Seven Ukrainian troops are said to have died in a clash with pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk airport.
The attack is the deadliest single incident for the military since a truce deal.
A tank shell hit the vehicle carrying the troops, an official said.
Three civilians were reportedly killed in other incidents.
Ukrainian activists earlier toppled a statue of Lenin in the eastern city of Kharkiv – a move likely to be seen as a provocation by pro-Russians.
Nationalist protesters had gathered around the statue on Sunday night for a “Kharkiv is Ukraine” rally. The governor of Kharkiv region, Ihor Baluta, then signed an order to dismantle the statue.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, said on a local government website that the monument would be restored, calling its destruction unlawful.
Seven Ukrainian troops are said to have died in a clash with pro-Russian rebels near Donetsk airport
Pro-Russian demonstrators defended the statue in February, as similar monuments were being taken down in other parts of the country in a wave of protests that accompanied the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych.
Kharkiv has largely escaped the violence which subsequently swept through east Ukraine’s other regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.
The latest deaths cast fresh doubt on a ceasefire agreed between the Ukrainian government and the rebels on September 5.
The seven soldiers were killed in a vehicle near Donetsk airport, which the rebels have been trying to capture from the Ukrainian military.
“During the evening attack, the Ukrainian armoured transporter, with its crew and a paratroop unit, took a direct hit from a tank,” Ukrainian military spokesman Col Andriy Lysenko told reporters.
He said a total of nine soldiers had been killed and 27 wounded in the past 24 hours.
Separately, authorities in Donetsk told AFP news agency that three civilians had been killed over the same period. The city is a base for the pro-Russian rebels.
The OSCE, which is monitoring the ceasefire, confirmed there had been heavy shelling around Donetsk airport.
For several days Russian state television has reported on “mass graves” allegedly unearthed by rebels near Nizhnya Krynka, a village near Donetsk. At least four bodies have been found there, according to the Russian reports.
Iraqi air strikes and ground forces appear to have halted the advance of Islamic State (ISIS) militants in the town of Amariya al-Falluja, west of Baghdad.
The air strikes followed clashes with ISIS militants, who have been making gains towards the capital.
Amariya al-Falluja, 25 miles from Baghdad, is a key strategic town.
It comes as a US-led coalition continues to carry out air strikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq.
The area around Amariya al-Falluja is now said to be calm, but there is a standoff along the main road to Falluja to the north, which is controlled by ISIS.
US aircraft also attacked other ISIS positions in Anbar province overnight, the Pentagon said.
Meanwhile, Turkish tanks have taken up positions on a hill along the border near the Syrian town of Kobane after several shells hit Turkish territory during clashes between ISIS militants and Kurdish fighters.
Iraqi air strikes and ground forces appear to have halted the advance of ISIS militants in the town of Amariya al-Falluja
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict in Syria, said ISIS fighters were now within 3 miles of Kobane, the closest they have come since launching an offensive this month.
The jihadists also fired at least 15 rockets at the town centre, killing at least one person, it added.
Overnight, there were US-led air strikes on ISIS-controlled towns and villages in northern and eastern Syria.
One raid on a grain silo in Manbij, in Aleppo province, left several civilians dead, the Syrian Observatory’s director Rami Abdul Rahman reported.
The entrance to the Conoco gas plant, Syria’s largest, was also reportedly hit. The facility itself was not thought to be damaged.
In a television interview on September 28, President Barack Obama candidly admitted the US had “underestimated” the threat of IS.
Barack Obama said a political solution – one that would arise out of an accommodation between Sunni and Shia populations – was key to defeating the jihadists.
Tens of thousands of protesters have blocked the streets of Hong Kong, shutting down businesses and ignoring appeals to leave.
The demonstrations have spread to other areas including a shopping district and a residential area.
Riot police withdrew on September 29 after overnight clashes in which they used batons and fired volleys of tear gas to try to disperse the crowds.
China has warned other countries not to support the “illegal rallies”.
Its foreign ministry said it opposed any interference in China’s internal affairs.
Meanwhile the British government called for the right to protest to be protected.
