Taipei  - China has approved Taiwan's request to send a delegation to investigate its tainted milk products and exports to Taiwan, officials said Thursday.

The team of health experts are ready to leave for Beijing on Sunday, they said.

The latest development came as Taiwan's Health Minister Lin Fang-yue resigned to take responsibility over the public outcry over policy reversal by health authorities in dealing with the Chinese milk crisis.

Beijing  - China on Friday launched its Shenzhou VII manned space mission carrying three astronauts whose main task was to complete the country's first spacewalk.

The spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan space centre in the north-western province at about 9:10 pm (1310 GMT) on board a Long March-2F carrier rocket.

The scheduled three-day Shenzhou VII mission includes China's first spacewalk on Friday, which is expected to last about 40 minutes and be carried out by astronaut Zhai Zhigang.

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.