A spectacular “ring of fire” could be seen on the African sky as the sun was almost – but not completely – eclipsed.
An annular eclipse happens when the moon is farther away from the Earth than during a total eclipse.
The best views were seen in Tanzania, where the event lasted about 3 minutes.
Photo Yahoo
The “ring of fire” eclipse could also be viewed in parts of Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, and the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion.
The moon does not move in a perfect circle around the earth – instead, its orbit is slightly elliptical. That means the distance of the moon varies between around 225,000-252,000 miles.
When the moon is farther away from the earth, it appears smaller – and does not totally cover the sun’s disc during a total eclipse. The result is also known as a “ring of fire” eclipse.
The next eclipse is due to take place in February 2017, and can be seen from parts of South America and Africa.
A Falcon-9 rocket operated by SpaceX has exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral where it was being test-fired ahead of a launch.
In a statement, SpaceX blamed the blast on “an anomaly” and said no-one had been injured.
The company said the rocket’s payload, a satellite due to be launched on September 3, was also destroyed.
The force of the blast shook buildings several miles away and sent a plume of smoke high above the complex.
SpaceX is seeking to create a new era of reusable rockets and affordable private space travel and has used its Falcon-9 rocket to take supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
Photo Fox News
In December 2015, SpaceX successfully landed a Falcon-9 back on Earth after a mission – a first in rocketry.
It went on to recover five more boosters, with most of them touching down on an ocean platform.
The idea is to re-fly these rockets, and the first such “second hand” vehicle is scheduled to launch in October.
SpaceX is run out of Hawthorne near Los Angeles by Elon Musk, who made his fortune with internet companies.
As well as being the rocket company’s CEO, Elon Musk also heads up the Tesla electric car company.
According to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a “significant” explosion happened just after 09:00 (14:00 GMT) at Launch Complex 40, which is leased by SpaceX.
Spokesman Bryan Purtell said: “Our emergency management teams are responding right now.”
The Falcon-9 rocket was carrying the Israeli-built Amos-6 communications satellite.
German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer and three others are being investigated by Swiss prosecutors over Germany’s bid for the 2006 World Cup.
As members of that cup’s organizing committee, they are suspected of fraud, criminal mismanagement, money laundering and misappropriation, prosecutors say.
Some of the alleged crimes were carried out on Swiss territory.
Franz Beckenbauer, who headed the bid, has previously denied corruption.
FIFA has banned Franz Beckenbauer from all its activities for failing to co-operate with its inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bidding process
In October 2015, he said he had made a “mistake” in the bidding process to host the competition in 2000 but denied votes had been bought.
In March 2016, soccer’s world governing body FIFA began looking into six men for their part in Germany winning the rights to host the 2006 cup.
Premises were searched in eight undisclosed locations on September 1 with the co-operation of the Austrian and German authorities, the prosecutors said.
Franz Beckenbauer’s home in Austria was among the properties searched, according to the AP.
Several suspects were also questioned, the prosecutors added.
Germany beat South Africa 12-11 in the World Cup vote, which took place in July 2000.
The Swiss investigation centers on the use of 7 million euros ($7.8 million), later reduced to 6.7 million euros, earmarked for a gala event.
In a statement, Swiss prosecutors said: “It is suspected that the suspects knew that this sum was not being used to fund the gala event, but instead to repay a debt that was not owed by the DFB.
“In particular, it is suspected that the suspects willfully misled their fellow members of the executive board of the organizing committee for the 2006 World Cup.
“This was presumably done by the use of false pretences or concealment of the truth, thus inducing the other committee members to act in a manner that caused DFB a financial loss.”
No further details were given.
Earlier today, Germany’s Spiegel magazine reported the investigation centered on payments made from 2002 to 2005.
In October 2015, Franz Beckenbauer said he did not give “money to anyone in order to buy votes”.
However, in a statement, he said: “In order to get a subsidy from FIFA [for the organization of the 2006 World Cup] those involved went ahead with a proposal from the FIFA finance commission that in today’s eyes should have been rejected.
“I, as president of the then-organizing committee, bear the responsibility of this mistake.”
Swiss prosecutors named four suspects on September 1:
Franz Beckenbauer: Former vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB), president of the 2006 World Cup local organizing committee (LOC) and former member of the FIFA executive committee
Wolfgang Niersbach: Former president of the DFB, vice-president of the LOC and current member of the FIFA and UEFA executive committees
Theo Zwanziger: Former president of the DFB, vice-president of the LOC and former member of the FIFA and UEFA executive committees
Horst Rudolf Schmidt: Former secretary-general of the DFB and vice-president of the LOC
In a major immigration speech in Phoenix, Arizona, Donald Trump has insisted Mexico will pay for a border wall “100%”.