Tens of thousands of protesters have blocked the streets of Hong Kong, shutting down businesses and ignoring appeals to leave (photo AFP)
Protesters – a mix of students and supporters of the Occupy Central pro-democracy movement – are angry at Beijing’s plans to vet candidates for Hong Kong’s 2017 leadership elections.
They want a free choice of candidates when they cast their ballots for the chief executive – something Beijing says is out of the question.
On September 28, dozens of protesters have been arrested on Hong Kong’s streets as tens of thousands of protesters faced riot police in the heart of the city.
In a news conference on September 29, Cheung Tak-keung, assistant commissioner of police for operations, said police had used the “bare minimum force”.
Cheung Tak-keung said 41 people had been injured in the past three days, including 12 police officers.
The Hong Kong government urged protesters to stay calm and leave peacefully but crowds remained camped out around the government complex.
About 3,000 people have also blocked a major road across the bay in Mongkok, on the Kowloon peninsula, while a crowd of about 1,000 faced police in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, east of central Hong Kong.
Schools in the Wan Chai, Central and Western districts were closed on September 29 and will remain shut on the next day, according to the Hong Kong Education Bureau.
The city remains heavily disrupted, with several major thoroughfares blocked.
China, which stations a garrison of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Hong Kong, said it was confident the city’s administration could handle the protests.
Tensions escalated on September 28 when the broader Occupy Central protest movement threw its weight behind student-led protests, bringing forward a mass civil disobedience campaign due to start on October 1.
A monster truck accident happened on September 28 in Haaksbergen, the Netherlands, when a vehicle ploughed into a crowd of onlookers at an annual motor show.
Three people were killed in the tragedy.
According to Hans Gerritsen, the mayor of Haaksbergen, other 18 people have been injured.
The third death was announced on September 29 and five are critically ill in hospital, following the event in Haaksbergen in Overijssel province.
Video footage shows the modified pick-up with outsized tires driving over a row of cars as part of the show, but then veering off course.
The monster truck had been performing a stunt when it ploughed into the crowd
A boy, a man and a woman died.
Helicopters helped ferry the injured to hospitals in three nearby towns.
“A so-called monster truck drove into a crowd of spectators. A terrible accident with two dead victims,” town authorities said on their website on September 28.
Video of the accident posted on social media showed the truck revving hard and then riding over six cars before suddenly heading towards spectators who were separated from the show by metal barriers.
Screaming, some managed to get away but others had no time to escape.
The driver of the truck has been detained and an inquiry has been opened, police said, quoted by local media.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s marriage has been sealed with a civil ceremony in Venice on September 29.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin went by boat to the city hall building where the brief procedure was conducted.
At the weekend, a host of famous guests including Matt Damon and Bill Murray attended a lavish wedding reception for the couple.
George Clooney’s publicist broke the news of their nuptials in a brief statement to the press on Saturday.
The couple emerged from the town hall some 10 minutes after their arrival and were whisked away in a water taxi, surrounded by other boats and watched by well-wishers.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin’s marriage has been sealed with a civil ceremony in Venice (photo AP)
George Clooney was dressed in a charcoal grey suit, while Amal Alamuddin wore a smart-casual white outfit and a wide-brimmed sunhat.
At city hall, George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were officially married under Italian law by former mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni, a long-time friend of the film star.
Earlier in the day, he was seen getting ready for the ceremony at the Hotel Cipriani, where the wedding party have been staying.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were engaged in April.
The actor was previously married to Talia Balsam, who he divorced in 1993.
Lebanese-born British lawyer Amal Alamuddin has defended Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko among others.
Amal Alamuddin met George Clooney through her work.
Microsoft has become the first major console maker to enter the Chinese market after launching Xbox One.
The first consoles were sold in Shanghai, priced at 4,299 yuan ($699). Sony and Nintendo are yet to launch their respective products.
In January, the Chinese government lifted a 14-year ban on consoles, made because of worries over content.
However, many popular titles, such as Call of Duty, will still be banned.
Only 10 games were available to buy on the Xbox One’s release – but Microsoft has said 70 titles are in the pipeline.
Beating its rivals to the market may give Microsoft a much-needed sales boost. Its console is currently being outsold by Sony’s PlayStation 4 in all major markets.
