A huge fire at a construction site sent clouds of acrid black smoke billowing over Auckland on Tuesday, forcing large parts of the downtown area to be cordoned off as firefighters battled the blaze.
The fire broke out on the roof of the SkyCity convention centre site shortly after 1:10pm (0010 GMT) and quickly spread, Fire and Emergency NZ said.
Office workers were warned to stay inside and turn off air conditioning as a thick pall of smoke engulfed the centre of New Zealand's largest city, but there were no reports on injuries.
Unconfirmed reports said the fire was started by a construction worker using a blowtorch on the building, which is one of the venues for the 2021 APEC summit being held in Auckland.

Auckland blaze blankets city in black smoke

PTI Automatic

While Liverpool hope to have Mohamed Salah back alongside Sadio Mane in attack in time for Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Genk in Belgium, their opponents have their own African forward who is a superstar in his home country.
Mbwana Ally Samatta's 23 league goals last season helped fire the unfashionable club from an old mining hub in the Dutch-speaking north of Belgium to the league title and a return to Europe's leading club competition.
The 26-year-old then became the first Tanzanian to play in the Champions League and marked the occasion by scoring on an otherwise miserable night for Genk as they lost 6-2 in Salzburg in their Group E opener.
Since then they have held Napoli to a 0-0 draw at home, a result which gives an unfancied side hope they can spring a surprise against the reigning European champions.
"Some people thought it might be very difficult for us against Napoli but we could have won that game so we will see. We will give everything at home," said Genk ...

Tanzanian star Samatta has sights set on Liverpool as Salah fights for fitness

Arsenal slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United as Lys Mousset condemned the Gunners to their latest away-day flop on Monday.
Unai Emery's side are without an away Premier League win since the opening weekend of the season after failing to rise to the challenge posed by fired up United at Bramall Lane.
French forward Mousset, making his first Premier League start for United, punished poor Arsenal defending in the first half to score his second goal since signing from Bournemouth.
That was enough to send Arsenal crashing to just their second defeat of the season, ending an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
The north Londoners sit fifth in the league after a powder-puff performance that showed Emery's rebuilding job is still a work in progress.
Under Emery, Arsenal have kept just two clean sheets in 24 away league matches and once again they wilted too easily in a hostile environment.
This was a signature win for the Blades after last season's promotion and they sit 

Blades burst Arsenal bubble as Mousset strikes

Roger Federer opened his bid for a 10th title at the ATP Swiss indoors in Basel on Monday, crushing German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in what was the Swiss legend's 1,500th career match.
This landmark 6-2 6-1 success in his hometown set the 38-year-old up for his tilt at a 103rd title.
"I thought the match was good," Federer said. "I felt a nice spring in my step. I was quick to the ball and it didn't take me long to get used to the conditions, that's positive. There is a danger in playing Peter indoors since he's already had two solid qualifying matches. He also serves great indoors. But I was able to control things."
Federer is defending the 2018 title at his hometown event. The victory improved his career record at the tournament to 72-9 and increased his Basel win streak to 21 straight matches.
Federer, who has made the Basel final on all of his last 12 visits, owns ATP titles this season in Dubai, Miami and Halle
The Monday rout took just 54 minutes with Federer forced to break ...

Federer celebrates 1,500th match with Basel breeze

Roger Federer praised Andy Murray's weekend Antwerp title just 10 months after the former number one underwent a hip resurfacing.
"Andy's achievement was great," Federer said after rolling through into the second round of the ATP Swiss Indoors in Basel.
"I was a little bit torn, since he beat (fellow Swiss) Stan (Wawrinka) in the final, but it was a great way for him to come back."
Federer said that Murray's perseverance to regain match fitness after his major surgery was admirable.
"He's been playing to try and get close to his old level," the 20-time Grand Slam winner added of Murray, who competed on the circuit for four straight weeks ending in Antwerp on Sunday.
"It's nice to see Andy healthy again. I remember in the locker room of the Australian Open (when a tearful Murray played in pain and lost in a five-set first round match in January). It was very confusing for him and for all of us. I'm extremely happy for him," Federer said.

Federer praises Murray's Antwerp comeback success

The secret and "industrial scale" killing of retired Australian racehorses will be examined in a government inquiry, officials said Tuesday, after an outcry over alleged animal cruelty.
While the slaughter of racehorses is not illegal in Australia, an investigation by national broadcaster ABC last week found the practice was far more widespread than acknowledged.
Meat from prize-winning horses had been shipped abroad for human consumption and pet food, according to the report, which came just weeks ahead of the prestigious Melbourne Cup turf race.
Secretly filmed footage allegedly showed workers at an abattoir north of Brisbane beating and abusing horses, prompting Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to announce an "urgent" inquiry into the treatment of retired thoroughbreds.
"This was deeply disturbing, horrendous footage," she told Queensland's parliament.
"I want to make sure that we leave no stone unturned and ensure we do everything possible to stamp out animal cruelty."
The 

