Daraga / AFP A powerful typhoon with gusts of up to 235 kilometres (146 miles) an hour hit the Philippines late Sunday, disrupting Christmas celebrations for tens of thousands who fled its approach, officials said. Typhoon Nock-Ten made landfall in the eastern island province of Catanduanes at 6:30 pm (1030 GMT), the state weather service said. There were no …

  Tokyo / AFP Heavy snow in northern Japan caused transport chaos over the holiday weekend, with flights and train services cancelled and thousands of passengers forced to camp out at a regional airport for three straight nights. Sapporo on Hokkaido island had up to 96 centimetres (38 inches) of snow as of Friday night, the city’s heaviest snowfall in half …

  Sydney / AFP A Sudanese refugee held at an Australian offshore detention camp has died after a “fall and seizure”, officials said, with the incident reportedly sparking a protest at the controversial facility. The 27-year-old, named by refugee advocates as Faysal Ishak Ahmed, died in a Brisbane hospital in eastern Australia after being flown to Queensland from Papua New Guinea’s …