Apple killed off a project to build a $750 Wi-Fi speaker when it acquired Beats (AAPL) | ||
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Apple shut down a project to build a Wi-Fi speaker for the home when it acquired headphone manufacturer Beats in 2014, Variety reports. Beats had a number of upcoming devices that it was working on when it was acquired by Apple in May 2014. But it doesn't look like any of those ideas will see the light of day. One of the devices that Beats was working on was a $750 home speaker that connected to music streaming services via Wi-Fi. Variety describes the speaker as a "Sonos killer" that could have seriously hurt rival home speaker company Sonos. The Beats speaker was going to include NFC technology, which could have meant that your home speakers could detect your presence and start playing music when you enter the room. However, Variety says Beats ran into problems with the device during development and ended up switching chip supplier. That could be a major reason why Apple shut down the project. It appears that Apple used the Beats acquisition to increase its hardware portfolio, adding Beats headphones and products to its stores, as well as tapping into the company's music industry knowledge for its own music streaming service. Apple announced at its WWDC conference earlier this month that it will launch Apple Music on June 30, and former Beats executive Jimmy Iovine came on stage to introduce the service. It uses elements of the Beats Music streaming service, and insiders told us in February that Apple was using Iovine's connections in the music industry to lure artists to the platform. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 12 best new features coming to the iPhone  | ||
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A mystery Chinese bidder paid $91,000 for an 'Iron Man'-themed Samsung smartphone because its serial number is 'lucky' | ||
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An "Iron Man"-themed Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone has sold for a staggering $91,000 in an online Chinese auction, Android Authority reports. The smartphone is part of a limited edition brought out to mark the release of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," and features a custom red-and-gold colourway. It's technically a limited-edition, but it's likely to be fairly easy to come by — 16 million of the devices are being produced.
According to Android Authority, more than 92,000 bids were placed before the winning bid of $$91,635 was placed. (There's no indication yet of who the new owner is.) It puts to shame a previous Iron Man Galaxy S6 handset that sold for the not inconsiderable sum of $35,000. So, besides the shiny colours and fancy serial number, what is the mystery big spender getting that owners of the regular Galaxy S6 Edge don't? In short: Nothing. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Kids settle the debate and tell us which is better: an Apple or Samsung phone  | ||
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So what's the reason for the extraordinary price? It's all down to the device's unique serial number — 66. 6 is a lucky number in China, and 66 doubly so. As such, when the smartphone went up for sale on online retailer JD.com in China, bids went stratospheric. A tech CEO whose company is valued at $1 billion just admitted it's a bubble | ||
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I had drinks with one of the $1 billion "unicorn" CEOs last night, in a trendy Noho bar in London. He told me he thinks we're in a tech bubble, and it's going to end badly for many companies. Unicorn companies were so-named a few years ago because it was exceedingly rare for a tech startup in private hands to be worth as much as $1 billion. But now there are 102 "unicorn" companies. So finding a unicorn CEO to have drinks with isn't as hard as it used to be. This fact wasn't lost on my unicorn CEO. He was very sure that all these unicorns lying around means we're in a bubble. I was somewhat shocked to hear this because, normally, when tech founders take vast sums of money from investors, they have a lengthy and convincing explanation of why their company is fundamentally different from everyone else's and won't fail when / if the economy runs into trouble. But my guy thinks it's all coming to an end sooner rather than later. Here is the context. In order to believe there is not a bubble, you have to believe the following narrative: Although tech stocks are at an all-time high, and private tech startup valuations are hitting astonishing highs (Uber is valued at $41 billion!), this is not a bubble. It's a boom, for sure, and these companies may be temporarily overvalued. But these companies have real revenues, and the economy is shifting in their direction regardless of the underlying economic cycle. i.e., money is moving out of TV and newspapers and into apps regardless of whether there is a recession or growth. When the recession comes, the "no bubble" people say, some companies will get hurt, just like in a regular recession. But we won't see the kind of full-scale bonkers collapse that we saw in 2000 and 2008. Back in 2000, the tech sector deflated because companies had gone public with no revenue whatsoever. In 2008, the economy tanked because banks had loaned mortgage money to millions of people who couldn't pay it back. This time it's different, because these new tech companies are real businesses, the "no bubble" people say. My unicorn, however, has been worrying that it is a bubble for months.