Microsoft has become the first major console maker to enter the Chinese market after launching Xbox One (photo Reuters)
Sony has set up business partnerships to launch the PS4 in China, but a date has not yet been set.
Both companies will compete with a thriving black market in illegally imported consoles playing pirated versions of games.
They will also come up against mobile games, which are not banned in China and are extremely popular.
The Xbox One launch was originally set to happen last week but was delayed – Microsoft did not give a reason why.
The company is currently the focus of an anti-monopoly investigation relating to its Office software.
Its chief executive Satya Nadella visited China last week, and pledged to help the government with its investigation.
Getting games to market is likely to require negotiation with regulators, who favor educational games over those with violent themes.
But that could play well for Microsoft thanks to its recent acquisition of Minecraft – a block-building online game that is massively popular in the Western world, particularly with young children.
Microsoft bought Minecraft’s Swedish developer Mojang earlier this month for $2.5 billion.
Lady Gaga has filed a lawsuit to recoup legal costs from Rebecca Francescatti who accused the singer of copying her music.
Chicago-based musician Rebecca Francescatti sued Lady Gaga in 2011 claiming her single Judas was lifted from a piece she had composed in 1999, named Juda.
Rebecca Francescatti sued Lady Gaga in 2011 claiming her single Judas was lifted from a piece she had composed in 1999
In June, US District Judge Marvin E. Aspen dismissed the case and ruled the songs were not the same.
Lady Gaga, 28, has now filed documents requesting that Rebecca Francescatti reimburse the legal costs she incurred fighting the plagiarism claim.
According to TMZ, in the documents, the total legal bill comes to almost $1.4 million.
Ashraf Ghani has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s president after six months of deadlock amid a bitter dispute over electoral fraud and a recount of votes.
Under a US-brokered unity deal Ashraf Ghani takes over the presidency and runner-up Abdullah Abdullah can nominate a figure with prime-ministerial powers.
The Taliban have described the deal as a “US-orchestrated sham” but Ashraf Ghani hailed it as a “big victory”.
Ashraf Ghani took an oath to abide by the constitution at the swearing-in ceremony attended by up to 100 dignitaries.
He has praised the country’s “first democratic transfer of power” and has also spoken warmly of his rival, and now partner in government, Abdullah Abdullah.
Abdullah Abdullah, who takes on the newly created role of chief executive, said the two leaders would work together “for a better future with trust and honesty”.
In a speech as the ceremony began, outgoing President Hamid Karzai, who has been leader since the US-led invasion in 2001, called for people to support the new government.
Ashraf Ghani has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s president after six months of deadlock amid a bitter dispute over electoral fraud and a recount of votes
The first thing the government is expected to do is to sign a deal that will see US troops remain in Afghanistan after the end of this year – a move opposed by Hamid Karzai.
Militants attacked a government compound in the eastern province of Paktia on September 29, officials say.
Meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded on the airport road in Kabul. No one was hurt.
On September 28, the Taliban overran a strategic district in another eastern province, Ghazni, highlighting some of the many challenges facing Ashraf Ghani and his security forces.
Secretary of State John Kerry helped to broker a comprehensive audit of all eight million votes in the election earlier this year after the results were disputed.
The audit was completed this month but the final tallies and the official result have not been made public amid fears over unrest.
Afghanistan’s election commission confined itself to declaring Ashraf Ghani the winner in a statement earlier this month.
Both sides had accused the other of fraud following the election and months of uncertainty have damaged the economy and heightened insecurity.
Ukrainian nationalists have torn down a statue of Lenin in the centre of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city, in a move supported by officials.
People cheered and leapt for joy as the statue came crashing down.
Pro-Russian demonstrators in the largely Russian-speaking city defended the statue in February, when President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted.
Kharkiv escaped the violent unrest which swept through east Ukraine’s other regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.
A fragile cease-fire has been in place for weeks between pro-Russian separatists in those two regions.
Ukrainian nationalists have torn down Lenin statue in the centre of Kharkiv
On Sunday night, when nationalist protesters had already gathered around the statue for a “Kharkiv is Ukraine” rally, the governor of Kharkiv region, Ihor Baluta, signed an order to dismantle the statue.
