Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met EU leaders in Brussels today to finally sign a giant trade deal seven years in the making that was almost torpedoed by a small region of Belgium.
	The ceremony had been pushed back from Thursday after French-speaking Wallonia, with just 3.6 million people, initially vetoed a deal affecting more than 500 million Europeans and 35 million Canadians.
	Protesters today threw red paint at the European Union's headquarters, banged drums and chanted slogans as Trudeau arrived to meet EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.
	"Well done, well done," Trudeau said as he hugged and kissed Tusk and Juncker on his arrival amid tight security. "Things were difficult but we managed to succeed in the end."
	"What patience," replied Juncker, adding: "This is an important day for the EU and for Canada too because we are setting an international standard that will have to be followed by others."
	The start of today's summit was 

EU, Canada finally signing trade deal after Belgian drama

PTI Automatic

Italy's most powerful earthquake in 36 years struck a new blow to the country's seismically vulnerable heart today, terrifying residents for the third time in nine weeks and flattening a revered 600-year-old church.
	The national civil protection agency said there had been extensive damage to many historic buildings but no fatalities had been registered some five hours after the quake.
	"I can confirm that there are no victims (deaths). Around 20 people are injured. As far as people are concerned, the situation is positive but many buildings are in a critical state in historic centres and there are problems with electricity and water supplies," the agency's chief, Fabrizio Curcio, said in a lunchtime update.
	The quake struck at 7:40 am (1210 IST) near the small mountain town of Norcia, unleashing a shock felt in the capital Rome, where the metro was partially shut down, and even in Venice, 300 kilometres away.
	It measured 6.6 on the so-called moment magnitude scale, according to US .

New Italy quake sows terror, flattens historic basilica

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said in an interview today that he hoped to secure a new deal with FARC rebels by Christmas, warning that any further delay could make the peace process "explode".
	The government signed a historic agreement last month with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia's biggest rebel group, but in a shock move, voters rejected the deal in a referendum on October 2.
	"All the negotiators and I have met almost every organisation and we are now digesting more than 500 proposals - and talking with the FARC - to have a new agreement, agreed and approved, by Christmas. That is my goal," Santos told Britain's Observer newspaper.
	"This uncertainty is very risky, because anything could happen that could really make the process explode. So I am working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with my team to get another agreement," he added.
	Since the referendum, Santos has held marathon talks with political figures including former president ...

Colombia's Santos says hopes for new FARC deal by Christmas

Scoreboard at tea on the opening
day of the third and final cricket Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Sharjah stadium, here today:
     Pakistan
	Sami Aslam not out                         72
	Azhar Ali c Brathwaite b Gabriel            0
	Asad Shafiq lbw b Gabriel                   0
	Younis Khan c Johnson b Chase              51
	Misbah-ul-Haq not out                      18
	Extras: (LB-3, NB-3, W-1)                   7
	Total: (for three wkts in 54 overs)       148
	Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-1, 3-107
	Bowling: Gabriel 11-1-39-2, Joseph 13-4-37-0, Holder 9-4-19-0, Chase 17-5-36-1, Bishoo 4-0-14-0.

Sharjah, Oct 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the opening

Opener Sami Aslam hit a patient half century to lead Pakistan to 148-3 on the opening day of the third and final cricket Test against West Indies, here today.
     Aslam was batting on 72 for his fifth fifty in Tests while skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was 18 not out after Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat on a flat Sharjah stadium pitch.
	Aslam had added 106 for the third wicket with Younis Khan, who made 51, as the two helped Pakistan overcome the early loss of opener Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq, who both failed to score.
	Pakistan, 81-2 at lunch, lost Younis after the 38-year-old played a rare rash shot off spinner Rostan Chase and was caught at mid-wicket by Leon Johnson.
	Younis hit four boundaries and a six off Chase in completing his 31st Test half century.
	Since Younis's fall, Aslam and Misbah added 41 for the fifth wicket, with the Pakistan skipper surviving a close leg-before call off Shannon Gabriel when on six.
	West Indian captain Jason Holder took a review against Australian 

