Brazilian stocks hit a record high Tuesday ahead of the approval in the Senate of President Jair Bolsonaro's ambitious pension reform bill seen as crucial to unleashing other much-needed reforms.
After some tweaks by Congress, Bolsonaro's signatory economic policy is expected to save more than 800 billion reais (USD 196 billion) over 10 years -- less than the 1.2 trillion reais originally projected.
Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index finished at 107,381.1, up 1.28 per cent on the previous day, which was also a record close.
The measure introduced a minimum retirement age and increase contributions over a longer period of time.
The overhaul obtained enough votes in Congress to support a constitutional amendment.
The pension bill was passed with overwhelming support in the lower house earlier this year and was approved with strong support in a second vote by the Senate on Tuesday.
Bolsonaro has warned that Brazil's generous pension system would bankrupt the country if the changes were not 

Brazil stocks hit record ahead of final pension bill vote

PTI Automatic

Several people died Tuesday during clashes between Burundi security forces and a rebel group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to police and rebels.
The Burundi rebel group, RED-Tabara -- which is based in the east of DR Congo and which the government and diplomats believe is headed by one of Burundi's most outspoken opponents, Alexis Sinduhije -- said the clashes occurred during an incursion into Burundi territory.
The police said they killed 14 "criminals" while the rebels claimed they had shot around a dozen officers.
"Dismantlement... of a group of armed criminals from the DR Congo," the country's security ministry wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.
"14 criminals were killed and 11 guns they were carrying seized," it added.
The ministry did not say whether any police officers had been killed, while witnesses and local administration sources said that several had died.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking member of RED-Tabara dismissed the police's toll ..

Several dead as security forces, rebels clash in Burundi

Turkey said on Wednesday there was "no need" to restart its offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria, saying that it had been informed by the US that their withdrawal from the border areas had been "completed".
"At this stage, there is no further need to carry out a new operation," the defence ministry said in a statement.
A US-brokered deal had set a 120-hour deadline for Kurdish fighters' pullout from a proposed safe zone, which expired at 12:30 am IST.
Turkey has agreed to "pause" its military action in Syria launched on October 9 on the condition that Kurdish forces withdrew from an initial 120-kilometre area from the border, following a deal with US Vice President Mike Pense last Thursday.
Turkey has, however, repeatedly threatened to restart its offensive, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to "crush the heads" of Syrian Kurdish forces if they failed to retreat.
"At the end of the 120-hour period, the United States announced that withdrawal of PKK/YPG from the area ...

Turkey says 'no need' to restart Syria offensive after deadline expires

France said Tuesday it was open to a "technical" Brexit extension of "several days" but ruled out reopening discussions to renegotiate the deal reached between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brussels.
"At the end of the week, we will see if a purely technical extension of several days is justified in order for the British parliament to finish its parliamentary procedure," European Affairs Minister Amelie de Montchalin told the French Senate on Tuesday evening.
"Beyond such a perspective, an extension aimed at gaining time to rediscuss the deal is excluded," she said hours after British MPs rejected Johnson's bid to set a tight three-day schedule to approve his Brexit bill this week.

France open to short 'technical' Brexit extension: minister

Belgian Paralympian Marieke Vervoort, the 100m champion from the 2012 London Games has died by euthanasia at the age of 40, Belgian media reported on Tuesday.
Euthanasia is legal in Belgium and the spikey haired athlete announced her intentions after the Rio Games in 2016 to follow that path if her degenerative condition worsened her suffering.
Despite falling sick aged 14 Vervoort pursued a sporting life with passion, playing wheelchair basketball, swimming and racing in triathlons.

Paralympic champion Marieke Vervoort dies by euthanasia

The president of the European Council Donald Tusk said Tuesday that he will recommend to EU leaders that they postpone Brexit beyond the current October 31 deadline.
"Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to pause the process of ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, and in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit, I will recommend the EU27 accept the UK request for an extension," he tweeted.
"For this I will propose a written procedure," he said, which means that the 27 other member state leaders would not have to convene an emergency summit.