The GOP nominee told a cheering crowd that he would secure the border, and left open the possibility that millions of illegal immigrants be deported.
Hours earlier, Donald Trump met Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto but said they had not discussed financing the wall.
President Pena Nieto later insisted he had told Donald Trump Mexico would not pay.
There had been speculation that Donald Trump would back off his plan to deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US.
In his speech in Phoenix, there were conflicting signals about this. The Republican said their fate was not a “core issue” and that deporting “criminal aliens” would be the priority.
“We will treat everyone living or residing in our country with great dignity,” he said.
Later Donald Trump struck a more uncompromising note when he added: “Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws.”
He said it was the right of the US to choose immigrants that “we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us”.
Elaborating on that idea, Donald Trump said his “extreme vetting” would involve an ideological test for immigrants applying to live in the US.
“Applicants will be asked for their views about honor killings, about respect for women and gays and minorities, attitudes on radical Islam,” he said.
Donald Trump stormed to an unlikely victory in the Republican primaries partly due to his tough talking on immigration.
In Phoenix he vowed to protect the interests of Americans who he said lose out to new arrivals: “We have to listen to the concerns that working people, our forgotten working people, have over the record pace of immigration and its impact on their jobs, wages, housing, schools, tax bills and general living conditions.”
Donald Trump accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of wanting to grant amnesty to undocumented immigrants and of advocating “open border” policies.
Reacting to Donald Trump’s visit to Mexico, Hillary Clinton said he had “choked” by not asking his hosts to pay for his wall.
American journalist Lindsey Snell has been arrested in Turkey and charged with violating a military zone, US officials have confirmed.
US state department spokesman John Kirby said Lindsey Snell was arrested earlier this month.
Lindsey Snell, a native of Daytona, Florida, recently posted on Facebook that she was kidnapped in July by Jabhat al Nusra, formerly al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, and had escaped.
The US said it was in touch with Turkish officials regarding the case.
Photo Facebook
Lindsey Snell is being held at a prison in the southern Hatay Province and US consular officials had visited her on August 26, John Kirby added.
According to her Facebook page, the American journalist had been living in Istanbul.
She describes herself on her Twitter page as a video journalist.
Lindsey Snell also has worked as a senior foreign correspondent and producer for Vocativ since March 2014, according to her LinkedIn page.
She also attended University of Florida and Fordham University’s School of Law, according to her social media profiles.
Lindsey Snell said in her most recent Facebook post on August 5 that she was held in a cave prison by militants even though she was given permission to film in their territory in Syria.
Her post said: “I must apologize to my friends and colleagues for all the pain and worry this caused you. I love you all, and I appreciate every effort made to secure my release.”
Lindsey Snell, who identified herself as Muslim, said she had been staying with the family of one of the militant group’s recent martyrs when she was “arrested.”
“Because of my unique situation, I was able to convince my captors to give me the use of a phone…which ultimately let me plan my escape, but which also let me document much of my captivity in photos and video,” her post continued.
On August 7, Lindsey Snell was taken into custody by Turkish authorities.
Volkswagen is being sued in Australia for allegedly misleading customers by selling modified vehicles that covered up emissions fraud.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) claims VW intentionally sold more than 57,000 such vehicles over a five-year period.
It is seeking a public declaration of misconduct, financial penalties and corrective advertising.
VW Australia said it is reviewing the ACCC claims.
In a statement, the company said it does not think that the court action “provides any practical benefit to consumers because software solutions for cars affected by the voluntary recall are expected soon”.
Volkswagen Group Australia managing director Michael Bartsch said: “The best outcome for customers whose vehicle is affected is to have the voluntary recall service updates installed.”
The ACCC lawsuit covers 10 VW car models including the top-selling Golf, Passat and Polo,
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement: “These allegations involve extraordinary conduct of a serious and deliberate nature by a global corporation.
“We expect higher standards of behavior from all companies that supply to Australian consumers.”
The world’s second-biggest auto maker is also facing several private class action lawsuits in Australia.
VW has suffered a global backlash since revealing last year that around 11 million of its vehicles had software or so-called “defeat devices” designed to bypass official emissions tests.
The company has since had to pay billions of dollars in fines and settlements with both regulators and customers around the world.
