DURIAN HITS PHILIPPINES HARD

Typhoon Durian hit central and northern Philippines last night as a category 4 typhoon, killing at least 150 people. It has now moved on into the South China Sea and is expected to weaken over the next few days to a tropical storm before hitting land once again around Vietnam. Australia’s Lafayette Mining said that operations at its Albay province gold mine had been interrupted and asked for a temporary halt in the trading of its shares as it assessed the damage. There had been fears that the typhoon would hit Philippines capital Manila directly, but in the event it skirted the city, hitting land about 160 miles south of the capital. Many villages close to active volcano Mount Mayon were covered in mud and rocks as Durian dislodged volcanic debris. Durian's centre was about 120 miles southwest of Manila at 8am today local time.