Super Typhoon Rai hammers Philippines
The Hindu
Thousands seek emergency shelter
Thousands of people in the Philippines fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Super Typhoon Rai pummelled the country Thursday, with a charity warning the storm could hit coastal communities “like a freight train”.
Rai is the strongest storm to hit the disaster-prone archipelago this year.
It was packing maximum sustained winds of 195 km an hour as it made landfall on the southern island of Siargao at 1:30 p.m., the State weather forecaster said.

The Centre has rejected reports that the definition of the Aravalli hills was changed to permit large-scale mining, citing a Supreme Court-ordered freeze on new leases. It said a court-approved framework will bring over 90% of the Aravalli region under protected areas and strengthen safeguards against illegal mining. The clarification follows controversy over the “100-metre” criterion used to define hills across states.