Donald Trump has defended his call for a wall on the Mexican border, during his visit to meet President Enrique Pena Nieto.
The GOP nominee said he did not discuss who would pay for the wall.
Donald Trump also called Mexicans “amazing” and “spectacular” people, in contrast to earlier comments branding Mexican migrants “rapists” and “murderers”.
President Pena Nieto said Mexicans had been hurt but he respected that Donald Trump genuinely wanted to build relations.
Donald Trump will later fly to Phoenix, Arizona, to deliver a key speech on measures to tackle illegal immigration.
He has seen his poll ratings slip since the GOP conventions last month.
Both nationally and in key states, Donald Trump trails Hillary Clinton, who enjoys particularly strong support among minorities.
Donald Trump said his words to Enrique Pena Nieto had been strong and straightforward.
He tried to put behind him his previous comments on Mexicans by saying those in the US had made a “great contribution”.
“I have a great feeling for Mexicans. They are amazing people,” he said.
Donald Trump said he had employed many Mexicans and that they were “beyond reproach, spectacular people with strong values of faith and community”.
He said: “We recognize and respect the right of either country to build a physical barrier or wall on any of its borders.”
But he said there was no discussion on who would pay for the wall.
Donald Trump had earlier threatened to stop cash earned by Mexicans based in the US being sent home until the country paid for it to be built.
He concluded by saying he was honored by President Pena Nieto’s invitation to visit, adding: “I call you a friend.”
Enrique Pena Nieto accepted there were border challenges but pointed out the massive contribution Mexicans have made to the US, and that “six million jobs rely on exports to Mexico”.
He said: “My priority is to protect Mexicans wherever they may be. That is my responsibility. Mexicans in the US are honest people, hard-working people who respect their families, their community and the law. They deserve everybody’s respect.”
President Pena Nieto has invited both candidates to visit Mexico, but has faced criticism at home over Donald Trump.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox earlier told CNN: “We don’t like him. We don’t want him. We reject his visit.”
Former First Lady Margarita Zavala also tweeted: “We Mexicans have dignity, and we reject your hate speech.”
At least two demonstrations have been planned in Mexico City.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has not yet said if she will travel to Mexico.
Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff has been removed from office for manipulating the budget after Senators’ impeachment vote.
The Senate’s vote puts an end to the 13 years in power of her left-wing Workers’ Party.
Dilma Rousseff had denied the charges.
Sixty-one senators voted in favor of Dilma Rousseff’s dismissal and 20 against, meeting the two-thirds majority needed to remove her from the presidency.
Michel Temer has been sworn in as president and will serve out Dilma Rousseff’s term until January 1, 2019.
The center-right PMDB party politician had been serving as acting president during the impeachment proceedings.
However, Dilma Rousseff did win one battle on August 31 – a Senate vote on banning her from public office for eight years failed to pass, meaning she could in theory return to politics.
Pledging to appeal against her impeachment, Dilma Rousseff told her supporters: “Right now, I will not say goodbye to you. I am certain I can say: <<See you soon>>.”
She added: “They have convicted an innocent person and carried out a parliamentary coup.”
Venezuela’s leftist government reacted to the vote by removing its ambassador and freezing relations with Brazil.
Dilma Rousseff was suspended in May after the Senate voted to go ahead with the impeachment process.
She was accused of moving funds between government budgets, which is illegal under Brazilian law.
Dilma Rousseff’s critics said she was trying to plug deficit holes in popular social programs to boost her chances of being re-elected for a second term in October 2014.
She fought the allegations, arguing that her right-wing political rivals had been trying to remove her from office ever since she was re-elected.
Dilma Rousseff said that she was being ousted because she had allowed a wide-ranging corruption investigation to go ahead, which resulted in many high-profile politicians being charged.
Senators who voted in favor of her removal said it was Dilma Rousseff and the Workers’ Party who were corrupt and needed to go.
Brazilians have been divided on the issue, with many expressing their support and loyalty to Dilma Rousseff while others have taken part in large demonstrations demanding that she stand down.
Michel Temer has promised to boost Brazil’s economy, which is going through its longest and deepest recession in the past quarter of a century.
Queen of Knitwear Sonia Rykiel died on August 25 at the age of 86.
The French fashion designer had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for some time before her death.
Her daughter, Nathalie Rykiel, said: “My mother died at 05:00 this morning at her home in Paris from the effects of Parkinson’s.”