Aslam drives Pakistan after Younis's fall

Saudi-led coalition air strikes on rebel-held security buildings in Yemen's west, including a detention centre, killed 60 people, an official said today, updating the toll from 38 dead.
	"Sixty people in total were killed and dozens were wounded," said a health official from the coastal province of Hodeidah where the two raids took place yesterday.
	Most of the victims were anti-rebel detainees who were being held in two cells at the detention centre, said the source who requested anonymity.
	More than 100 inmates were being held in both cells, he added.
	A military source close to the insurgents said Saturday there were more than 40 inmates at the facility and most of them were held because of their opposition to the Iran-backed Huthi rebels who have held Hodeidah since late 2014.
	Earlier, the same health official had put at 38 the number of inmates and insurgents killed in the air raids on the buildings in Zaidia, north of Hodeidah.
	It remains unclear why the coalition would hit a 

Saudi-led strikes on Yemen detention centre killed 60

Chinese coastguard ships are still patrolling the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea but are not stopping Filipinos from fishing there, a Philippine defence spokesman said today.
	The information - from fishermen who have just returned from the shoal - came despite earlier Philippine government statements that the Chinese had left the outcrop they seized in 2012.
	A spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte had said today there were no longer signs of Chinese ships at the shoal, after Duterte visited China to repair frayed ties.
	However Defence Department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said the fishermen who visited the shoal yesterday still saw Chinese coastguard ships there.
	"Filipino fishermen, who have been to Bajo de Masinloc, (the local name for Scarborough Shoal) say that they have observed an undetermined number of Chinese white ships in the area but (the Filipinos) were not subjected to any harassment by these vessels and they were able to fish in peace," he said ..

China ships still at disputed shoal, fishermen back: Manila

Scoreboard at lunch on the second
day of the first cricket Test between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka today:
     Sri Lanka first innings
	D Karunaratne c Mawoyo b Cremer   56
	K Silva c Williams b Waller       94
	K Perera c Waller b Perera       110
	K Mendis c Moor b Cremer          34
	U Tharanga not out                51
	D de Silva c Williams b Cremer    25
	A Gunaratne not out               23
	Extras: (LB-4)                     4
	Total: (for 5 wkts in 120 overs) 397
	Fall of wickets: 1-123, 2-198, 3-282, 4-307, 5-351.
	Bowling: Mpofu 27-6-83-0, Mumba 19-2-76-0, Tiripano 19-7-45-0, Cremer 32-5-109-4, Masakadza 9-3-31-0, Williams 8-0-24-0, Waller 6-0-25-1.

Harare, Oct 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the second

At least 22 people were killed and 72 injured in flooding in parts of Egypt caused by torrential rains, authorities said today, updating an earlier toll of 18 dead.
	Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the death toll could rise as some families may not have reported the loss of relatives who have already been buried since the flooding began on Thursday.
	The government yesterday announced the provision of 50 million pounds (USD 5.6 million/five million euros) for flood-hit areas, which include Sohag, South Sinai and along the Red Sea coast.
	The Al-Masry Al-Youm and Al-Watan newspapers said residents in Ras Gharib angry over the government response to the floods yesterday blocked a convoy transporting Prime Minister Sharif Ismail.
	Ras Gharib, near the mouth of the Gulf of Suez, was the worst hit area with nine people killed in the flooding.
	Also among those lost in the disaster were six people killed when a bus overturned on a flooded road in Sohag province.
	Rains in the .

At least 22 killed in Egypt floods: new toll

Upul Tharanga ground his way to a half-century as Sri Lanka retained control of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club today.
	Playing his first Test in more than a year, Tharanga was content to adopt a patient approach as his unbeaten 51 carried Sri Lanka to lunch on 397 for five.
	The left-hander began the day on 13 and saw off the second new ball in a slow first hour that saw the tourists score just 34 runs from 16 overs.
	Although the second hour brought a fourth wicket for Zimbabwe legspinner Graeme Cremer when he had Dhananjaya de Silva caught at long-on, Tharanga and debutant Asela Gunaratne found more fluidity as the day progressed.
	Gunaratne reached lunch on 23 not out, while Cremer had figures of 4 for 109 from 32 overs.
	With Zimbabwe dropping four catches on the opening day of their 100th Test match, Kusal Perera's maiden Test century allowed Sri Lanka to reach stumps on day one on 317 for four.

