The National:

TEN people have died in Brazil after a fire tore through the training complex of one of the country’s biggest football clubs.

Crews were called after 5am yesterday morning to the Ninho de Urubu training ground of the Flemengo club in western Rio de Janeiro.

The ages and identities of those killed were not released, but the ages of three teenagers injured during the incident were 14, 15 and 16, according to fire officials.

The three, whose conditions were not known, were taken to local hospitals.

“Flamengo is in mourning,” the team posted on its Twitter account.

There was no word on the cause of the fire.

The National:

THE president of Sierra Leone has declared a national emergency over sexual violence, warning that perpetrators are now younger and more violent.

In a keynote address, Julius Maada Bio said hundreds of cases of rape and sexual assault are reported each month in the west African nation against women, girls and babies as young as three months old.

Those who sexually assault minors will face life in prison, he declared – an increase from the current sentence of 15 years.

The government will now tackle sexual violence by engaging communities in dialogue and creating a special police division for rape and sexual violence against minors.

IN India, avalanches and landslides caused by heavy snow have killed eight people and trapped four others in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, officials have said.

Rescuers cut through the snow to reach 10 people – six policemen, two firefighters and two prisoners – who had been trapped in a fire station in Banihal overnight.

The bodies of three policemen and two firefighters were found, while two others were rescued alive – but three people remained missing.

Authorities have now issued a high-danger avalanche warning in many parts of the region.

The National:

MEDALS at the 2020 Olympics in Japan will be made from recycled electronic devices, it has been announced.

Nearly 50,000 tons of donated devices, including cameras, games consoles, laptops and smartphones, was collected over 18 months as part of the Old Metals New Medals project.

The Japanese public’s old devices were then dismantled and turned into raw metals.

A Team GB spokesman said: “We think this is an excellent initiative and it is something we have been supporting through our frequent visits to Tokyo, encouraging both recycling and people to support the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”

The medal designs will be unveiled in summer 2019.