Strongest typhoon in 75 years hits Shanghai, hundreds of thousands evacuated

Today's news: a ballistic missile from Yemen hit central Israel; In Japan, the over-65 age group is now close to 30 per cent of the population; India reports aa second death from the Nipah virus since July, lethal and highly contagious according to the WHO; The Philippines will continue to guard the Sabina Shoal.

CHINA

Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated when Typhoon Bebinca made landfall near China's financial centre in Shanghai. The typhoon emerged around 07:30 local time in the coastal area of Lingang New City, eastern Shanghai, the China Meteorological Administration said. According to Chinese state media, it is the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in 75 years.

ISRAEL - YEMEN

According to the Israeli army, a long-range ballistic missile launched from Yemen hit central Israel, triggering a fire. The missile set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and throughout central Israel, including Ben Gurion International Airport, causing residents to run for cover. No casualties were reported. Netanyahu said any attack on Israel would be retaliated against.

JAPAN

Number of senior citizens in Japan at an all-time high. The Ministry of Internal Affairs released the figures before the country celebrates Keiro No Hi, Day of Respect for the Elderly, today. According to estimates, the nation had a record number of 36.25 million people aged 65 and older on Sunday. This is an increase of 20,000 over the previous year. The elderly make up 29.3 per cent of the total population, another record.

INDIA

A 24-year-old student died of the Nipah virus - first identified in Malaysia in 1998 - in the state of Kerala. The 151 people who came into contact with the victim are under observation to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. This is the second death caused by Nipah in Kerala since July. Nipah is classified as a priority pathogen by the WHO because of its potential to trigger an epidemic. There is neither a vaccine to prevent the infection nor a treatment to cure it.

PHILIPPINES

The Philippines will continue to deploy ships in the disputed Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea, Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela said today. The words came after the return of the PCG ship, Teresa Magbanua, after five months of being deployed in the Shoal; present since April to monitor what Manila suspects to be small-scale Chinese reclamation activities in the area.

RUSSIA - USA

On 12 September, a new US sanctions decree went into effect, banning many companies from providing information services and digital programmes to Russia for corporate administration, production and design. There is no precise list of such items, which makes the measure even more troublesome by imposing a regime of uncertainty.

ARMENIA

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pašinyan, raised during the government meeting the issue of citizens' use of legally registered weapons for self-defence, calling it “a conceptual problem” concerning dangerous situations, “we have to ask ourselves whether we want people to defend themselves by shooting or to call the police”.

• Asia
• Today