Patient Tharanga stretches Sri Lankan lead

Syria's regime and rebels were locked in fierce clashes today on the western edges of Aleppo, where 38 civilians have been killed in two days of opposition rocket fire, a monitor said.
	Among those killed over the two-day period were 14 children, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
	Another 250 civilians have been wounded in heavy bombardment by anti-government factions since Friday morning, according to the Britain-based group.
	The barrage is part of a major assault by rebels and allied jihadists to break a three-month government siege of Aleppo's eastern half, where more than 250,000 people still live.
	"Rebel fighters have launched hundreds of rockets and shells onto the western districts from positions inside the city and on its western edges," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
	He said the rebels were trying to push east from Dahiyet al-Assad district -- most of which they seized in the first day of the onslaught -- towards Hamdaniyeh.
	Hamdaniyeh is a ...

Rebel rockets kill 38 civilians in Aleppo: monitor

At least 38 people were killed in Saudi-led air strikes on rebel-held security buildings in Yemen's west, including a detention centre, an official said today.
	The provincial official told AFP the bodies of 38 people were transported to hospitals in the port city of Hodeidah, which the Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies have held since late 2014.
	The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not specify the number of prisoners who died in yesterday's raids.
	Most of the more than 40 inmates at the facility were opponents of the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, according to a military source close to the insurgents.
	Previously, medical and military sources had said the number of inmates and insurgents killed in the air raids on the buildings in Zaidia, north of Hodeidah, was more than 30.
	Elsewhere yesterday, strikes on residential buildings killed 17 people and wounded seven in the battleground town of Salo, southeast of Yemen's third city Taez, said rebel-controlled ...

Saudi-led raids on Yemen prison kill 38: new toll

Turkish authorities have fired over 10,000 additional civil servants as the government presses a crackdown over the failed July coup, the official gazette said.
	A total of 10,131 government employees were removed, mainly from the education, justice and health ministries, according to announcements published late yesterday.
	The government also announced the closure of 15 pro-Kurdish and other media outlets.
	University rector elections have also been suspended, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set to pick the winners from a pool of candidates selected by the nation's education authority.
	The moves came three months after the government declared a state of emergency following a failed bid by a rogue faction of the army to oust Erdogan.
	More than 35,000 people have been arrested since then, and many dozens of teachers, police officers and judges have either been suspended or fired.

Turkey fires another 10,000 civil servants in post-coup purge

Alastair Cook and Ben Duckett put up exactly 100 runs in their unbroken opening stand as England made a strong start in their chase of 273-run target in the second Test against Bangladesh today.
     In their first positive start of the series, Duckett completed his maiden Test fifty to reach 56 not out at tea on the third day while Cook remained unbeaten on 39 as the visitors came within 173 runs of a clean sweep.
     Adil Rashid and Ben Stokes did their part with the ball earlier, sharing seven wickets between them to help the visitors dismiss Bangladesh for 296 runs in the second innings.
     Leg-spinner Rashid took a catch off his own bowling to remove last man Kamrul Islam to finish with 4-52 while Stokes also snapped 3-52.
     Shuvagata Home was unbeaten on 25 as Bangladesh added 28 runs with the last three wickets resuming the play at the lunch break with 268-7.
     England had the chance to dismiss Bangladesh with a cheaper total had they not dropped a series of catches, ..

England edge ahead chasing 273

Pakistan lost two early wickets but recovered to reach 81-2 at lunch on the opening day of the third and final Test against the West Indies.
     Paceman Shannon Gabriel dismissed opener Azhar Ali and number three Asad Shafiq -- both for 0 -- off the second and fourth ball of the match after Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat at Sharjah stadium.
     Opener Sami Aslam (37) and Younis Khan (39) were at the crease at the break after adding 80 to start building a recovery.
     Pakistan are eyeing a series whitewash after winning the first Test in Dubai by 56 runs and the second in Abu Dhabi by 133.
     This is Misbah-ul-Haq's 49th Test as captain, beating Imran Khan's Pakistan record of 48 Tests as skipper.
     Misbah started positively by winning the third toss in succession and instantly deciding to bat on a grassless and well rolled pitch.
     But Ali, who scored a career-best 302 not out in the first Test, edged a lifting delivery from Gabriel after Sami had taken a single ...