Nathalie Rykiel is also the managing and artistic director of the Sonia Rykiel fashion label.
French President Francois Hollande praised Sonia Rykiel as “a pioneer”.
Francois Hollande said of Sonia Rykiel, whose relaxed striped knitwear was seen as a shift away from more formal suits: “She invented not just a style but an attitude, a way of living and being, and offered a freedom of movement.”
Photo Wikipedia
Jean-Marc Loubier, chairman and chief executive of First Heritage Brands, the parent company of the Sonia Rykiel label, said: “It is a sad day but Sonia Rykiel leaves behind her an extraordinary legacy.”
He added that she had “helped women and society evolve.”
Sonia Rykiel was born Sonia Flis in Paris in May 1930, to a Romanian father and Russian mother.
She started her career as a window dresser in 1948, with her first foray into design being when she knitted herself maternity dresses after marrying Sam Rykiel, the owner of a Paris boutique.
Sonia Rykiel made her breakthrough in 1962 with the so-called poor boy sweater, which had long sleeves and a fitted shape.
Elle magazine then featured teenage pop star Francoise Hardy wearing a red and pink striped Rykiel sweater on its cover in December 1963.
Brigitte Bardot was later photographed in a Rykiel creation, with Audrey Hepburn among her other famous fans.
Sonia Rykiel opened her first ready-to-wear store on Paris’s Left Bank in 1968 and her fashion empire went on to include menswear, children’s clothing, accessories and perfumes.
According to her website, Sonia Rykiel “urged women to be eccentric, seductive, mysterious, and to create their own style”.
During her career Sonia Rykiel developed new techniques like inside-out stitching and no-hem finishings, with other star pieces including embroidered knitted tops and rhinestone-studded berets.
Sonia Rykiel wrote several novels and also featured in 1994 movie Pret-a-Porter, Robert Altman’s satirical take on the fashion industry.
In 2012, she revealed she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s 15 years earlier.
The designer had initially kept the condition private but wrote about her diagnosis in a book when her symptoms became too difficult to disguise, fashion site WWD said.
Sonia Rykiel is survived by her daughter Nathalie and son Jean-Philippe.
JetBlue Flight 387 has become the first US commercial flight to land in Cuba after more than half a century.
The plane had 150 passengers, including US transport secretary Anthony Foxx.
The aircraft took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at 09:45 EDT and landed in Santa Clara in central Cuba about an hour later.
The flight marks the latest development between US and Cuba since they restored diplomatic ties in December 2014.
The last time an American airline flew scheduled service to Cuba was in 1961 on a propeller plane, according to Marty St George, the executive vice president of JetBlue.
Photo Getty Images
To commemorate the occasion, the plane received a water cannon salute, which traditionally marks a special occasion for a ship or aircraft.
Since the US thawed relations with Cuba, embassies have been re-opened in Washington and Havana, President Barack Obama visited the island and a US cruise ship sailed to the country in May.
The Obama administration has approved 10 US-based airlines for regular passenger jet service to Cuba, offering as many as 110 daily flights.
The approved airlines include: American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Silver Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Sun Country and United Airlines.
Tourism to Cuba is still banned in the US, but the Obama administration eased rules last year to make it easier for Americans to access the long-isolated nation under 12 categories of “authorized travel”.
French police have seized 370kg of cocaine with a street value of up to 50 million euros.
The drug, hidden in bags among a delivery of orange juice concentrate, was discovered at a Coca-Cola plant in France. It arrived in a container from South America.
An investigation is under way in Signes, a village in southern France.
The seizure makes it one of the largest finds on French soil.
Toulon prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said the delivery “has a street value of 50 million euros” and referred to it as “a very bad surprise”.
Employees at the Coca-Cola plant have been ruled out of any involvement as investigators attempt to trace the origin of the drug.
“The first elements of the investigation have shown that employees are in no way involved,” Jean-Denis Malgras, the regional president of Coca-Cola, told local news website Var-Matin.
In April 2015, French customs officers aided in the arrest of two men caught trying to sail a yacht loaded with 250kg of cocaine to the UK.
Google has announced it is planning to expand a ride-sharing service in San Francisco using its Waze app, setting up a potential showdown with market leaders Uber and Lyft.
Waze app gives traffic conditions and driving directions in real time.
Since May Google has been running a pilot carpooling service, which uses Waze to connect drivers and passengers near its California headquarters.
By the end of the year anyone in the Bay Area will be able to request a ride, using the Waze app.
