A large explosion caused by a suspected gas leak destroys a bakery in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. Four people are killed, and 40 others are injured. (Sky News)
At least 21 miners die after a roof collapses in a coal mine in Shenmu, China. (BBC News)
At least 17 are killed and 12 others are injured in a fire at a drug rehabilitation clinic in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Officials said the blaze took hold after patients set mattresses on fire in a bid to escape the facility. (Sky News)
On its 22nd day, the federal government shutdown becomes the longest in American history overtaking the record previously set in 1995–1996. (News Limited)
Joining several other Democrats in the race, Julian Castro, who served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 to 2017, announces his intention to run in the 2020 United States presidential election. (CNN)
The Congolese election commission announces that parties supporting outgoing president Joseph Kabila obtained the majority in the National Assembly. (Yahoo News)