CHITTAGONG - A TROPICAL cyclone hit southeast Bangladesh late on Friday, forcing authorities to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas.

Cyclone Bijli made landfall near the town of Cox's Bazar at about 9 pm Singapore time Shah Alam, deputy director of the Meteorology Department, told reporters.

TAIPEI - AN 5.5-MAGNITUDE quake hit just off the eastern coast of Taiwan on Friday, the central weather bureau said.

BEIJING - CHINA announced a US$5 billion loans-for-oil deal on Friday with the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, Beijing's fourth such arrangement in two months to secure foreign energy for its booming economy.