If successful, Google may look to expand the service to other cities.
The move may undercut its rivals, as Waze charges cheaper rates.
Under the pilot program, Waze charged riders a maximum of 54 cents a mile with no booking fee.
Waze app aims to connect drivers and potential passengers heading in the same direction and the charges to passengers cover the cost of fuel and maintenance.
It is a different model from Uber and Lyft, where drivers use their own cars to offer rides for profit.
Over the last few years Google and Uber have started to compete in the fast-growing transport business.
Both companies are developing driverless cars, with Uber set to launch road tests in Pittsburgh soon.
Uber has also begun developing its own mapping software.
Uber and Lyft are estimated to be worth billions of dollars but have yet to turn a profit.
Donald Trump is to visit Mexico on August 31, hours before he details measures against illegal immigration in a speech.
The Republican presidential nominee tweeted that he was looking forward to meeting Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has invited both him and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
President Enrique Pena Nieto said dialogue would help “protect Mexicans wherever they are”.
Donald Trump has condemned Mexican migrants during his campaign and vowed to build a wall between the two countries.
The Republican will visit Mexico in between a fundraising event in California and his immigration speech in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday night.
Donald Trump has seen his poll ratings slip since the party conventions last month.
Both nationally and in key states, Donald Trump trails Hillary Clinton, who enjoys particularly strong support among minorities.
Enrique Pena Nieto said he had invited both candidates for talks and would meet Donald Trump in private on August 31.
“I believe in dialogue to protect Mexican interests in the world and, principally, to protect Mexicans wherever they are,” the Mexican president said.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has not yet said if she will travel to Mexico.
Enrique Pena Nieto has previously accused Donald Trump of hurting US-Mexico relations and compared the Republican’s rhetoric to that of German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Donald Trump has threatened to stop cash sent home by Mexicans based in the US until the country pays for the wall.
He blames Mexico for the disappearance of jobs from the US, with companies choosing to locate south of the border to take advantage of cheaper labor costs.
In June, Donald Trump expressed anger after a leading golf tournament was moved from one of his courses to Mexico, accusing the PGA Tour of putting “profit ahead of thousands of American jobs”.
Chris Brown has been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after beauty queen Baylee Curran told police he had threatened her with a gun.
Baylee Curran told the LA Times Chris Brown had pointed the gun at her face after she had been admiring his friend’s jewellery.
Chris Brown came out of his home after a stand-off with police on August 30.
The singer’s lawyer tweeted that his client was later freed, adding that the accusations were “demonstrably false”.
Associated Press reported that Chris Brown was released on $250,000 bail.
He has several convictions for violence, including a 2009 assault on his then girlfriend, pop star Rihanna.
Photo Instagram
Police went to Chris Brown’s home following the emergency call early on August 30 from Baylee Curran, who by that time had left the property.
She told the LA Times that she and a friend had gone to Chris Brown’s house with a business associate on August 29.
Baylee Curran said she had been admiring the diamond necklace of a man who had been showing off his jewellery when the man got angry and told her to back away.
That is when she says Chris Brown pulled out a gun, pointed it at her face and told her to get out.
“If somebody put a gun to your head, what would you do? Call the police,” Baylee Curran said on her Instagram account, AFP news agency reported.
Once at Chris Brown’s sprawling mansion, police officers were allegedly denied entry and had to wait for a judge to approve a search warrant before going inside to search for a weapon.
It wasn’t until Chris Brown’s lawyer arrived that the singer eventually emerged.
Police said about half a dozen people had been escorted out of the residence and would be interviewed.
During the stand-off, Chris Brown posted videos online accusing the police of harassment.
“When you get the warrant for whatever you need to do, you’re going to walk right up in here and you’re going to see nothing, you idiots,” the singer said in one Instagram video, posted to 30 million followers.
In another video, Chris Brown also voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, saying: “You’re all the worst gang in the world, the police.”
North Korea executed Vice Premier Kim Yong-jin last month, South Korea government officials have said.
According to Seoul’s unification ministry, Kim Yong-jin was one of Pyongyang’s vice premiers and in charge of education.
Officials did not explain how they got the information. Seoul’s record on reporting such developments is patchy.
In May, North Korean military chief Ri Yong-gil said to have been executed was found to be alive and attending official events.
Ri Yong-gil was widely reported to have been executed in February but when he made an appearance at North Korea’s party congress it highlighted just how difficult it is to get accurate information from the secretive country.
