REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi
A man swipes grease after slipping off the "gostra", a pole covered in grease, during the religious feast of St Julian, patron of the town of St Julian's, outside Valletta, Malta, August 28, 2016. In the traditional "gostra", a game stretching back to the Middle Ages, young men, women and children have to make their way to the top and try to uproot one of the flags to win prizes. From May to September in Malta, there is hardly any weekend when a town or a village is not celebrating the feast of its patron saint or other saints revered in different churches.
1. A diplomat said that triggering Article 50 will be like turning the engines off on an airplane. When Britain makes its exit move - by invoking Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty - it will set the clock running on a two-year deadline to leave the EU.
2. Gene Wilder, the legendary comic actor of "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," "Young Frankenstein," and "Blazing Saddles," has died at age 83. The two-time Oscar nominee also starred in four films alongside stand-up icon Richard Pryor.
3. The UN has paid tens of millions to the Assad regime under its Syria aid programme. The UN says it can only work with a small number of partners approved by President Assad and that it does all it can to ensure the money is spent properly.
4. North Korea publicly executed two officials in early August for disobeying leader Kim Jong Un. Kim took power in 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, and his consolidation of power has included purges and executions of top officials.
5. Europe to hit Apple with its 'largest tax penalty' ever. Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, has distributed a 130-page judgment on Apple's Ireland operations, ahead of an official ruling on Apple's tax structure expected on Tuesday.
6. Around 6,500 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya, the Italian coastguard said, in one of its busiest days of life-saving in recent years. A five-day-old baby was among those rescued along with other infants and was airlifted to an Italian hospital.
7. China will crack down on social and entertainment news that promotes improper values and "Western lifestyles." President Xi Jinping has embarked on an unprecedented drive to censor media that do not reflect the views of Communist Party leaders.
8. The Bank of England's chief economist, said owning property is better investment for retirement than paying in to a pension. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Haldane said: "It ought to be pension but it's almost certainly property," when answering a question about preparing for retirement.
9. Apple CEO Tim Cook unlocked 1.26 million shares of Apple stock - worth $135 million - last week as part of a stock-compensation plan enacted when he became CEO in 2011. Nearly 1 million of those shares were earned because Cook lasted five years as Apple CEO.
And finally ...
Goldman Sachs thinks everyone should read these 12 books this fall.