Typhoon Phanfone ruining Christmas for thousands
Typhoon Phanfone smashed into the central Philippines on Tuesday, leaving thousands of people unable to get home for the Christmas holidays and forcing many others to evacuate in the face of the onslaught.The tropical storm was upgraded to a typhoon shortly before it made landfall on Christmas Eve in the mainly Catholic nation, but early reports indicate there had been no casualties so far.It struck the southern tip of the impoverished island of Samar in the afternoon with gusts of up to 150