Seoul’s unification ministry, the government department which manages relations with North Korea is, along with the spy agency, South Korea’s primary source of information about Pyongyang.
Photo KCNA
The unification ministry also said a prominent minister responsible for intelligence and inter-Korean relations, Kim Yong-chol, had been sent for re-education along with another official, named as Choi Hwi, for a month in mid-July.
North Korea itself very rarely provides confirmation of such reports. The last execution Pyongyang released official information about is thought to be the purge of kim Jong-un’s uncle, Chang Song-thaek in 2013.
The strongest confirmation is usually that an executed official simply disappears from media reports.
If this report turns out to be untrue, Kim Yong-jin may well appear in public or be listed as in attendance at a major public event in Pyongyang.
Another clue to his fate might emerge if North Korea announces a replacement vice premier. Again, this does not necessarily mean he has been executed.
Ri Yong-gil was replaced as military chief but turned up months later, albeit with an apparent demotion.
Kim Yong-jin and Ri Yong-gil have held high office and were mentioned in official statements and dispatches from Pyongyang.
While less is known about Kim Yong-jin, Kim Yong-chol has often been seen alongside Kim Jong-un in photographs and is thought to be close to him. At the party congress in May he was named as head of national intelligence.
North Korean officials are frequently sent for re-education, a process that can sometimes be seen as “corporate training” with some emerging from re-education with higher office while others are demoted.
The statement from Seoul’s unification ministry comes a day after an unconfirmed report in a South Korean newspaper said two different high-ranking officials in the departments of education and agriculture had been executed.
If Kim Yong-jin’s execution is confirmed, it would be just the latest in a series of purges and executions of top officials that Kim Jong-un has enacted since he came to power in 2011.
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, one of the longest-serving and most prominent leaders of ISIS has been killed in Aleppo, Syria, ISIS-affiliated Amaq News Agency announces.
He was “martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo”, it said.
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was known for his calls for lone-wolf attacks in the West.
One of ISIS’ founder members, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani is also said to have masterminded attacks in Europe and elsewhere.
The statement did not say how Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, who had a US bounty of $5 million on his head, was killed.
A US defense official said US-led coalition forces had carried out an air strike on August 30 in Syria targeting a “senior leader” from ISIS in al-Bab in Aleppo province.
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani’s death comes at a time when ISIS is suffering military reverses in both Syria and Iraq.
He was last heard in an audio message in May urging Muslims to carry out attacks in the West.
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was born Taha Sobhi Falaha in the northern Syrian town of Banash in 1977.
According to US officials, Abu Muhammad al-was one of the first foreign fighters to oppose the presence of US-led forces in Iraq after the 2003 invasion.
Italy held a state funeral for 37 victims of the last week’s 6.2-magnitude earthquake.
The ceremony has been held in the town of Amatrice, which bore the brunt of the disaster.
Coffins of the victims, including those of two children, were laid out in a marquee on the edge of the town.
The venue was chosen at the last minute after relatives rejected a plan for the funeral to be held in a hangar in Rieti, about 40 miles away.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and President Sergio Mattarella were among the mourners.
Photo AP
Of the 292 people known to have died in the earthquake, 242 were from Amatrice or nearby Accumoli.
Today’s funeral Mass in Amatrice began with the names of the victims being read out. Many families were overcome with grief during the ceremony.
In an address, Bishop of Rieti Domenico Pompili urging leaders present not to allow “political quarrels” to delay reconstruction.
“If we abandon these villages, we will kill them for a second time,” he said.
Most victims were Italian, but several foreigners were among those killed.
Romania’s PM Dacian Ciolos attended the funeral to honor the 11 Romanians who died in the earthquake, most of them in Amatrice.
Teams of workers are still searching the rubble in the town for up to 10 people still missing, presumed dead.
It was the second state funeral held for earthquake victims. Another was held on August 27 for 50 people killed in the neighboring Le Marche region.
Italy is to build wooden chalet-style huts within three months for the 2,500 people displaced by the earthquake, Italian media reported.
Authorities want to get survivors into safe, warm accommodation before winter arrives in the mountainous central region.
PM Matteo Renzi discussed reconstruction plans on August 28 with Renzo Piano, one of Italy’s most renowned architects.
There has been criticism in the Italian press over building standards in high-risk areas. Some of the buildings that collapsed had recently been renovated.
Donald Trump said San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick should “find a country that works better for him” after the NFL player’s national anthem protest.
Colin Kaepernick, 28, said he will continue to sit out the national anthem until he sees improvements in US race relations.
