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A powerful typhoon has brought many parts of Japan to a standstill and briefly battered Tokyo before heading out to sea.

Typhoon Phanfone has killed at least one person, a US airman on Okinawa who was washed away by high waves.

Thousands of households have lost power and Japan’s two largest airlines have suspended many flights.

The storm also forced the suspension of the search for people missing after last week’s volcanic eruption.

The storm-tracking website Tropical Storm Risk forecasts that Phanfone will rapidly lose power over the next few hours as it goes further into the Pacific Ocean.

Typhoon Phanfone was downgraded from an earlier status of a super typhoon, but the Japan Meteorological Agency had warned it was still a dangerous storm.

Japan averages 11 typhoons a year, according to its weather agency.

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New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel has been sold by Hilton Worldwide to Chinese firm Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95bn (£1.22bn).

However, Hilton will continue to operate the hotel “for the next 100 years”, including renovating the property in the coming months.

Shares in Hilton jumped 3% on news of the sale, before later declining.

Hilton said it would use the proceeds from the sale to invest in other hotels and assets in the United States.

The Waldorf purchase by Anbang is the most ever paid for a US building by a Chinese buyer, according to Bloomberg.

The Beijing-based firm has more than 700bn Chinese yuan ($114.03: £72bn) in assets. Some analysts believe it may look to convert some of the hotel rooms on the higher floors into private residences.

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Somali government and African Union (AU) forces have taken full control of the last port city held by militant Islamists, officials say.

Heavy gunfire could be heard as the AU and Somali forces entered Barawe, 220km (135 miles) south-west of the capital Mogadishu, on Monday, residents said.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group surrendered the town without much resistance.

The AU says al-Shabab used Barawe as a base to launch attacks on the capital.

Somalia’s central government last controlled Barawe 23 years ago.

Tanks and armoured vehicles patrolled the town as a military commander addressed hundreds of residents, calling on them to support the government.

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British teacher David Bolam has been released after being held hostage by militants in Libya since May.

The Foreign Office said Mr Bolam, who taught at the now-closed International School Benghazi, was “safe and well” and had been reunited with his family.

Mr Bolam’s MP in Craven Arms in Shropshire said he was “delighted” that the 63-year-old was back home safely.

It is thought the teacher’s release was secured by local political factions and that money changed hands.

Mr Bolam’s kidnapping had not been reported at the request of the Foreign Office and his family.

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Computer code that can turn almost any device that connects via USB into a cyber-attack platform has been shared online.

Computer security researchers wrote the code following the discovery of the USB flaw earlier this year.

The pair made the code public in an attempt to force electronics firms to improve defences against attack by USB.

One of the experts who found the flaw said the release was a “stark reminder” of its seriousness.

Attack tools

Details of the BadUSB flaw were released at the Black Hat computer security conference in August by Karsten Nohl and Jakob Lell.

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