The Health Ministry said the dumplings contained a pesticide, methamidophos, which is used in China but is not common in Japan.

In Cishan, a storm-ravaged town of 41,000, both road bridges had collapsed, smashing houses and taking down cars. Residents jammed a footbridge which remained standing. Rescuers used earth movers to clear mud from roads as hundreds of people cleaned homes or storefronts, heaving out water-logged possessions. My store has been closed for days because I figured no one could get to it, said Chen Chih-lu, who owns a furniture shop in Cishan. My guess is 90 percent of us are digging out of the mud. Outside Cishan, swathes of banana trees lay flat in the mud, testimony to agricultural losses totalling T$10 billion. Food prices soared by up to 50 percent and some staples were in short supply.

The fattest clubman in London. He sits at one of the little club tables in the huge bay by the fire, stuffing.

The attack on a sea hare by a spiny lobster causes release of the whitish opaline, followed the co-release of both opaline and ink.