The Republican presidential nominee weighed in on Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during The Star-Spangled Banner in a pre-game ceremony.
Donald Trump called the quarterback’s controversial stand a “terrible thing.”
“I think it’s a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him,” he told KIRO radio in Seattle.
Photo Wikipedia
“Let him try. It won’t happen.”
Colin Kaepernick stirred controversy on August 26 when he sat during the national anthem before the 49ers played the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game.
He refused to stand in protest at the oppression of people of color in the US.
Racial tensions are mounting in the US, where a string of recent police killings and subsequent revenge killings have sparked protests across the nation.
Colin Kaepernick’s actions have ignited a debate about respect, patriotism and the right of free speech.
The White House said it disagreed with Colin Kaepernick’s protest but that he had a right to express his views.
An NFL spokesman said players were “encouraged but not required” to stand during the anthem.
According to an European Commission ruling, Ireland should recover up to €13 billion ($14.5 billion) from Apple in back taxes.
After a three-year investigation, the Commission has concluded that Apple’s Irish tax benefits are illegal.
It said Ireland enabled Apple to pay substantially less than other businesses, in effect paying a corporate tax rate of no more than 1%.
Ireland and Apple both said they disagreed with the record penalty and would appeal against it.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said: “Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules.
“The Commission’s investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years.”
The standard rate of Irish corporate tax is 12.5%. The European Commission’s investigation concluded that Apple had effectively paid 1% tax on its European profits in 2003 and about 0.005% in 2014.
Margrethe Vestager said that the tax agreement reached between Ireland and Apple meant that the company’s taxable profits “did not correspond to economic reality”.
Apple said the decision would be harmful for jobs.
The company said in a statement: “The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process.”
“The Commission’s case is not about how much Apple pays in taxes, it’s about which government collects the money. It will have a profound and harmful effect on investment and job creation in Europe.
“Apple follows the law and pays all of the taxes we owe wherever we operate. We will appeal and we are confident the decision will be overturned.”
The Irish government held a similar view with finance minister Michael Noonan saying in a statement: “I disagree profoundly with the Commission.
“The decision leaves me with no choice but to seek cabinet approval to appeal. This is necessary to defend the integrity of our tax system; to provide tax certainty to business; and to challenge the encroachment of EU state aid rules into the sovereign member state competence of taxation.”
The US Treasury, which said last week that the European Commission was in danger of becoming a “supranational tax authority”, said the latest ruling could “undermine foreign investment, the business climate in Europe, and the important spirit of economic partnership between the US and the EU”.
If you’ve ever been involved in the sales business, you’ll have come across upselling at one point or another. Now, it’s time for you to bring this tried and tested sales technique into your company. However, it isn’t necessarily as easy as you might think. If you want your employees to upsell customers to bigger and better products, they’ll need to possess the right skills.
The Definition Of Successful Upselling
It has long been thought that upselling is simply all about getting the most money out of the customer. Sure, that’s the intention from a financial point of view, but it isn’t the only point of upselling. Common mistakes with this technique usually come back to the same thing: being overly pushy. The idea is to analyze customer needs and strategically upsell to benefit both you and the customer. If you’re becoming overly pushy, you stand to lose the sale altogether. The moment that desperation kicks in, you’re in trouble.
Implementing The Right Training
You can’t simply ask employees to start upselling without training them first. This is where investing in services like Saleshub for sales enablement services can be beneficial. You want to benefit from the expertise and knowledge of sales coaching programs. Taking the time to effectively train your staff will mean that they’ll be able to make more money for your company. Unfortunately, companies all too often skip this part of the deal. Instead, they’ll engage in hiring and firing on an unprecedented scale because of a lack of success. This ultimately costs them more money in the long run.
Personality Traits
It’s important to keep in mind that not every employee in the world is suited to the art of upselling. I’m not saying you should fire your employees – far from it. However, some people will take longer to adapt to it than others. Some will never be able to get their head around it, but they’ll be much more effective in general customer service. Different strategies will also work for different team members. For some, it’s a case of getting to the bottom of every little customer detail. For others, it might just be a case of providing constant reminders about your latest products. It’s important to understand every member of your team and allocate roles as necessary to get the most out of upselling.
Incentives
Unless you’ve got a close-knit team who really care about the company, incentives are necessary. You can’t expect your employees to work twice as hard to upsell if they aren’t getting anything out of it. Most companies that engage in upselling offer commission rewards for those who do well. An alternative option which has also proved popular is the reward of gifts for the top performers of the month. It doesn’t matter how you do it; just make sure you’re offering some kind of incentive.