Of course, like all unicorn CEOs, my unicorn was pretty confident that he's going to do just fine in a recession, or when the Fed and the ECB start raising interest rates. In fact, he's looking forward to it, in part because it will wipe away a lot of not-great, second-rung companies who only exist because so many VCs are diversifying their portfolios across so many tech sectors. But it won't be pretty, he says. Bubbles burst, and we're in one. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what 'Game of Thrones' stars look like in real life  | ||
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Why I'm so excited for Fallout 4, the postapocalyptic game the world's been waiting for | ||
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At E3 this week — basically, the biggest event of the year for learning more about the big-budget video games we're going to be playing over the next year — we're going to get more details on Fallout 4, the post-apocalyptic role-playing game (RPG) that casts you as an explorer and adventurer in a nuclear wasteland as you struggle to survive. It's been five years since Fallout: New Vegas, the game's immediate predecessor. And as one of the many fans — Fallout 3 sold 4.7 million units — who sunk at least a hundred hours each into its immediate predecessors, I cannot wait. Fallout 4, as you may have guessed from the name, is the latest in a long-running series. Fallout 1 and 2 were PC games, released in 1997 and 1998, respectively, where we got our first glimpse of the world after a nuclear war. Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, were first-person games with different combat systems, but brought the series into a full three dimensions.
And there is definitely war. But unlike a lot of other games, where you're rewarded just for being fast on your feet and quick on the trigger, the Fallout games let you choose how you want to explore the world and shape the story. The sheer joy of Fallout is that it gives you so much to explore, from a city made from the ruins of an aircraft carrier, to the burnt-out, radioactive husk of the White House, to a Las Vegas strip that's mostly unchanged except that it's overseen by a brain-in-a-jar. See, according to the Fallout games, there's another World War, and the planet is destroyed in nuclear fire circa 2077.
But all is not lost! The Vault-Tec Corporation set up fallout shelters-slash-underground-cities all over America, where a lucky few could wait out the apocalypse and repopulate the world ten years later. The problem is that only a very few of those Vaults were intended to actually save lives. The rest were more about doing long-term science on the captive populations inside. One vault was populated entirely with children under the age of 15. Another had a purposely broken door so the radiation would get inside and turn the inhabitants into mutants. In Fallout 3, your nameless hero was a citizen of Vault 101, where the door was never actually intended to reopen, as an experiment in isolation under extreme despotism.
Oh yeah, there are mutants. And zombie-like ghouls. And Super-Mutants, which are like mutants, but the size of a small house. And Deathclaws (if you hear one, run). And technology-worshipping, power-armored stormtrooper zealots. And killer robots — Fallout assumes that the future world will look a lot like the 1950's, so Robbie the Robot is the design inspiration for a lot of technology you'll come across. Plus, if you eat too much irradiated food or spend too much time in irradiated water, you'll die. And there are Mad Max-style raiders and would-be despots and gangsters, all of whom are gunning for you for one reason or another. The wasteland is a harsh, unforgiving place. For instance, early on in Fallout 3 — set in the desolate ruins of the Washington DC metro area — you find a town called Megaton, which is called that because there is literally a gigantic, unexploded nuclear bomb sitting in the middle of town.
Megaton's sheriff wants you to disarm the bomb. A shadowy figure in town offers to pay you if you arm it instead. And the choice — and the reward — is all yours. Over the course of each game, you're offered plenty of choices that affect how the post-nuclear world gets saved (or doesn't). There are more subtle choices, too: Fighting is inevitable when you're exploring the wasteland, but your character can be a fast-taking knife-fighter, a laser rifle sharpshooter and cannibal (gross, not recommended), a stealthy pickpocket and explosives expert, a genius hacker that reprograms robots to fight for you, or many combinations therein. There's a lot to do. And I can't wait to see what developer Bethesda Softworks has in store for Fallout 4. Fallout 4 developer Bethesda Softworks is going to be revealing a lot more details about how we're going to explore the post-apocalyptic Boston metropolitan area later today, so stay tuned. And in the meanwhile, join me in watching the trailer for Fallout 4 over and over again. SEE ALSO: Here's the first official trailer for 'Fallout 4,' one of the world's most anticipated games Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's Why Microsoft Is Ready To Shell Out Billions For A Simple Video Game  | ||
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That first Fallout, like every Fallout game since, opens with narration from none other than actor Ron Perlman, intoning "War. War never changes." 