Some correspondents say the order was probably a last-minute face-saving move.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Facebook that he had given orders for police to ensure only the safety of people, “not the idol”.
“Lenin? Let him fall…” he wrote.
“As long as people don’t get hurt. As long as this bloody communist idol does not take more victims with it when it goes.”
However, Ukrainian media reported that police had begun an investigation into “vandalism”.
One protester was reportedly injured in the head as Lenin statue was dismantled.
Andrew Madoff, Bernard Madoff’s last surviving son, was under investigation for possible involvement in his father’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme until the day he died from cancer earlier this month.
Andrew Madoff had long maintained that he and his brother, Mark, who hanged himself in 2010, knew nothing of the massive fraud.
Andrew Madoff was under investigation for possible involvement in his father’s Ponzi scheme until the day he died (photo The New York Times)
However, two federal law enforcement officials said investigators never believed the brothers were unaware of the fraud and both were under investigation until their deaths. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Andrew Madoff left behind a $16 million estate. A court-appointed trustee is taking aim at that the sons’ money, filing a lawsuit this summer accusing them of using money from their father’s scheme as their “personal cookie jar”.
Chelsea Clinton shared the first picture of her newborn daughter Charlotte just one day after giving birth.
Chelsea Clinton, 34, tweeted on September 27: “At 7:03 PM on September 26th, we finally met Charlotte.”
“We’re in love.”
The former first daughter looked overjoyed at the hospital as she and her husband Marc Mezvinsky stared down at their daughter. Charlotte was wrapped in a blanket for her debut and wore a pink cap.
Chelsea Clinton tweeted that she was in “awe and gratitude” after meeting her baby girl for the first time.
Chelsea Clinton shared the first picture of her newborn daughter Charlotte (photo Twitter)
Grandparents Bill and Hillary Clinton felt the same way.
“Charlotte, your grandmother @HillaryClinton and I couldn’ be happier!” President Bill Clinton tweeted.
Bill and Hillary Clinton also released a statement on their excitement: “We are blessed, grateful, and so happy to be the grandparents of a beautiful girl.”
“We are thrilled to be with our daughter and her husband as they welcome their daughter into the world. Chelsea is well and glowing. Marc is bursting with pride. Charlotte’s life is off to a good start.”
The US and Arab allies’ airstrikes have hit four makeshift oil refineries under Islamic State (ISIS) control in Syria, as well as a command centre.
Early indications were that the attacks by US, Saudi and UAE planes were successful, US Central Command said.
Explosions at a refinery at Tel Abyad, near the Turkish border, lit up the night sky, an eyewitness watching from across the frontier said.
Meanwhile further fighting was reported in the besieged border town of Kobane.
There was no repetition on Sunday of coalition airstrikes on ISIS positions in the area, where Syrian Kurd fighters have been holding out against the militants.
The ISIS advance in the area sent about 140,000 civilians fleeing towards Turkey.
US-led coalition aircraft have targeted four makeshift oil refineries under ISIS control in Syria
An initial wave of coalition air attacks on Thursday, the third day of the air campaign against ISIS in Syria, targeted 12 refineries.
According to the Pentagon, small-scale mobile refineries used by IS in Syria generate up to $2 million per day in revenue for the militants.
The US-led coalition of about 40 countries, including Arab states, has vowed to destroy IS, which controls large parts of north-eastern Syria and northern Iraq.
The group’s brutal tactics, including mass killings, beheadings and abductions of members of religious and ethnic minorities, triggered the international intervention.
Al-Nusra Front, a fellow Islamist militant group in Syria, has denounced the air strikes as “a war against Islam” and called on jihadists around the world to target Western and Arab countries involved.
“Although we continue to assess the outcome of these attacks, initial indications are that they were successful,” US Central Command said after Sunday’s strikes.
Blasts at the Tel Abyad refinery around 02:30 local time sent flames soaring 200ft into the sky, Turkish businessman Mehmet Ozer, who lives in the nearby Turkish town of Akcakale, told AP news agency.
They continued for two hours, rocking the building from which he was watching, Mehmet Ozer said.
