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At least 14 UN peacekeepers have been killed and 53 wounded in an attack in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN's Monusco mission said the peacekeepers were attacked by suspected rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in North Kivu province. Five Congolese soldiers also died. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was the worst attack on UN peacekeepers in recent history and amounted to a "war crime". "I want to express my outrage and utter heartbreak at last night's attack. There must be no impunity for such assaults, here or anywhere else," he said. Eastern DR Congo has suffered years of instability with rival groups fighting for control of territory. A Monusco statement said rebels had launched an attack against an operating base at Semuliki in Beni territory on Thursday evening. "This resulted in protracted fighting between suspected ADF elements and Monusco and FARDC [Congolese] forces," it added...

Much of California's avocado crop has been destroyed by wildfires that have ripped through the southern part of the state, industry experts say. "We've lost at least several hundred acres of avocados, probably more," the California Avocado Commission told agriculture news site AgNet West. About 90% of US avocados are grown in California, and the industry is worth millions to the economy. About 5,700 firefighters have been battling the fires, officials say. California wildfire flames seen from space One death has been confirmed - that of a 70-year-old woman found in her car on Wednesday. Three firefighters have been injured and about 500 buildings destroyed. There are now fears the fires will have serious implications for California's vast agricultural industry. Last season's avocado harvest produced a crop worth more than $400m (£300m), according to the California Avocado Commission. Much of this was grown on family-owned farms in the sout...

Bitcoin briefly crossed through the $17,000 (£12,615) mark in volatile Asian trading, extending its record-breaking run. The cryptocurrency has soared about 70% this week according to Coindesk.com, despite fresh warnings of a dangerous bubble. Its dramatic rise has been likened to a "charging train with no brakes". As concerns mount, an industry group has warned plans to start bitcoin futures trading were "rushed through". In a choppy Asian session, the digital currency breached new highs before falling back to about $16,000. Critics have said Bitcoin is going through a bubble similar to the dotcom boom, but others argue it is rising in price because it is crossing into the financial mainstream. "Bitcoin now seems like a charging train with no brakes," said Shane Chanel, from Sydney-based ASR Wealth Advisers. The surging price of Bitcoin has been helped by the upcoming start of the futures market this weekend. Futures trading Bitcoin futu...

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo won the fifth Ballon d'Or of his career on Thursday, matching Lionel Messi as the most-awarded winner of one of the sport's top individual honours. Ronaldo won the award for the second consecutive time, after a year that saw him help Madrid to a third Champions League crown in four seasons and a first La Liga title in five years, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup. The 32-year-old scored twice as Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in the Champions League final in June, while also finishing top scorer in the competition with 12 goals. Ronaldo accepted the award at a ceremony at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, where he said: "I feel very happy, it's a fantastic moment in my career, I've been waiting for this for a long time. "This year has been great, we won the Champions League and La Liga and, on a personal level, I was a top scorer in the Champions League. Trophies help win these awards and we have to thank my colle...

1: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal) 2: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) 3: Neymar (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain/Brazil) 4: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus/Italy) 5: Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia) 6: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain) 7: Kylian Mbappe (Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain/France) 8: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/France) 9: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland) 10: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England) 11: Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain/Uruguay) 12: Isco (Real Madrid/Spain) 13: Luis Suarez (Barcelona/Uruguay) 14: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium) 15: Paulo Dybala (Juventus/Argentina) 16: Marcelo (Real Madrid/Brazil) 17: Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/Germany) 18: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/France) 19: Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium) 20: David De Gea (Manchester United/Spain) t-21: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund/Gabon) t-21: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, AC Milan/Italy) 23: Sadio Mane (Liverpool/Senegal) 24: Radamel Falcao (M...