The guy who took a picture every day while walking through China is now a huge star on Weibo | ||
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See how a man from Germany became a viral hit on Weibo, China's biggest social network. Produced by Monica Manalo. Video courtesy of Associated Press. Follow BI Video: On Facebook Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Facebook scrapped its secret plan to build a $500 million satellite | ||
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Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Kids settle the debate and tell us which is better: an Apple or Samsung phone  | ||
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Mesmerizing video shows awesome patterns made using magnets and sand | ||
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New 'Fallout' builds Bethesda video game muscle | ||
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San Francisco (AFP) - Bethesda Software unveiled the latest installment of its "Fallout" video game franchise late Sunday, flaunting a new line-up of powerhouse sequels to its blockbuster hits. The US video game publisher showed off the keenly awaited "Fallout 4" at its first-ever Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) media event in the Dolby Theatre. It also released a free "Fallout Shelter" spin-off game in Apple's online App Store. "Fallout 4" opens with scenes showing a young family in a setting that blends 1950s America with the future. Nuclear bomb blasts send people racing for shelter, and the main character becomes the sole survivor, emerging two centuries after the devastation. A collector version of the game comes with a real-life Pip-Boy wrist-wear device, a gadget well-known by fans of "Fallout." The wearable Pip-Boy is designed to hold smartphones, and there will be an application to make it an extension of the game, according to Bethesda game studios director Todd Howard. "Fallout 4" will be released on November 10, with versions of the game tailored for play on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles as well as on personal computers powered by Windows software. Bethesda also gave a preview of "Doom" and "Dishonored 2" video games that are slated for release early next year. The "Dishonored" sequel will let players return to roles as supernatural assassins. In "Doom," players take on the challenge of wiping out powerful demons in a research facility on Mars. "The foundation of any 'Doom' experience is centered around bad-ass demons, big guns and moving really fast," executive producer Marty Stratton said. - Video games galore - The Bethesda event gave an unofficial start to E3, the video game industry's biggest trade show, which officially opens on Tuesday in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Blockbuster video games will be the main attraction, but in the wings attention will go to the promise of stepping into the games virtually and streaming them as spectator sport. "Like every year, E3 will be about the marquee video game titles that will take the world by storm," TechSavvy analyst Scott Steinberg told AFP on Saturday. "But, there are side battles going on." Analysts expect this E3 to be a coming-of-age of sorts for virtual reality, which has been around for decades but remained an unfulfilled promise for gamers eager to immerse themselves in fantasy worlds. Meanwhile Google-owned YouTube will be facing off with Amazon-owned Twitch, by previewing a version of its video-sharing platform tailored for gamers. San Francisco-based Twitch, which allows viewers to watch other people's live-streamed games, plans to live-stream press conferences, demos and interviews at E3. In keeping with years past, the day before E3 officially opens will be packed with theatrical media events revealing scenes from new versions of much-loved games on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 or Wii U consoles. Winning game franchises getting new installments will include "Batman," "Assassin's Creed," "Mass Effect" and "Call of Duty." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Apple killed off a project to build a $750 Wi-Fi speaker when it acquired Beats (AAPL) | ||
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Apple shut down a project to build a Wi-Fi speaker for the home when it acquired headphone manufacturer Beats in 2014, Variety reports. Beats had a number of upcoming devices that it was working on when it was acquired by Apple in May 2014. But it doesn't look like any of those ideas will see the light of day. One of the devices that Beats was working on was a $750 home speaker that connected to music streaming services via Wi-Fi. Variety describes the speaker as a "Sonos killer" that could have seriously hurt rival home speaker company Sonos. The Beats speaker was going to include NFC technology, which could have meant that your home speakers could detect your presence and start playing music when you enter the room. However, Variety says Beats ran into problems with the device during development and ended up switching chip supplier. That could be a major reason why Apple shut down the project. It appears that Apple used the Beats acquisition to increase its hardware portfolio, adding Beats headphones and products to its stores, as well as tapping into the company's music industry knowledge for its own music streaming service. Apple announced at its WWDC conference earlier this month that it will launch Apple Music on June 30, and former Beats executive Jimmy Iovine came on stage to introduce the service. It uses elements of the Beats Music streaming service, and insiders told us in February that Apple was using Iovine's connections in the music industry to lure artists to the platform. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The 12 best new features coming to the iPhone  | ||
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Hungry tigers, lions, and wolves are running around Tbilisi after heavy rainfall destroyed their cages | ||
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Lions, tigers, wolves, a hippopotamus, and other potentially dangerous animals escaped from a zoo in the Georgian capital after heavy rainfall damaged their cages. Severe flooding in Tbilisi on Sunday also killed at least 12 people, while dozens are still missing, the Associated Press reports. There workers were also found dead inside the zoo.