Probe ordered into 'industrial' slaughter of Aussie racehorses

The main opposition candidate in Bolivia's presidential election refused Monday to recognize results that seemed set to give victory to long-time incumbent Evo Morales, as election monitors voiced "deep concern".
Carlos Mesa, a former president who came a close second to Morales in Sunday's polls -- forcing a run-off according to preliminary results -- denounced revised results released by election authorities as a "fraud".
Election monitors from the Organization of American States earlier expressed "deep concern and surprise" at changes to the election count that showed Morales closing in on an outright victory in the first round.
"The OAS mission expresses its deep concern and surprise at the drastic and hard-to-explain change in the trend of the preliminary results revealed after the closing of the polls," it said in a statement.
Preliminary results released late Sunday showed neither Morales nor Mesa with a majority and "clearly indicated a second round," the OAS mission said.

Election monitor expresses 'concern and surprise' at Bolivia count change

Japan's new Emperor Naruhito on Tuesday began a string of ritual-bound ceremonies that complete his ascension to the Chrysanthemum throne, with the after-effects of a deadly typhoon casting a shadow over proceedings.
Naruhito officially assumed his duties as emperor on May 1, a day after his father became the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in 200 years.
But the transition is not complete until his new role is officially proclaimed, in a series of events expected to be attended by foreign dignitaries from over 180 countries.
The festivities have been scaled back however in the wake of devastating Typhoon Hagibis, which slammed into Japan just over a week ago, killing more than 80.
With people still searching for missing loved ones and living in shelters, the government has postponed until November 10 an open-top car parade that had been intended to introduce the royal pair to the public.
But the rest of the day's ceremonies are going ahead as planned, and Naruhito began the day by .

Japan emperor to complete enthronement in ritual-bound ceremony

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to hold onto power in a nail-biter of a general election Monday, according to television projections.
Broadcasters TVA and CTV declared the Liberals -- elected or leading in 139 of the 338 electoral districts, versus 99 for Andrew Scheer and the Conservatives -- will form a minority government.

Trudeau's Liberals to form minority government: Canadian TV projections

Canadians voted Monday in what pundits called one of the country's closest elections ever, leaving the future of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in doubt.
Surveys predicted Trudeau's Liberal Party could return with a minority government or lose its grip on power entirely.
The Liberals and the Conservatives, led by Andrew Scheer, were set for a near dead heat.
Polls opened at 1100 GMT in the Atlantic province of Newfoundland, the first of the country's six time zones. About 27.4 million Canadians are eligible to elect 338 members of parliament.
The first results are expected starting at 2300 GMT, a few hours before voting wraps up in westernmost British Columbia.
After 40 days of campaigning, neither of the two parties that have led Canada since Confederation in 1867 was expected to secure an absolute majority of seats.
At final campaign stops in British Columbia on Sunday, former golden boy Trudeau made an emotional appeal for voters to let him build on his first-term achievements.
He ..

Trudeau's future on the line as Canadians vote

Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido has asked China and Russia to help end a political crisis crippling the Latin American country during "exploratory" talks, his diplomatic representative in Brazil said Monday.
Oil-rich Venezuela's economy is crumbling amid a political standoff between leftist President Nicolas Maduro and Guaido, the national assembly speaker widely recognized as the country's legitimate leader.
Teresa Belandria, whom Guaido appointed as Venezuela's envoy to Brazil earlier this year after declaring himself acting president, said the opposition leader has met with various Chinese delegations in the capital Caracas.
Members of his coalition also have had contact with Russia, including in the Brazilian capital Brasilia.
Moscow and Beijing are staunch supporters of Maduro's government.
"These are exploratory contacts in which they have asked (Russia and China) to be part of the solution to the crisis and to become facilitators of the democratic transition process," 

Venezuela's Guaido holds 'exploratory' talks with China, Russia: Envoy

Democratic lawmakers urged US authorities Monday to launch an insider trading investigation into possible market manipulation by traders who may have timed their moves to President Donald Trump's remarks on issues like negotiations with China.
In a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr, the FBI chief and the Securities and Exchange Commission, 14 senators expressed concern about reports of "suspicious trading" by an individual or group that amounted to payoffs in some cases topping USD 1 billion per trade -- just ahead of Trump remarks or action by his administration.
"They suggest that some may have an unfair trading advantage because of privileged access to nonpublic market-moving information potentially from government sources and, as a result, raise concerning questions about the integrity of our financial markets and our public institutions," the senators wrote.
The lawmakers include Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and 2020 presidential hopeful Amy ...

Democrats seek probe of market bets timed to Trump moves

President Donald Trump on Monday said his much-criticized attempt to stage the G7 at one of his golf courses was not intended to promote his business brand, arguing he's too famous to "need promotion."
"They say, 'Oh, you get promotion.' You don't think I get enough promotion? I get more promotion than any human being that's ever lived," Trump said at a meeting of his cabinet in the White House.
"I don't need promotion." Trump's latest defense of the now-scrapped plan to hold the international summit at his National Doral resort in Florida next year follows withering criticism.
Opponents say the bid smacked of corruption while even figures in the loyal Republican party baulked at the optics of the real estate tycoon holding the huge diplomatic event at his own hotel.
Trump on Saturday tweeted that he was pulling the idea and would consider other sites, including the presidential retreat of Camp David, near Washington, DC.
He has previously come under fire for the use of his golf ...