MANCHESTER -- Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is facing a midfield shortage ahead of this weekend's Manchester derby. Mourinho will definitely be without Paul Pogba at Old Trafford on Sunday as he will serve the first game of a three-match suspension after the club decided against appealing the red card he picked up in the 3-1 win over Arsenal on Saturday. But the United boss also has injury worries over Marouane Fellaini and Nemanja Matic. Fellaini has missed the last two games, while Mourinho confirmed on Monday that Matic is still suffering from a muscle problem. Both Fellaini and Matic were absent from training at Carrington on Monday afternoon, although Phil Jones, who has been out for more than a month, did take part. Mourinho told  MUTV : "Matic is injured and when I say he is injured, he is injured." Matic was a doubt for the trip to Arsenal on Saturday after limping off against Watford, but Mourinho revealed the midfielder had asked to play...

At least 13 people have died after a fishing boat collided with a 336-tonne tanker and capsized off South Korea's west coast. Two others were missing, South Korea's coast guard said, as a search and rescue operation continued. The chartered fishing boat, the Seonchang-1, had been carrying 20 passengers and two crew during a fishing tour at the time of the crash. Footage from the scene showed the upturned boat being searched by divers. Navy helicopters and dozens of ships were taking part in the search southwest of Incheon, near Yeongheung island. Seven people were taken to hospital for treatment. The captain of the 10-tonne fishing boat was among the missing, according to one report from AFP. There were no reported injuries on board the 336-tonne fuel tanker. South Korean news agency Yonhap said the collision happened nine minutes after the boat departed from the shoreline, possibly as the two vessels passed each other under a bridge. "There's no spe...

Manchester United's Paul Pogba is set to miss the derby with Manchester City next week after the Frenchman was sent off in the 3-1 win at Arsenal on Saturday. The midfielder was dismissed by referee Andre Marriner in the 74th-minute at the Emirates after a challenge on Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin. Pogba's studs caught the back of Bellerin's leg as he lunged for the ball. A straight red card carries a three-match ban, meaning Pogba would miss City's visit to Old Trafford on Dec.10, as well as a home game against Bournemouth on Dec.13 and the trip to West Brom on Dec. 17. United will be able to appeal the suspension, but it appears unlikely the Football Association will overturn Marriner's decision. Manager Jose Mourinho was not ready to comment on the clash when speaking to the BBC immediately after the game, but still put in a dig on Arsenal players' willingness to go to ground, including for a late incident where Laurent Koscielny was booked f...

Germany will face Mexico in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal will open against neighbours Spain, after FIFA conducted the draw in Moscow on Friday. Winners of the 2014 event, Germany will face Mexico before taking on Sweden and South Korea in Group F. Portugal and Spain, who haven't played since Spain prevailed on penalties in the semifinals of Euro 2012, will meet in Group B alongside Iran and Morocco. Despite being placed in the second pot of teams, England largely escaped a difficult draw and will face Belgium, Tunisia and Panama. Hosts Russia, guaranteed a top seed despite being FIFA's lowest-ranked team in the draw, will open the tournament against Saudi Arabia on June 14 at the 81,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, before taking on Uruguay and Egypt. Lionel Messi and Argentina drew two European teams in Croatia and debutants Iceland, as well as Nigeria. Iceland, the smallest nation ever play at the World C...

The world's largest lithium ion battery has begun dispensing power into an electricity grid in South Australia. The 100-megawatt battery, built by Tesla, was officially activated on Friday. It had in fact provided some power since Thursday due to demand caused by local hot weather. South Australia has been crippled by electricity problems in recent times. Tesla boss Elon Musk famously vowed to build the battery within 100 days - a promise that was fulfilled. "This is history in the making," South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said on Friday. The battery would prevent a repeat of a notorious incident last year where the entire state lost power, Mr Weatherill said. Mr Musk has described it as three times more powerful than the world's next biggest battery The idea began when Mr Musk was asked on Twitter if he was serious about helping to resolve South Australia's electricity woes. Mr Musk said he was - adding that if the battery wasn't bui...

