Seoul - South Korea on Thursday banned the import of Chinese milk and milk powder products and recalled two snacks found to contain the chemical melamine, which has caused kidney damage to thousands of Chinese babies.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration ordered the recall of Misarang Custard cake from China and Milk Rusk cookies imported from Hong Kong after some of the products on South Korean store shelves were found to contain melamine.

Beijing - The Chinese death toll from Typhoon Hagupit rose to 10 with at least two people still missing as the storm brought gales and torrential rain to much of southern China, state media said on Thursday.

Floods, landslides and wind damage caused by the typhoon affected 8.73 million residents and 400,000 hectares of crops in Guangdong province and the nearby Guangxi region, the official Xinhua news agency said.

About 18,500 houses collapsed, and estimated direct economic losses reached 6.3 billion yuan (923.7 million dollars), the agency said.

Beijing - China on Thursday afternoon intitiated the final eight-hour countdown to its Shenzhou VII space mission, which is scheduled to feature the nation's first spacewalk.

The Jiuquan space centre in the north-western province of Gansu began the countdown at 1:10 pm (0510 GMT), state media said.

The three astronauts for the mission were preparing to enter the Shenzhou VII space capsule, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The start of the countdown put the mission on course for its previously announced launch time of 9:10 pm (1310 GMT), although officials on Wednesday said the exact time could still vary between 9:07 pm and 10:27 pm.

Beijing  - At least eight people died and 38 were missing after heavy rain caused floods and landslides in an area of south-western China's Sichuan province that was devastated by an earthquake in May, state media said on Wednesday.

More than 2,200 houses collapsed and 8,500 were damaged in mountainous areas near Sichuan's Mianyang city, including some prefabricated homes built for earthquake survivors, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 6,500 people in Mianyang were stranded by floods and landslides after torrential rain since Monday, the agency quoted local officials as saying.

Beijing - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday before the two sides signed an oil cooperation deal and several economic agreements.

The Chinese government gave no immediate details of the oil agreement but it said other documents covered economic cooperation, education and justice.

The Venezuelan government said more than 20 agreements would be signed during Chavez's three-day visit to China, which began on Tuesday.

Beijing  - At least one person died and tens of thousands were evacuated Wednesday as Typhoon Hagupit brought gales and torrential rain to much of southern China.

The storm first hit the Philippines, where rescuers struggled to save 13 miners trapped for two days in a flooded shaft as the nation's death toll from Hagupit rose to eight, officials there said.

The rescue operation was slowed down by floodwaters inside the mineshaft in the northern town of Itogon in Benguet province, 225 kilometres north of Manila, said Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin, a regional police chief.