Trump says he's most promoted person 'ever'

Chile ordered an overnight curfew for the third day in a row as violent protests and looting that left 11 people dead over the weekend raged on into the working week.
Army general Javier Iturriaga announced the curfew would last from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am as protests originally against a hike in metro fares turned into anger at President Sebastian Pinera and the military.
Iturriaga insisted the curfew was "necessary" despite thousands of people demonstrating peacefully in the capital.
However, there were scenes of violence and looting in other cities such as Valparaiso, Concepcion and Maipu.
Pinera said on Sunday the country was "at war" as five people died when a factory in a Santiago suburb was torched by protesters, while two women also died after a supermarket was set ablaze by looters.
Thousands of protesters --- many banging pots and pans in the traditional Latin American manner -- gathered peacefully in the main Plaza Italia square in the capital on Monday, chanting "Pinera Out!" .

Chile orders new curfew as violent protests rage

The Baha'i community voiced fear Monday that a court under Yemen's Huthi rebels could order the mass expulsion of members of the faith.
The community said that an appeals court in Yemen's capital Sanaa, which is controlled by the insurgents, is expected to rule Tuesday on a death sentence handed down on religious grounds to Hamed bin Haydara, a Baha'i detained since 2013.
Citing statements by the prosecutor, the Baha'i International Community said it feared the judge would not only uphold the execution but order the deportation of Baha'is from Yemen.
"By such a ruling, he would target and threaten an entire religious community in Yemen -- which wishes for nothing more than to contribute to its nation's progress," Diane Ala'i, a representative of the community to the United Nations, said in a statement.
She warned Baha'is could face "statelessness and expulsion, confiscation of assets and threat of extermination in the country." Sam Brownback, the US ambassador-at-large for ...

Baha'i community fears deportations as Yemen sentence looms

US President Donald Trump on Monday said progress in developing the text of a partial trade pact with China means he will likely be able to sign it next month.
Trump remains upbeat on the chances Beijing and Washington will seal the mini-deal he announced earlier this month -- marking a cooling-off period in the two nations' damaging trade war.
"We'll be able to, we think, sign a completed document with China on phase one," Trump said at the White House US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said efforts to commit the agreement to paper before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile next month are "on track" though some work remains to be done.
"Our target is to have the phase one deal by the time you go to Chile," Lighthizer told Trump.
Trump has said he expects to sign the partial deal on the sidelines of the summit when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
While details are scant, the new mini-deal includes a surge in Chinese purchases of American farm ...

Trump says 'phase 1' China trade pact on track for November

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday he has informed President Reuven Rivlin he has been unable to form a new government following September elections.
"A short time ago I informed the president that I was handing back my mandate to try to form a government," he said in a video posted on his official Facebook page.

Netanyahu tells president giving up on forming Israel govt

The Vatican on Monday spoke of an "act of defiance" after some indigenous Amazonian statues were taken from a Rome church and dumped into the Tiber River following criticism from ultra-conservative Catholics.
Anonymous individuals filmed themselves taking the five statues of a naked, pregnant woman from a church near the Vatican and throwing them from a bridge.
The vandalism came during a meeting of bishops or synod at the Vatican focused on the Amazon region, during which some ultra-conservatives have criticised the display of what they call "pagan" indigenous objects during church ceremonies.
The Internet video, which emerged on Monday, showed an unidentified man taking the statues.
Senior Vatican official Paolo Ruffini told journalists on Monday that the theft was "an act of defiance" that was "against the spirit of dialogue."
"We have repeatedly said that these statues represent life, fertility, mother Earth," Ruffini said.
Synod spokesman Father Giacomo Costa said that "stealing .

Vatican condemns 'defiance' after Amazon statues thrown in river

A Bangladeshi lawmaker has been expelled from university after allegedly hiring as many as eight lookalikes to take exams in her place, officials said Monday.
Tamanna Nusrat, from the ruling Awami League party, is accused of paying the lookalikes to pretend to be her in at least 13 tests.
The scandal emerged after private broadcaster Nagorik TV entered a test hall and confronted one of the women posing as Nusrat, in a video that went viral.
Nusrat, who was elected to parliament last year, was studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree with the Bangladesh Open University (BOU).
"We expelled her because she has committed a crime. A crime is a crime," BOU head M.A. Mannan told AFP. "We have cancelled her enrolment. She will never be able to get admitted here again." "The proxy students were protected by the MP's musclemen when they sat for the tests. Everybody knew it but nobody uttered a word because she is from a very influential family," a college official said.
Nusrat could not be ...

AFP

AFP

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