The zoo's director, Zurab Gurielidze, told the AP that's it's impossible to know how many animals were set free because the zoo was still under water. As of Sunday night, however, five lions and may monkeys were still unaccounted for, a zoo spokeswoman said. Rescue teams helped to chase down a hippopotamus, which was shot with a tranquiliser dart.
Other animals have been shot and killed, including a white lion named Shumba, a zoo favourite. At least one elephant is now safely behind bars. Below, rescuers try to pull the body of a camel out from mud in the flooded zoo.
The animals "haven't been fed, and in their hungry state they might attack people," a resident told the AP. Residents have been told to stay indoors while helicopters have been sent to locate the wandering animals. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 5 clever iPhone tricks only power users know about  | ||
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A mystery Chinese bidder paid $91,000 for an 'Iron Man'-themed Samsung smartphone because its serial number is 'lucky' | ||
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An "Iron Man"-themed Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone has sold for a staggering $91,000 in an online Chinese auction, Android Authority reports. The smartphone is part of a limited edition brought out to mark the release of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," and features a custom red-and-gold colourway. It's technically a limited-edition, but it's likely to be fairly easy to come by — 16 million of the devices are being produced.
According to Android Authority, more than 92,000 bids were placed before the winning bid of $$91,635 was placed. (There's no indication yet of who the new owner is.) It puts to shame a previous Iron Man Galaxy S6 handset that sold for the not inconsiderable sum of $35,000. So, besides the shiny colours and fancy serial number, what is the mystery big spender getting that owners of the regular Galaxy S6 Edge don't? In short: Nothing. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Kids settle the debate and tell us which is better: an Apple or Samsung phone  | ||
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The 10 things in advertising you need to know today | ||
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Good morning! Here's everything you need to know in the world of advertising today. 1. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel's leadership style has been compared to that of Sir Martin Sorrell. The comparison came from Daily Mail US boss Jon Steinberg. 2. An investment bank made an epic presentation on the future of digital media. LUMA Partners' huge slide deck looks at tech, marketing, convergent TV, and open platforms versus closed ones. 3. Facebook is bringing back the silent newsreel. Publishers have found they can better capture Facebook users' attention by allowing them to consume autoplay video with the sound off. 4. Jack Dorsey is the only person that can be Twitter's next CEO. The interim CEO won't deny that he wants the job permanently, it would be a tough job for an outsider, and the favorite "insider" being tipped for the role is revenue chief Adam Bain, but he's a business guy, not a product guy. 5. People are seriously talking about whether Apple's new ad blocking technology for iPhone will destroy the web. It looks like the company is planning to let iPhone and iPad users who update to iOS 9 to block ads on the Safari web browser — and people within the advertising and publishing industries are concerned. 6. These 12 fast food items look nothing like their ads. We've compared the marketing with reality for brands including KFC, Starbucks, and McDonald's. 7. Former ad exec and entrepreneur Cindy Gallop has told a story about how she was sexually harassed at the Cannes Lions advertising festival. She says it's one of the reasons why she thinks half of all managers should be women. 8. There's a surprising reason why all your food-related apps are red. The color is said to increase appetite. 9. A former Apple employee has described what it was like to work on the design team under Steve Jobs. He met with the team every other Monday, which meant they were under pressure to work every other weekend in order to impress Jobs. 10. Here are seven strategies Coca-Cola has used to become one of the world's most recognizable brands. Coca-Cola VP of innovation and entrepreneurship David Butler and Fast Company senior editor Linda Tischler have explored the strategies in a new book: "Design to Grow: How Coca-Cola Learned to Combine Scale and Agility (and How You Can Too.)" Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: The guy who took a picture every day while walking through China is now a huge star on Weibo  | ||
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Green-minded Paris Air Show takes off | ||
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Le Bourget (France) (AFP) - The world's leading air show opened Monday near the French capital with a special focus on green issues alongside the traditional sales war between Airbus and Boeing. President Francois Hollande is set to inaugurate the week-long Paris Air Show, which is expected to draw 315,000 visitors and 2,260 exhibitors from 47 countries. Among the aircraft making their debut will be new versions of the prototype all-electric plane from European company Airbus, the E-Fan, and its cleaner, quieter civilian helicopter, the H160. They reflect the increasing focus on green innovations that are set to be a theme at this year's show ahead of the global climate conference being hosted in the same venue later this year and with the air industry committed to being carbon-neutral by 2020. Rising fuel prices are a big motivator. Boeing's promise that its next mid-range carrier, the 737 MAX, will offer 20-percent fuel savings means it has already garnered more than 2,700 orders, even though it will not be unveiled until next year. The Airbus A320neo, with a 15 percent cut in fuel consumption, has already racked up a record 3,800 pre-orders before the first one has even left the production line. Top industry officials, government ministers and environmental experts will meet on Thursday to discuss air travel's impact on the climate, and there will be a week-long exhibition on the subject called "The Sky of Tomorrow".
