In brief: Shooting erupts in parliament office

MOSCOW – Russian news agencies reported shooting today in the parliament of Russia’s volatile Chechnya region.

Interfax reported deaths in the parliament complex in the center of the Chechen capital as special forces converge on the scene.

The shooting erupted in the office of the speaker of the Chechen parliament, Interfax reported, citing a law enforcement source.

The restive region in the Russian North Caucasus has been battling an Islamist insurgency for years despite the iron rule of its Moscow-backed president, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Super typhoon death toll at 10

CAUAYAN, Philippines – Super Typhoon Megi dumped heavy rains over the Philippine capital as it departed today after killing 10 people, creating a wasteland of fallen trees in the north and sending thousands scrambling to safety in near-zero visibility.

The cyclone was forecast to regain strength over the South China Sea today as it headed toward China and Vietnam, where recent floods unrelated to the storm have caused 30 deaths.

Surging currents on Vietnam’s flooded main highway Monday swept away a bus and 20 passengers. In China, authorities evacuated 140,000 people from a coastal province ahead of the typhoon.

220-year terms sought in piracy

MADRID, Spain – Spanish prosecutors are seeking prison sentences of 220 years for two Somalis charged with participating in the hijacking of a Spanish fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean in October 2009, judicial sources said Monday.

The 36 crew members of MS Alakrana were released after 47 days.

In addition to the prison time, the two should also pay each of the fishermen $140,000 in damages, as well as a yet-unspecified sum to the company that owned the Alakrana, the prosecutors said.