Let’s recap some of the most important details we’ve mentioned today. Firstly, upselling serves to assist both you and the customer with their needs. Training your staff is important, as is getting the most out of each individual. And, incentives provide the finishing touch to ensure maximum productivity.
A mass cow theft is being investigated in New Zealand after reports that 500 cattle have been stolen from a farm in Canterbury.
It is not known exactly when the cows began disappearing, as their absence was only noticed recently.
According to police, it was “unlikely the theft of hundreds of animals could be completed at once, and is more likely that multiple thefts could be carried out over a period of time”.
The cows are reportedly worth at least NZ$750,000 ($0.5 million) in total.
Photo Wikipedia
A friend said the farmer was “absolutely gobsmacked, and deeply embarrassed”.
“If you had three-quarters of a million dollars go missing, you wouldn’t want to talk about it either,” Willy Leferink told the AP.
Locals told AP they had never heard of cattle rustling on such a scale before.
The farm’s original 1,300 cows are thought to have last been counted in July.
Sr. Sgt. Scott Banfield of Ashburton Police urged farmers to check on their stock numbers once a week.
“Farmers should also be keeping an eye out for unexpected signs of herding near their boundary lines too.”
There are around 10 million cows in New Zealand, more than twice the human population.
Apple could be forced to pay billions of dollars in back taxes in the Republic of Ireland by EU competition officials.
The final ruling, expected on August 30, follows a three-year probe into Apple’s Irish tax affairs, which the EU has previously identified as illegal.
According to the Financial Time, the bill will be for billions of euros, making it Europe’s biggest tax penalty.
Apple and the Irish government are likely to appeal against the ruling.
Under EU law, national tax authorities are not allowed to give tax benefits to selected companies – which the EU would consider to be illegal state aid.
Rulings made by the Irish government in 1991 and 2007 allowed Apple to minimize its tax bill in Ireland, EU authorities said.
Apple’s company structure enabled it to legally channel international sales through Ireland to take advantage of that tax deal.
On August 30, EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager is expected to give an estimate of how much Apple will have to pay back.
However, it will be up to Irish authorities to calculate the exact amount.
The investigation into Apple and similar probes into other US companies have been criticized by US authorities.
Last week the US Treasury Department said the European Commission was in danger of becoming a “supra-national tax authority” overriding the tax codes of its member states.
Brussels was using a different set of criteria to judge cases involving US companies, the US Treasury warned, adding that potential penalties were “deeply troubling”.
Tax laws are currently based on the movements of physical goods, leaving large loopholes that modern companies can exploit, he said.
Apple is not the only the company that has been targeted for securing favorable tax deals in the EU.
In 2015, the commission told the Netherlands to recover as much as €30 million from Starbucks and Luxembourg was ordered to claw back a similar amount from Fiat.
Kim Dotcom will be allowed to stream his appeal against extradition live online, a judge in New Zealand ruled.
The Megaupload founder is wanted in the United States on charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.
The US had opposed Kim Dotcom’s proposal to broadcast the hearing on YouTube.
He said on Twitter that the decision was “breaking new ground” and streaming would start on August 31.
Kim Dotcom’s lawyer said the move was “democracy at its finest”.
“It provides everybody in the world with a seat in the gallery of the New Zealand courtroom,” Ira Rothken told the AP, saying there would be a 20 minute delay on the live feed.
The German-born entrepreneur ran file-sharing site Megaupload.com, which once had million of users storing files and downloading movies and songs.
The FBI took control of the website and other domain names belonging to the business in January 2012. Federal prosecutors said it had cost movie studios, music labels and other copyright-holders more than $500 million in lost revenue.
In December 2015, a New Zealand court ruled that Kim Dotcom could be extradited to face charges of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.
Kim Dotcom’s lawyers launched an appeal, arguing that he should not be held responsible for the actions of the site’s users, and did not get a fair hearing.
The request for livestreaming came on the first day of the appeal hearing in Auckland, which is expected to last up to eight weeks.
Another defense lawyer, Ron Mansfield, said there were “unprecedented issues of public and international interest” raised by the case and added that coverage should not be limited to traditional media.
Lawyers for the United States had said streaming could influence a potential future jury.
The High Court judge, Justice Murray Gilbert, criticized the fact the request had not been made in advance but said he wanted to hear the views of local media outlets before making a decision.
