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At least a dozen people were killed as the Philippines was battered by its first typhoon of the season on Wednesday. Since the storm passed through major population centers, officials were relieved that the death toll wasn't higher.

The storm, known as Rammasun but called Glenda locally, sideswiped Manila but knocked out power there and across Luzon, the most populous island of the archipelago.

"I am happily surprised because of the minimal casualties and damage," Public Works and Highway Secretary Rogelio Singson told Reuters, noting that 17 million people lived in the typhoon's path.

Singson said that the government was better prepared after the devastation caused by Haiyan, the "super typhoon" that killed more than 6,000 people and left more than 1,000 missing last November.

"It was like a drill," Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada told The Associated Press. "We hauled people away from dangerous seaside areas, whether they liked it or not."

More than 370,000 people had been evacuated before the typhoon made landfall, mostly in the eastern province of Albay.

The wind toppled utility poles and ripped roofs off houses. More than half of Luzon is without power, according to the BBC.

The typhoon, which had gusts of up to 115 mph, weakened before blowing out of the country, heading toward China's Hainan Island and Vietnam. It could regain strength while crossing the South China Sea.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp. has published a gallery of photos and videos tweeted by eyewitnesses.

A court in the Netherlands ruled today that the country's government was partly liable for the deaths of 300 Bosnian Muslims whom Dutch peacekeepers failed to protect in Srebrenica in 1995.

But The Associated Press notes that the court decision clears the government of liability in the deaths of the others who were killed in Srebrenica.

The AP added: "Relatives of the dead welcomed the limited finding of liability, but lamented that it did not go much further."

The court did not specify how much compensation the families of the 300 victims should receive.

Teri Schultz tells our Newscast unit that the decision could have a far-ranging impact on countries' willingness to serve in U.N. missions. She reports:

"The court says Dutch peacekeepers should have known they were sending hundreds of Bosnian Muslims to their deaths when they kicked them out of the U.N.-declared safe haven near Srebrenica during the Bosnian civil war. The Dutch soldiers handed the Bosnian Muslims over to the Bosnian Serb army, telling them they'd be 'safe.' Instead, most of the men in the group became some of the 8,000 victims in the Srebrenica genocide, the worst massacre in Europe since World War II. The court says the Dutch government is partially responsible for the deaths and liable to pay compensation."

Pakistani award-winning author Jamil Ahmad has died at the age of 83. Steve Inskeep revisits an interview with the author of "The Wandering Falcon" — who published his debut novel at the age of 79.