Both the refinery and the local ISIS headquarters were bombed, Turkey’s Dogan news agency said.
Late actor Robin Williams has been celebrated at a private tribute ceremony attended by his family and friends.
The ceremony took place on September 27 at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, according to Hollywood Reporter.
Hundreds of guests attended, including Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, and Robin Williams’ wife and children.
Robin Williams, 63, killed himself at his home in California last month. He had been treated for depression.
The life of Robin Williams has been celebrated at a private tribute ceremony attended by family and friends (photo Reuters)
At the ceremony, there was music and video tributes.
Stevie Wonder performed, accompanied by the Glide Ensemble and Change Band from the Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.
Other attendees included close friends, one-time co-stars and directors including Bette Midler, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, George Lucas, Danny De Vito, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Gus Van Sant, Jeff Bridges and Eddie Izzard.
Following the tribute, guests went to the nearby Westin St Francis Hotel for a reception.
After Robin Williams’ death, his publicist said he had been “battling severe depression”, and his wife said he had been in the early stages of degenerative neurological disorder Parkinson’s disease.
Robin Williams was famous for such films as Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society and won an Oscar for his role in Good Will Hunting.
Occupy Central protesters have issued demands for the Chinese government to scrap rules outlining the election of the next chief executive in 2017.
The protest group also wants the resumption of public consultation on democratic reforms.
Thousands of protesters are camped outside government headquarters in central Hong Kong.
Occupy Central leader Benny Tai announced the launch of the campaign to the cheers of supporters on September 27.
A statement said that Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung had “failed to deliver on political reform”.
“We demand CY Leung deliver a new report on political reform to the central government, which must adequately reflect the demands of Hong Kong people for democracy,” it said.
“If CY Leung does not respond, we will escalate our actions.”
The movement had originally planned to paralyze the central business district on September 24, but organizers brought forward the start of the protest and changed the location in an apparent bid to harness momentum from student protests outside the government complex.
Student activists had stormed into a courtyard of the complex late on September 26 and scuffled with police using pepper spray.
Occupy Central protesters have issued demands for the Chinese government to scrap rules outlining the election of the next chief executive in 2017
Police said they made scores of arrests including prominent student activist leader Joshua Wong.
However, some students expressed unease that their protest was apparently being taken over by Occupy Central.
The protests at government headquarters followed a week-long strike by thousands of students.
Unrest began when the Chinese government announced that candidates for the 2017 chief executive election would first have to be approved by a nominating committee.
Activists have argued that this does not amount to true democracy.
Many of those who spent the night on the streets wore plastic raincoats and goggles in case police deployed more pepper spray.
Riot police stood nearby.
“The courage of the students and members of the public in their spontaneous decision to stay has touched many Hong Kong people,” Occupy Central said in a statement.
“Yet the government has remained unmoved. As the wheel of time has reached this point, we have decided to arise and act.”
At least 34 people have been injured since the protests began, including four police officers and 11 government staff and guards, authorities said.
One police officer suffered a gash after being poked by one of the umbrellas protesters are using to deflect pepper spray.
Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, the Sudanese woman who escaped a death sentence imposed for renouncing her Christian faith, says she wants to campaign for others who face religious persecution.
In a recent interview taken by the BBC TV in the US, where Mariam Ibrahim is seeking asylum, she said she hopes to return to Sudan one day.
She earlier received an award from a US Christian foundation.
Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag wants to campaign for others who face religious persecution (photo EPA)
Mariam Ibrahim’s sentencing – by a Sudanese court that did not recognise her Christian faith – sparked outrage this year.
Born to a Muslim father, Mariam Ibrahim was raised a Christian by her mother and married a Christian man.
Under Sudan’s version of Islamic law, however, her father’s religion meant that she too was still technically a Muslim. A court found her guilty of apostasy, or renouncing one’s faith.
Sentenced to hang, Mariam Ibrahim gave birth to her daughter while shackled in prison. Under intense international pressure, her conviction was quashed and she was freed in June.
On September 27, Mariam Ibrahim received an award from a gathering of evangelical Christian conservatives in Washington, who see her treatment in Sudan as an assault on their values.