Tusk recommends EU leaders back Brexit extension

A senior US official who penned a newspaper column anonymously last year warning of the dangers of President Donald Trump is coming out with a book.
The book, "A WARNING," by the author of the column published in The New York Times, is to be published on November 19, The Washington Post and CNN reported on Tuesday.
In the September 2018 column titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," the anonymous official described Trump as "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective." "His impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back," the official said.
Trump reacted furiously to the column, calling it "treasonous" and asking for the author to be identified. The Times refused to do so.
The Post and CNN said the author of the book will remain anonymous.
CNN said it had obtained a draft press release from the publisher, Twelve, a division of Hachette Book Group, which describes the book as a ...

'Anonymous' Trump critic coming out with book

Facebook's proposed digital coin Libra would "extend America's financial leadership" while helping cash-strapped people around the world, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in remarks prepared for delivery to lawmakers released Tuesday.
In the testimony released a day ahead of Zuckerberg's appearance before a House of Representatives committee, the head of the world's biggest social network described the planned cryptocurrency as an important financial innovation.
"While we debate these issues, the rest of the world isn't waiting. China is moving quickly to launch similar ideas in the coming months," Zuckerberg said in his prepared remarks.
"Libra will be backed mostly by dollars and I believe it will extend America's financial leadership as well as our democratic values and oversight around the world. If America doesn't innovate, our financial leadership is not guaranteed." The comments come amid intense scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers around the world, with many sceptical ..

Zuckerberg calls Libra coin a key for American leadership

Ratings agency S&P on Tuesday downgraded the outlook for Boeing, citing concerns the aerospace giant may have misled regulators about the 737 MAX.
The plane has been grounded in the wake of two deadly crashes that killed 346 people, and Boeing has faced investigations into how it designed the flight handling systems for the popular plane, while the Federal Aviation Administration also has faced growing criticism.
S&P Global Ratings kept the debt grade stable at 'A' but cut the outlook to negative from stable on the potential for "lasting damage" to the company's finances.
"The outlook revision reflects concerns that recent reports that Boeing may have misled the FAA about the problems with the 737 MAX MCAS software that likely caused two accidents could have wide-ranging effects on the company's competitive and financial positions," S&P said in a statement.
The ratings agency cites revelation of a transcript between two pilots discussing problems with the flight system in ...

S&P downgrades Boeing credit rating outlook to negative

Boeing on Tuesday replaced the head of its commercial plane division, the most significant executive departure since the 737 MAX grounding plunged the company into crisis seven months ago.
Kevin McAllister, head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes since November 2016, will leave the company effective immediately, Boeing said on the eve of a key quarterly earnings announcement.
McAllister will be replaced by Stan Deal, who has been chief of Boeing Global Services.
The top-selling 737 MAX has been grounded since mid-March following two crashes that killed 346 people. The company has been in close contact with the Federal Aviation to have the plane recertified in a process that has dragged out much longer than initially expected.
"Our entire Boeing team is focused on operational excellence, aligned with our values of safety, quality and integrity and we're committed to delivering on our commitments and regaining trust with our regulators, customers and other stakeholders," Chief Executive ...

Boeing replaces head of commercial plane division amid MAX crisis

More than 100 elephants have died in two months in Botswana's Chobe National Park due to drought, which has also affected wildlife in other countries in the region, the government said Tuesday.
Several southern African countries are enduring one of the worst droughts in decades, caused by months of over-average temperatures and erratic rainfall.
The drought has wilted grasslands and dried up water holes, making it increasingly difficult for animals to survive.
Botswana's environment ministry said it has recorded a spike in the number of elephant and other animal deaths since May.
"More than one hundred elephants are estimated to have died naturally in the past two months," the ministry said in a statement, adding that 13 deaths were recorded just this week.
In neighbouring Zimbabwe, Its wildlife agency has recorded at least 55 elephant deaths over the past month due to lack of food and water.
Preliminary investigations in Botswana have also suggested some of the elephants may have ...