- Sales war -
Paris is the oldest and biggest air show in the world, having first taken place in 1909. But several big manufacturers are notable by the absence this year, including Sweden's Saab and the UK-based BAE Systems, joining the US Northrup Grumman group which has not been at Le Bourget since 2011. There are fewer planes on display this year, too, down from 150 to 100 compared with the last show in 2013. But the sales war between big hitters Airbus and Boeing is set to be just as fierce. Airbus pipped its US rival at the last Paris Air Show two years ago, landing sales worth a total of $39.3 billion compared to Boeing's $38 billion. That year's show saw the aeronautic industry land a total of $115 billion of orders. The market for civilian aircraft is booming. Airbus said Friday it expects 32,600 planes to be sold industry-wide over the next 20 years. "I don't know if it will be the record year, but it will be a good show," said Airbus boss Fabrice Bregier, looking forward to "several hundred" orders for his company. Boeing's Randy Tinseth said the Seattle-based company had "a lot of things in the pipeline on the mid and long-haul planes." The industry needs between 300 and 400 sales next week to keep its production lines ticking over through 2020, said Ben Moores, a senior analyst at IHS Aerospace, Defence and Security. The aviation sector broke records last year with 2,888 orders, according to consultancy Deloitte Global, but the the military sector is struggling with the US shedding 168,000 defence jobs since 2010. Paris is a particularly important venue for smaller companies that have fewer chances to show off their wares. Canada is desperate for sales for its C Series regional plane, which gets its world premier at the show, while Pakistan is hungry for its first-ever order for its JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft. The show at the Paris-Le Bourget airport north of Paris opens its doors to the public from Friday, when they will get the chance to see some 40 aircraft in flying displays each day, including fighter jets such as the JF-17, France's Rafale and Ukraine's Antonov 178. Airbus has also confirmed it will display its A400M military transport plane for the first time since a fatal crash in Spain last month caused by a massive engine failure.
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Curry too hot for LeBron as MVP shotmaker sizzles in NBA Finals | ||
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Oakland (United States) (AFP) - Stephen Curry finally displayed the shotmaking skills that made him this season's NBA Most Valuable Player and as a result the Golden State Warriors are on the brink of ending a 40-year title drought. Curry produced his finest performance of his first NBA Finals on Sunday, scoring 37 points to power the Warriors over the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-91 as Golden State seized a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven championship series. The Warriors can claim their first crown since 1975 by winning game six Tuesday in Cleveland. "He made some terrific shots," said Cavaliers coach Dave Blatt. "There are a few that he made, more than a few, that were extremely difficult shots, high-level shots by a high-level player. Sometimes you've got to take your hat off to the other guy. He made some tremendous shots. That's respect." Curry connected on 13-of-23 shots from the floor, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range, and added seven rebounds and four assists. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, 12 of those in a decisive 19-5 late-game spurt that saw him sink two jaw-dropping 3-pointers. "Tip your hat to a guy who makes shots like that and he's the guy that can do it," Cavaliers star LeBron James said. "He's the best shooter in our league." Asked what more his team could have done to stop Curry, Blatt replied: "That's a really a good question. Not a lot you can do, honestly." Curry, adding to the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a playoff run with every basket from beyond the arc, had struggled earlier in the series, shut down at times by hustling Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova, notably in game two when Curry was only 5-of-23 from the court and 2-of-15 on 3-pointers. Curry had averaged 23.5 points a game but only shown flashes of the hot hand that helped Golden State to an NBA-best 67-15 record until Sunday, when he became the first player in NBA Finals history to make seven 3-pointers in multiple games of an NBA Finals, matching his game three output. "He's one of the best shooters in our league," Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson said. "I guess he exploded."