Japanese rescue teams have recovered thirty bodies from the peak of Mount Ontake, after Saturday’s sudden volcanic eruption.
The hikers were not breathing and their hearts had stopped, reports said. Final confirmation of death in Japan always comes via a medical examination.
About 250 people were trapped on the slopes, but most have got down safely.
The volcano, about 125 miles west of Tokyo, erupted suddenly on September 27, spewing ash and rocks.
Japanese rescue teams have recovered thirty bodies from the peak of Mount Ontake, after Saturday’s sudden volcanic eruption (photo Reuters)
Ordinarily it is a popular place to see autumn foliage.
As the search effort intensified earlier on September 28, officials said they were searching for 30 feared missing or buried by ash.
Military helicopters plucked seven people off the mountainside earlier on Sunday, the Associated Press reports, and workers on foot were also helping others make their way down.
Japan is one of the world’s most seismically active nations but there have been no fatalities from volcanic eruptions since 1991, when 43 people died at Mount Unzen in the south-west.
It’s not clear why there was no warning of Saturday’s eruption.
Japan monitors its volcanoes closely and any that show signs of activity are immediately closed to hikers – but this time that did not happen.
Cy Tokmakjian, the president of a Canadian transport company, has been sentenced by a Cuban court to 15 years in jail for bribery.
Cy Tokmakjian, 74, was detained in Cuba in 2011 as part an anti-corruption operation. He denies the charges.
The Tokmakjian Group said the court had seized its assets in Cuba, worth about $100 million.
The company said the ruling was worrying development for potential investors on the Communist-run island.
“Lack of due process doesn’t begin to describe the travesty of justice that is being suffered by foreign businessmen in Cuba,” the company said in a statement.
Cy Tokmakjian was detained in Cuba in 2011 as part an anti-corruption operation
Two other executives from the Tokmakjian Group – fellow Canadian citizens Claudio Vetere and Marco Puche – were sentenced to eight and 12 years in prison.
The Ontario-based company used to sell transportation, mining and construction equipment to Cuba.
There has been no comment on the case from the Cuban authorities.
Its offices in Havana were seized in 2011 when President Raul Castro launched a major drive against corruption in the Caribbean nation.
Canadian lawmaker Peter Kent visited Cy Tokmakjian in jail last year.
“The trial was, from almost any measure, extraordinarily unfair and rigged,” Peter Kent told the Financial Post newspaper.
The Tokmakjian Group was the sole representative of South Korean company Hyundai in Cuba, which has been making efforts to replace its ageing car and bus fleet.
The company has launched claims worth more than $200 million against Cuba through the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris and Canada’s Ontario Superior Court.
Dr Dre has topped Forbes list as the highest paid hip-hop artist, ousting Sean “Diddy” Combs from the top spot.
Dr Dre’s $620 million earnings in the last 12 months are the highest of any musician ever evaluated by Forbes magazine.
His total eclipses the mere $60 million earned by Jay-Z, 44, and Diddy, 44, who tied in second place with earnings from drinks, clothing and television deals.
In fact, Dr Dre’s takings are more than the combined income of all the other 24 names on the list.
Dr Dre has topped Forbes list as the highest paid hip-hop artist
Much of the 49-year-old’s earnings this year came thanks to the $3 billion sale to Apple of the Beats high-end headphone company he founded with music executive Jimmy Iovine and other financial ventures, including cognac and vodka brands.
Drake came in fourth with $33 million which will keep him happy, having told Forbes “if I’m not on your list, I’d be gravely disappointed” in 2013.
Seattle duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s $32 million takes the last slot in the top five, edging out Kanye West’s $30 million.
Birdman’s $24 million, Lil Wayne’s $23 million and the $22 million wealth of Pharrell Williams place them above Eminem who earned an estimated $18 million to complete the top 10.
Nicki Minaj is the only female on the list having taken an estimated $14 million despite her departure from American Idol and lack of tour dates.
To form the list, Forbes considered income from touring, record sales, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures.
The fire in Aurora air traffic control facility that grounded all flights in and out of Chicago’s two major airports was set by an employee, officials say.
Brian Howard, 36, has been charged with one count of destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities in connection with the fire in the building’s basement.