Drought causes more than 100 elephant deaths in Botswana

The United States will lift recently imposed sanctions on Turkey after Tuesday's deadline for Kurdish fighters to withdraw from a Syrian safe zone if Ankara respects the ceasefire, a US official said.
Kurdish fighters told the United States that they pulled out of the zone within a five-day truce period that ends at 1900 GMT, fulfilling a condition for a full end to Turkey's incursion.
"We have a commitment once the 120 hours is over to roll back sanctions," the senior official said on condition of anonymity.
"That is a commitment we will live up to," he said, without giving an exact timing to lift the sanctions.
But he warned that Turkey also needs to observe its promise to end the operation.
"Any Turkish kinetic military operation that moves forward at the end of this 120-hour period... will lead to us concluding that the Turks have violated our agreement, with the inevitable sanctions," the official said.
On October 14, Trump slapped sanctions on three Turkish ministers and raised .

US to lift Turkey sanctions after Syria deadline if it respects ceasefire

Japan-based SoftBank will take control of WeWork in a bailout plan that will see the office-sharing startup's co-founder Adam Neumann exit the board, a person close to the matter said Tuesday.
SoftBank, which already holds 29 per cent of WeWork, will invest at least USD 5 billion more, the source said, which will give it control of the company.
About USD 1.7 billion will go to Neumann, who will step down from the board of directors.
The deal values WeWork at about USD 8 billion, a far cry from the USD 47 billion at the start of the year and a fraction of the sum envisioned in an initial public offering that was abandoned last month.
WeWork, which had also been weighing a bailout plan from JPMorgan Chase, declined comment.
The plan provides needed funds the troubled office sharing company, which sources have said must raise at least $3 billion to cover its financing needs through the end of the year.
Neumann stepped down as chief executive in September amid questions over perceived ...

WeWork accepts SoftBank bailout plan valuing WeWork at USD 8 bn: source

France's foreign minister said Tuesday he saw "no justification at this stage" for an additional delay to Britain's scheduled October 31 departure from the European Union.
"We've been waiting for three years for this decision. It's important for it to be announced today because otherwise there will be no option except 'no deal,' which is not the solution we prefer," Jean-Yves Le Drian told lawmakers in parliament.
"The main question is for the British, that they tell us today, as soon as possible, if it's yes or no," Le Drian said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson struggled Tuesday to secure backing from lawmakers for the latest hard-won accord on Brexit, just over a week away.
Over the weekend, they forced Johnson to ask EU negotiators for a new delay despite his pledge to pull Britain from the bloc at the end of the month "do or die."
The premier faces two crucial votes in parliament later Tuesday, and has warned that defeat would force him to abandon the legislation and seek a .

'No justification at this stage' for new Brexit delay: France

Russia's navy said Tuesday it had discovered five new islands revealed by melting glaciers in the remote Arctic.
An expedition in August and September charted the islands, which have yet to be named and were previously hidden under glaciers, said the head of the northern fleet, Vice Admiral Alexander Moiseyev.
"Mainly this is of course caused by changes to the ice situation," Moiseyev, who headed the expedition, said at a press conference in Moscow.
"Before these were glaciers; we thought they were (part of) the main glacier."
"Melting, collapse and temperature changes led to these islands being uncovered."
Glacier loss in the Arctic in the period from 2015 to 2019 was more than in any other five-year period on record, a United Nations report on global warming said last month.
Russia has opened a string of military and scientific bases in the Arctic in recent years, with interest in the region growing as rising temperatures open up shipping routes and make hitherto inaccessible ...

Russia discovers five Arctic islands uncovered by melting ice

Japan-based SoftBank will take control of WeWork in a bailout plan that will see the office-sharing startup's co-founder Adam Neumann exit the board, a person close to the matter said Tuesday.
SoftBank, which already holds 29 percent of WeWork, will invest at least USD 5 billion more, the source said. About USD 1.7 billion will go to Neumann, who will step down.
The deal values WeWork at about USD 8 billion, a far cry from the USD 47 billion at the start of the year and a fraction of the sum envisioned in an initial public offering that was abandoned last month.

