bay. A crew member of another boat in Batangas province south of Manila also was reported missing.

Among dozens of missing were at least 30 people in General Trias town, about 25 miles south of Manila, where an irrigation dike collapsed as they were watching houses washed away by raging river waters, said Walter Martinez, a local village official.

Police officer Quintin Trinidad said only one body has been recovered.

The entire northern island of Luzon, including Manila, was without power on Thursday but electricity was restored to 36 percent of consumers by Friday morning, the state-run National Transmission Corp. reported.

The typhoon was briefly downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved toward the South China Sea heading to Vietnam, but gained strength again Friday, packing winds of 75 miles per hour and gusts of up to 93 mph, the Philippine weather bureau reported.

Chinese state media said Friday the typhoon was likely to skirt China's Hainan island but bring strong winds and heavy rain during the first few days of a weeklong national holiday.

In Manila and neighboring provinces, residents began the day by cleaning up toppled trees, broken branches, fallen sign posts and power pylons.

The capital and two other provinces declared a state of calamity to enable them to draw emergency funds.

Xangsane, the Laotian word for elephant, is the 10th typhoon this season, and the strongest to hit Manila in 11 years.

Vietnam set to evacuate before typhoon

HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam prepared to evacuate thousands of people from the central coast Friday as a powerful typhoon approached from the Philippines, where it killed at least 48 people and left dozens missing.

Typhoon Xangsane was briefly downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved toward the South China Sea, but regained strength, packing winds of 75 mph and gusts of up to 93 mph, the Philippine weather bureau reported.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Vietnam on Sunday, with the eye of the storm likely to hit Danang and the neighboring province of Quang Ngai, said Bui Minh Tang, director of the country's national weather forecast center.

"It's as powerful as Typhoon Chanchu," he said, referring to the May storm that killed 20 Vietnamese fishermen and left more than 250 people missing.

Outlook improves on SoCal firelines


Large Ponderosa and Pine trees burn in Los Paders National Forest near Lockwood Valley, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006. A nearly month-old wildfire crept toward hundreds of forest homes Thursday. More than 4,500 firefighters, aided by aircraft, were fighting the blaze, which was burning at elevations up to about 6,000 feet up in the mountains. The fire has only destroyed two barns, two outbuildings, three trailers, an unoccupied cabin and five vehicles.(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

LOCKWOOD VALLEY, Calif. - Firefighters battling a massive Southern California wildfire for nearly a month made considerable gains Thursday thanks to favorable winds, and officials project to have the blaze contained by early next week.

Evacuations that had been urged for several mountain communities have been downgraded to precautionary, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Bee Dechert.

The blaze was 63 percent contained after burning 160,570 acres, or nearly 250 square miles, of wilderness northwest of Los Angeles since Labor Day.

The National Weather Service predicted low humidity during afternoon hours through Friday. That could dry out brush and make it easier for the fire — the fifth-largest wildfire in recorded state history — to make an explosive advance.

"The line will be tested," said Melody Fountain of the U.S. Forest Service.

Winds were light but erratic Thursday and lookouts were posted to warn crews in case the fire suddenly changed direction. "It's extremely dangerous for them to be in there," said Ventura County fire Capt. Barry Parker.

Dozens of fire engines continued to guard homes in the mountain communities.

More than 4,500 firefighters, aided by aircraft, were fighting the blaze, which was burning at elevations up to about 6,000 feet up in the mountains.

The fire has destroyed two barns, two outbuildings, three trailers, an unoccupied cabin and five vehicles.

Firefighting costs have topped $53 million. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized the use of federal funds to cover some expenses.

Travelers to Africa, Asia returning with new virus

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Travelers to parts of Africa and Asia are returning with a new mosquito-borne virus and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Thursday it could become entrenched in new areas.

Some people returning to Europe, the United States, Canada, Martinique and French Guyana reported cases of Chikungunya fever (CHIKV) in 2006 and large outbreaks have been reported in Indian Ocean islands and in India, according to the report.

Stone blasts Bush over 9/11 role

Director Oliver Stone has criticised President George Bush, saying he had "set the country back 10 years."

He claimed the "overreaction" to the [9/11] attacks had wasted resources, encouraged fanatics and made him "ashamed to be an American".

"From September 12 on, the incident was politicised and it has polarised the entire world.

"It is a shame because it is a waste of energy to see that the entire world five years later is still convulsed in the grip of 9/11."

He added: "It's a waste of energy away from things that do matter which is poverty, death, disease, the planet itself and fixing things in our own homes rather than fighting wars with others.

"Mr Bush has set America back 10 years, maybe more."

Police: 2 priests stole millions from Fla. parish

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - Two Roman Catholic priests stole millions in offerings and gifts made to their parish over several years, authorities said Thursday.

Monsignor John Skehan, who was pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church for four decades, was arrested Wednesday night on charges that he stole $8.6 million from the church, using the money to buy property and other assets, investigators said.

The 79-year-old priest was arrested at Palm Beach International Airport as he returned from Ireland and was being held on $400,000 bond on grand theft charges.

Strong quake jolts Venezuela, Trinidad

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked Venezuela and Trinidad on Friday, knocking out power across much of the Caribbean island and sending thousands of people into the streets.

Trinidad, the epicenter of the 6.1 magnitude quake, reported structural damage to some buildings. But authorities in both countries, which are separated by just a few miles (kilometres) of the Caribbean Sea, said there were no reports of serious injuries.

In Venezuela, the world's No. 5 crude exporter, there was no word of damage to energy installations. The state oil company said its officials were still checking their facilities after much of the east of the country shook during the temblor.

Energy installations appeared to have escaped unscathed in Trinidad.

Hours after the quake, a 5.4 magnitude aftershock rattled Venezuela and Trinidad, sending residents back into the streets.

Millions of anchovies die on Spain beach

MADRID, Spain - Millions of anchovies — a protected species in Europe — have died in northern Spain after an unexplained mass beaching, officials said Friday.

The fish, all juveniles, were found stranded along large stretches of Colunga beach, 35 miles east of the port city of Gijon, a normally pristine seaside landscape in the verdant province of Asturias.

"More than three tons have been found so far, and our main — untested — hypothesis at the moment is that they tried to flee from predators and accidentally beached," said Luis Laria, chief coordinator of a marine protection unit working with the government.

Although anchovies are exported from elsewhere in the world, including Peru and Chile, Laria said anchovies from the Atlantic off Spain and France are the most valued and expensive because of their flavor, derived from their nutrient-rich environment.

If the beached specimens had grown to full maturity, they would have represented more than 100 tons of potential breeders.

"It's a bit of a disaster," said Laria. "We can't fish them because they're so rare, and now they've killed themselves."