The man was found with burns and self-inflicted wounds. Investigators say Brian Howard used petrol to light the blaze.
By Friday afternoon flights in and out of O’Hare and Midway airports were slowly resuming.
More than 850 flights were cancelled in Chicago alone and many already in the air were redirected.
In a statement, the FBI said Brian Howard was charged on September but remained in hospital recovering from his injuries. No court date has been scheduled.
“We believe he set the fire and he used some kind of accelerant,” Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas said in a news conference on September 26.
The fire in Aurora air traffic control facility grounded all flights in and out of Chicago’s two major airports
The building was damaged by the fire and the water used to extinguish the blaze.
Officials said they did not yet have a possible motive for the act but said Brian Howard was a contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and was authorized to be in the building. He had no ties to terrorism.
The fire broke out just before 06:00 local time on Friday morning in the Aurora, Illinois, air traffic control building, 40 miles west of Chicago.
Air traffic control officials said the radio frequencies with which they worked went dead and the control system was immediately shifted to a back-up system, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Workers used the back-up system until they were forced to evacuate.
“The [radio] frequency failed,” an unnamed controller told the newspaper.
“Depending on how bad the fire was, it could be a real mess getting things back to normal.”
One man was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene but no-one else was injured.
FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said management of the region’s airspace was transferred to another facility as the Aurora centre was evacuated.
By Friday afternoon, flights already on their way to Chicago were allowed to continue but landed at a slower pace.
Ukrainian journalist Vitalii Sediuk, who nearly shoved Kim Kardashian to the ground outside the Balmain fashion show in Paris earlier this week, has spoken up about the incident.
Vitalii Sediuk, 25, told The Hollywood Reporter: “I had a feeling that Kim would show up there because she is friends with the designer of Balmain.”
“I basically came there just for them. I knew they were going to be the biggest guest of the night.”
“If it was Kanye West, I would have done it like I did it with Bradley Cooper and Leonardo DiCaprio,” the prankster added.
Vitalii Sediuk nearly shoved Kim Kardashian to the ground outside the Balmain fashion show in Paris (photo Instagram)
“But with Kim Kardashian, I was very cautious because I know she is a woman – so I kind of hugged her legs. I already had a bad experience with America Ferrara. It’s different with men.”
In May, Vitalii Sediuk tried to crawl under America Ferrera’s dress as she posed with her How to Train Your Dragon 2 cast at the Cannes Film festival.
Vitalii Sediuk admits the stunts don’t bring him any income, but he does like the attention.
“I like the show business world. But it’s obviously not my intention to offend someone. It looks like I’m a monster, but I’m a normal guy. Well, what I’m doing isn’t normal – but I don’t have bad intentions,” he told the publication.
“I’m already banned in America. I could be banned in the European Union next. I hope I will not be.”
Vitalii Sediuk also noted that no police were on hand at the time during his interaction with Kim Kardashian.
“Maybe they were looking for that. Because those pictures look like you are a God coming from the cross amid millions of fans and photographers,” he said.
George Clooney has married Amal Alamuddin in Venice, in one of the most eagerly anticipated showbiz event of the year.
A host of fellow stars descended on Venice’s canals for the union between George Clooney, 53, and Amal Alamuddin, 36.
The ceremony was celebrated in a hotel overlooking the famous Grand Canal.
George Clooney’s agent Stan Rosenfield broke the news to journalists.
George Clooney has married Amal Alamuddin in Venice
Stan Rosenfield announced the news in a single sentence in what, according to AP news agency, is expected to be the only communication on the marriage.
George Clooney and his friends had sipped champagne before gliding up the Grand Canal on Saturday evening to the luxury Aman Hotel, waving to hundreds of well-wishers.
Guests include Cindy Crawford, Bill Murray, Matt Damon and the U2 singer Bono.
George Clooney’s boat was momentarily blocked by a passing cruise liner and then by a water bus, giving time for dozens of boats carrying photographers to catch up, AP writes.
A police boat swerved in vain to try to keep the paparazzi away.
Human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin was last seen publicly on September 26 riding in a water taxi down the Grand Canal with George Clooney’s arm resting around her.
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were engaged in April 2014.