WeWork accepts SoftBank bailout plan valuing WeWork at $8 bn: source

Defeating jihadists in Idlib is the key to ending Syria's eight-year-old civil war, President Bashar al-Assad said Tuesday on his first visit to the embattled northwestern region since 2011.
"The battle of Idlib is the basis for resolving chaos and terrorism in all other areas of Syria," Assad's office quoted him as telling troops in the frontline town of Al-Hbeit.
It published a picture of the president surrounded by troops dressed in military fatigues, with maps hanging behind them.
His comments came as Syrian troops continued to deploy in parts of the north where they are supporting Kurdish forces to contain a Turkish invasion.
The developments on Syria's northern border "do not distract us from the importance of the Idlib front," Assad said.
He said his troops have completed preparations for an offensive in Idlib and "are now ready to receive and execute the order when the time is right."
After turning the tide of the war, Assad's forces now control around 60 percent of the ...

Idlib front is main battle to end Syria war: Assad

China's foreign minister on Monday denounced months of pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong as "violence pure and simple", accusing foreign forces and the international media of fuelling the political crisis.
The comments, in an exclusive interview with AFP, were the most direct condemnation from a top Chinese official of the protests that erupted five months ago and have seen millions of people take to the streets calling for greater democracy.
"What is happening in Hong Kong today are in no way peaceful protests," Wang Yi said during the interview with AFP during a trip to Paris on Monday.
"It's violence pure and simple. These are unacceptable acts in any country," he added, accusing the protesters of attacking police, members of the public and paralysing transport.
Hong Kong has been riven by seething protests for the past 20 weeks, with violence spiralling on both sides of the ideological divide.  While huge crowds have regularly marched peacefully, clashes have repeatedly broken out 

China foreign minister slams 'unacceptable' violence in Hong Kong

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday as the Turkish leader threatened to restart Ankara's military offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria.
The two leaders met in southern Russia with just hours to go before a deadline for the withdrawal of Kurdish fighters from parts of Syria under a US-brokered deal.
Putin -- who has emerged as the key powerbroker in Syria -- said he hoped to find a way to deal with the "very severe" situation in the country's north.
Sitting down with Erdogan in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin said he believed that good ties between the two countries "will let us find an answer to even the most difficult questions".
Russia and Turkey have emerged as the main foreign players in Syria's conflict, with Moscow's position strengthened after US President Donald Trump announced this month he would be withdrawing American forces from the north of the country.
The announcement cleared the way for Turkey to launch a ...

In Russia for talks, Erdogan threatens to restart Syria offensive

The Diamond League international athletics series will expand to 15 meetings next season with an additional event in China, organisers have announced.
The IAAF said in a statement that 15 meetings will be staged between April 17 and September 11, one more than this year with an additional date in China at a venue yet to be decided.
The Stockholm Diamond League meeting is retained despite a plan announced earlier this year to exclude it for 2020 in a bid to streamline the series while widening its appeal.
A decision to replace the traditional two-meeting final of the league by one final meeting in Zurich is maintained.
The second event in China, scheduled for May 10 in addition to the Shanghai meeting a week later, follows the announcement of a new sponsorship deal with China's Wanda Sports Group, the statement said.
The IAAF also decided to cut the broadcast time of individual meetings from two hours to 90 minutes.
"The Diamond League is our shop window and we want to attract new fans 

Diamond League gets second China meet

The International Judo Federation (IJF) said Tuesday it had banned Iran from competition indefinitely over the country's refusal to face Israeli competitors.
The federation issued a provisional ban last month while investigating a report that Iran had ordered a judoka to lose deliberately at the world championships to avoid facing an Israeli competitor in the subsequent round.
"Following the events, which occurred during the last World Judo Championships Tokyo 2019, the final suspension of the Iran Judo Federation from all competitions... has been pronounced," the IJF said in a statement.
Iranian fighter Saeid Mollaei, defending his title at the Tokyo World Championships in August, had said he was ordered to throw his semi-final rather than risk facing an Israeli in the final of the -81kg class.
The Iranian, 27, lost the semi-final and then went on to lose his third-place fight.  Mollaei said he had been instructed to withdraw from the competition by the presidents of the Iran Judo ...

AFP

AFP

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