Pakistan steady after Gabriel's double strike

Scoreboard at tea on the third day of
the second Test between Bangladesh and England at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
     Bangladesh 1st innings: 220
     England 1st innings: 244
     Bangladesh 2nd innings (overnight 152 for 3)
     Tamim Iqbal c Cook b Ansari       40
     Imrul Kayes lbw b Ali             78
     Mominul Haque c Cook b Stokes      1
     Mahmudullah b Ansari              47
     Shakib Al Hasan b Rashid          41
     Mushfiqur Rahim c Cook b Stokes    9
     Sabbir Rahman lbw b Rashid        15
     Shuvagata Hom not out             25
     Tajiul Islam c Bairstow b Stokes   5
     Mehedi Hasan c Root b Rashid       2
     Kamrul Islam c and b Rashid        7
     Extras: (B-17, LB-7, W-1, NB-1)   26
     Total: (all out; 66.5 overs)     296
     Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-66, 3-152, 4-200, 5-238, 6-238, 7-268, 8-273, 9-276.
     Bowling: Finn 3-0-18-0, Ali 19-2-60-1, Ansari 19-0-76-2, Stokes 12-2-52-3, Rashid 11.5-1-52-4, Woakes 2-0-14-0.
     England 2nd 

Dhaka, Oct 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at tea on the third day of

Scoreboard at lunch on the opening day of the third and final Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Sharjah stadium.
     Pakistan 1st innings:
     Sami Aslam not out                        37
     Azhar Ali c Brathwaite b Gabriel           0
     Asad Shafiq lbw b Gabriel                  0
     Younis Khan not out                       39
     Extras: (LB-3, NB-2)                       5
     Total: (For two wkts; 27 overs)           81
     Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-1.
     Bowling: Gabriel 7-1-22-2, Joseph 6-2-24-0, Holder 5-2-13-0, Chase 7-1-10-0, Bishoo 2-0-9-0.

Sharjah, Oct 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the opening day of the third and final Test between Pakistan and West Indies at Sharjah stadium.

Scoreboard at lunch on the third day
of the second Test between Bangladesh and England at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
     Bangladesh 1st innings: 220
     England 1st innings: 244
     Bangladesh 2nd innings (overnight 152 for 3)
     Tamim Iqbal c Cook b Ansari          40
     Imrul Kayes lbw b Ali                78
     Mominul Haque c Cook b Stokes         1
     Mahmudullah b Ansari                 47
     Shakib Al Hasan b Rashid             41
     Mushfiqur Rahim c Cook b Stokes       9
     Sabbir Rahman lbw b Rashid           15
     Shuvagata Hom not out                15
     Extras: (B-17, LB-3, W-1, NB-1)      22
     Total: (For seven wkts, 60.3 overs) 268
     Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-66, 3-152, 4-200, 5-238, 6-238, 7-268.
     Bowling: Finn 3-0-18-0, Ali 18-2-52-1, Ansari 19-0-76-2, Stokes 10-2-41-2, Rashid 8.3-0-47-2, Woakes 2-0-14-0.

Dhaka, Oct 30 (AFP) Scoreboard at lunch on the third day

England claimed four wickets in the morning session but dropped a series of catches, letting Bangladesh post a challenging score on the third day of the second Test here today.
     The hosts, resuming on 152-3, reached 268-7 at lunch in Dhaka to extend their second-innings lead to 244.
     Adil Rashid struck in the last over before the break to dismiss Sabbir Rahman and expose the tail, after Bangladesh had added 116 in the morning session.
     Imrul Kayes was the first wicket to fall on Sunday. He departed for 78 but not before being dropped twice in the slips, on 66 by Alastair Cook off Zafar Ansari and on 74 by Joe Root off Moeen Ali.
     Ali finally trapped Kayes leg before. But England proved unable to grasp their opportunities, with Jonny Bairstow missing a simple stumping chance off Ansari when Shakib Al Hasan was on 16.
     Ansari was denied again by Ben Duckett, who dropped a simple catch at deep midwicket to give Shakib a second lease of life on 23.
     Skipper ...

Sloppy England let Bangladesh build

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck central Italy early today, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties.
	The quake - which was felt from Rome to Venice - struck at 0640 GMT (1210 IST) six kilometres north of the small town of Norcia, four days after quakes of 5.5 and 6.1 magnitude hit central Italy.
	On August 24, nearly 300 people died in a major quake in the notoriously seismic-prone region.
	The quake set dogs barking in the largely-abandoned towns of Norcia, Castelsantagelo, Preci and Visso, where residents had left their homes to sleep in cars or moved to the coast following this week's quakes.
	"Everything collapsed. I can see columns of smoke, it's a disaster, a disaster," Marco Rinaldi, the mayor of Ussita, one of the pretty mountain villages hit hardest by the last quake, told journalists.
	"I was sleeping in my car, I saw hell break out," he was quoted as saying.
	Italy's civil protection department said ...

AFP

AFP

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