World Briefs … Trudeau wins second term but loses majority

TORONTO – Prime minister Justin Trudeau won a second term in Canada’s national elections on Monday, losing the majority but delivering unexpectedly strong results, despite having been weakened by a series of scandals that tarnished his image as a liberal icon.

Trudeau’s Liberal party took the most seats in parliament, giving it the best chance to form a government. However, falling short of a majority meant the Liberals would have to rely on an opposition party to pass legislation. “It’s not quite the same as 2015. It’s not all owing to the leader,” said Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto. “Trudeau is prime minister because the rest of the party was able to pull itself together and prevail.”

WELLINGTON – New Zealand fire services were battling a massive blaze yesterday on the roof of a convention centre being build in the city of Auckland, considered to be the country’s biggest current building project. The fire, which broke out at the SkyCity Convention Centre, is close to the Sky City tower in central Auckland. Videos posted by witnesses on Twitter showed fire and black smoke billowing from the roof. “Fire is really building,” Auckland’s mayor, Phil Goff, said on Twitter. “People can be seen on the roof.” Construction workers were among the hundreds of people evacuated, media said. Traffic came to a standstill in central Auckland, with people asked to avoid the business district, and urged to take precautions against inhaling smoke.

SANTIAGO – Chile was under curfew for the third night in a row on Monday as violent protests and looting that left 12 people dead raged on into the working week. Protests originally against a hike in metro fares have turned into anger at the military and president Sebastian Pinera, who on Monday night proposed a “social agreement” to meet the demands of demonstrators. Army general Javier Iturriaga, charged with security in the capital, said the 08h00 to 18h00 curfew was “necessary” as Santiago and several other cities were once again gripped by violence. But in several parts of the capital, protesters defiantly ignored the order and faced off with security forces. Earlier, a young man died after being hit by a military truck during the looting of a fishing company.

LA PAZ – Bolivia’s electoral authority announced on Monday night that president Evo Morales was close to avoiding a run-off in his re-election bid, touching off protests by the leader’s opponents already upset by a sudden halt in the release of the vote count. Crowds burned the offices of the electoral body in the southern cities of Sucre and Potosi, and protesters set fire to ballots from Sunday’s election in Tarija. Groups of Morales’ supporters and opponents also clashed in a number of places, including the capital La Paz. The president’s opponents suggested that officials were trying to help Morales avoid a run-off fight in which he could lose to a unified opposition. An observer mission from the Organisation of American States expressed concerns about the development.

– Nampa-AFP-Reuters-AP