With less than 24 hours to go until the 2018 FIFA World Cup draw, Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr says he is not looking to avoid any country, and is hoping to get either France or Germany. The Super Eagles have been placed in Pot 4, which contains all the lowest-ranked teams from the October FIFA ranking, while both France and Germany are seeded in Pot 1 alongside the highest-ranked teams. The seeding has left Nigeria facing the prospect of being drawn against some tough opposition, but the German says that is of little concern to him. "First, we are in Pot 4 so we are not favourites," he told KweséESPN. "That means we will be last. "I want to play Germany because I am half German, so it will be a pleasure for me to play Germany. It will also be a big pleasure to play France because I have a lot of friends there, and it is a pleasure to see friends and play against them." Those two aside, there are still some scary prospects between pots one to three, b...

A war crimes appeal hearing in The Hague was cut short dramatically when one defendant drank what he said was poison upon hearing the verdict. Slobodan Praljak, 72, was one of six former Bosnian Croat political and military leaders up before the court. He was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in 2013 for crimes in the city of Mostar. On hearing that his sentence had been upheld, he told the judge, "I have taken poison". The six were attending the final appeals judgment to be handed down by the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Though allies against the Bosnian Serbs in the 1992-95 war, Bosnian Croats and Muslims also fought each other for a period of 11 months, with Mostar seeing some of the fiercest fighting. Praljak stood and raised his hand to his mouth, tipped his head back and appeared to swallow a glass of liquid. Presiding judge Carmel Agius immediately suspended the proceedings and an ambulance was called...

Obafemi Martins could have a chance to play at another World Cup if he keeps maintains his scoring form, Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has told KweséESPN. The 33-year-old, who plays in China for Shanghai Shenhua, has scored 16 goals in 39 appearances, with his last goal coming in Sunday's 3-2 second leg win over SIPG to lead his team to the Chinese FA Cup title. The Nigerian also scored the only goal of the first leg, which saw Shenhua progress on the away-goal rule. Martins also boasts a respectable goalscoring record at international level, netting 18 in 41 appearances, but has only played for the Super Eagles four times since 2010, with his last two appearances coming in 2015, despite impressive showings with Seattle Sounders in the MLS and now Shanghai Shenhua. However, Rohr says he is willing to chat to the Martins to increase his options up-front. "Yes, the door is open to all our best players, including Martins. He is scoring a lot of goals and we need to get ...

Having secured a deserved point from Saturday's enthralling encounter with Liverpool at Anfield, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has every reason to feel positive about the Blues' upcoming, if somewhat cluttered, fixture schedule. In the race for the Premier League title, the 1-1 draw on Merseyside may have seen third place Chelsea fall behind Manchester United and leaders Manchester City, who both won at the weekend, but Conte will pay no heed to the many pundits claiming the club's chances of retaining the trophy they won in fine style last season are all but over. With Liverpool out of the way, the Italian will be eyeing the Blues' run of league games to the end of the year with relish. Swansea (home), Newcastle (home) West Ham (away) Huddersfield (away), Southampton (home), Everton (away), Brighton (home) and Stoke (home) have to be viewed as a significant opportunity to harvest the full 24 points available. It won't be easy -- it never is. But Conte proved...

VALENCIA, Spain -- Three quick thoughts from Barcelona's 1-1 draw at Valencia on Sunday at the Mestalla. 1. Valencia, Barcelona play out thrilling draw The tussle for top spot in La Liga took several turns on Sunday as the top two -- Barcelona and Valencia, respectively -- played out an entertaining and controversial draw. Rodrigo opened the scoring, cashing in on a Jose Gaya cross in the second half, but only after Barca had been left fuming by the referee's failure to award a Lionel Messi goal in the opening period. Messi's shot was straight at Neto, but the Brazilian goalkeeper fumbled the ball over his own line. A late Jordi Alba goal eventually rescued a point for Ernesto Valverde's side, keeping them four clear of Valencia, but they will still feel hard by. So clear was it that Messi's shot had crossed the line that Barca players were already in the corner of the Mestalla pitch celebrating what should have been the opening goal. Even Valencia stoppe...