- 'This is Steph's night' -
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he expected great things from Curry when he saw Cleveland remove Russian big man Timofey Mozgov for J.R. Smith to match a smaller, faster Golden State lineup. "From the very beginning when they went small, I thought: 'This is Steph's night. This is going to be a big one for him because he has all that room,'" Kerr said. "I just think sooner or later Steph's going to get going. He had a tough first couple of games. He got going at the end of game three and that's all it takes. Steph makes a couple shots. He feels like he's got it rolling and he has been great ever since. It's not really an adjustment. It's just the law of averages are that Steph's going to make some shots." One 3-pointer came over two defenders after behind-the-back and crossover dribbles and brought a huge roar from the crowd, a possible defining moment. "It was a fun moment, but it only means something after we win the championship because signature moments only come for players who are holding the trophy," Curry said. And to that end, Curry has been willing to set up other teammates when he has been tightly defended, notably forward Andre Iguodala. "Steph is a great player. His mind is getting better and better, and he has even more room to improve," Iguodala said. "He has just been an MVP for us." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Athens stocks plunge more than six percent after talks collapse | ||
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Athens (AFP) - The Athens stock market plunged more than six percent early Monday after last-ditch debt talks collapsed at the weekend, raising fears of a Greek default and exit from the euro. The Athens Stock Exchange was down 6.57 percent at 0755 GMT after the talks in Brussels between Greece and its international creditors failed, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted in an oped piece Monday that Athens would "wait patiently" until the other side became "more realistic". Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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S.African judge to hear Sudan president arrest case | ||
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Johannesburg (AFP) - A South African judge was due to hear arguments Monday over an application to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at a summit of African leaders in Johannesburg. The African Union gathering has been overshadowed by the International Criminal Court (ICC) calling for Bashir to be arrested by South Africa over alleged war crimes and genocide during the Darfur conflict. On Sunday, Judge Hans Fabricius ordered authorities to stop Bashir from leaving the country and said the court would reconvene at 11.30 am (0930 GMT) on Monday. At the summit, Bashir attended a group photograph along with South African host President Jacob Zuma and Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who is the chair of the 54-member group. Bashir was seen at the conference venue on Sunday evening, but his whereabouts on Monday was not confirmed. "We met at 3:00 am this morning preparing our (court) papers," Mthunzi Mhaga, the department of justice spokesman, told ENCA news. "We will meticulously argue for the application to be dismissed." The Southern African Litigation Centre, a legal rights group, had launched an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court to force the authorities to arrest Bashir. South Africa is a signatory of the ICC, which has often been criticised for only targeting Africa leaders. The European Union issued a statement saying it "expects South Africa... (to act) in executing the arrest warrant against any ICC indictee present in the country." The United States, which is not a signatory of the ICC, said it "strongly support(ed) international efforts to hold accountable those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes." "We call on the Government of South Africa to support the international community's efforts to provide justice for the victims of these heinous crimes."
- 'Assurances given' -
Sudanese officials at the summit brushed off the legal hearing. "We are not abiding with any... decision of any court," Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told AFP. "We are here as guests of the government of South Africa. Assurances have been made by that government. We will leave on time as scheduled." Monday is the closing day of the summit. The ICC called on South Africa "to spare no effort in ensuring the execution of the arrest warrants" against Bashir, 71, who seized power in Sudan in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989. The ICC indictments relate to the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which erupted into conflict in 2003 when black insurgents launched a campaign against Bashir's Arab-dominated government, complaining of marginalisation. Khartoum unleashed a bloody counter-insurgency using the armed forces and allied militia. The United Nations says 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and another 2.5 million forced to flee their homes. Khartoum, however, disputes the figures, estimating the death toll at no more than 10,000. "As a member of the International Criminal Court, (South Africa) has committed to cooperate with that court," said Elise Keppler of Human Rights Watch.
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Athens stocks are getting crushed after Greece's bailout talks fell apart | ||
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Greece's talks with its creditor institutions collapsed last night after less than 45 minutes, with time running out to avoid a messy default, and no signs of progress on the major disagreements between Athens and its bailout providers. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Monday morning that his government "will wait patiently until the institutions become more realistic." Investors seem to be less patient. The Athens Stock Exchange opened down 6.29% Monday. Take a look:
Thursday saw a relief rally when it seemed like progress was being made on an agreement — but most of that surge was wiped away on Friday, and Athens stocks are now at lows last seen in April. It's been an incredibly volatile few months since Syriza won power in a spectacular January election, but there's been no particular trend other than extreme volatility. Here's how it looks since the beginning of 2015:
Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: This 1998 supercar could auction for $15 million  | ||
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