News In A Flash.
Daily News clips of events going on around the World.
Supreme Court Rules Eastern Oklahoma Land Is Tribal Territory

The justices ruled by 5 to 4 that Congress never diminished or disestablished the land as a reservation.
In a stunning blow to Oklahoma’s state government, the US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that much of eastern Oklahoma is located on an Indian reservation.
Major crimes committed by a tribal member on their own reservation, in effect, must be prosecuted by the federal government in accordance with the Major Crimes Act.
Russian reconciliation centre warns of chemical provocation being staged in Syria

Militants made 15 bombs with unknown toxic substances to blame the Syrian government reports the chief of the Russian Centre for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria.
Terrorists cobbled together at least 15 improvised explosive devices packed with unknown substances in order to stage “false flag” attacks in Syrian inhabited localities, Alexander Shcherbitsky, chief of the Russian Centre for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Wednesday.
According to tip-offs from the local population, he added, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, which is banned in Russia made the bombs in a laboratory based in Sarmada town in north west Syria “is plotting a provocation in the settlement of Sfuhon, Fatira and Flaifel, in the Idlib province, with the aim of blaming government forces for the use of chemical weapons.” (Tass news agency)
‘Tories put cost on BBC’ Kuenssberg shifts blame as Dowden grilled over TV license fee

BBC journalist Laura Kuenssberg grilled culture minister Oliver Dowden over the BBC’s decision to scrap free TV licences automatically given to the over-75s and shifted the blame on to the Government.
The broadcaster’s outgoing political editor put it to the minister that it was the Government’s decision to shift the cost of the free licence on the BBC.
The grilling comes just hours after the BBC announced it is scrapping free TV licences for the over 75s which Prime Minister Boris Johnson said was the “wrong decision”.
In future all over-75s who apply for a free licence after August 1 will be means-tested.
Fifth Avenue by Trump Tower closed to paint Black Lives Matter mural

New York City on Thursday shut down the stretch of Fifth Avenue where Trump Tower stands to begin painting a Black Lives Matter mural.
The proposed mural, between 56th and 57th streets, was called a “symbol of hate” by President Donald Trump, who said it would be “denigrating” Fifth Avenue, known for expensive apartments and luxury shopping.
City workers closed the street Thursday morning, and Mayor Bill de Blasio will likely join the effort to paint the mural, according to NBC New York.
Study links fermented vegetable consumption to low COVID-19 mortality

An intriguing new study by researchers in Europe suggests that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality rates are likely to be lower in countries where diets are rich in fermented vegetables.
Earlier this year, Jean Bousquet (Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin) and colleagues investigated whether diet may contribute to the significant variation in COVID-19 death rates that have been observed between countries. The study found that in some countries with low mortality rates, the consumption of traditional fermented foods was high.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Co-Op and M&S join boycott of chlorinated chicken from US

Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S, and the Co-op have all pledged to never sell chlorinated chicken or hormone-injected beef from the US in another blow to a post-Brexit deal with Donald Trump.
Residents in Melbourne Covid-19 tower lockdown say food supplies have been inadequate

Residents angry at Victoria health department for failing to deliver supplies, providing out-of-date food and sending pork to Muslim families.
Residents in nine housing towers now in hard lockdown in Melbourne say they have been forced to establish their own support network rather than rely on the government for essential supplies or information.
“Last night by 2am some houses still didn’t have food delivered,” said Ahmed Dini, a resident of the North Melbourne towers and a social worker.
Indoor gyms, pools and leisure centres can reopen this month, government announces

Indoor gyms, pools and leisure centres will be able to reopen from later this month, the government has announced.
Outdoor swimming pools in England will start to reopen from this Saturday, while indoor pools, gyms and other sports facilities will have coronavirus restrictions lifted on 25 July.
The news follows an announcement that outdoor theatre, opera, music and dance events will also be permitted with limited and socially distanced audiences in England from 11 July.
TikTok goes down, prompting speculation that it’s been banned

Users in North America and Europe reported that the popular video-sharing social network TikTok went down after 2pm ET, according to Downdetector and multiple complaints on Twitter.
More than 17,000 users reported problems with the popular video sharing app, according to Downdetector, an internet outage monitoring website. People were complaining about being unable to upload clips to TikTok, and that the likes on the videos were reset to zero.
The Chinese app has been in the cross-hairs of US authorities for a while, which has prompted speculation that the outage might be a sign of a ban.
‘Hardship lies ahead’ despite £30,000,000,000 package to save economy

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned the Government is ‘not going to be able to protect every single job’ from the economic fallout of the coronavirus outbreak.
Yesterday the Treasury tried to boost the economy with a £30 billion mini-budget, including bonuses for employers to take back furloughed workers, a 50% ‘eat out to help’ out restaurant discount for all Brits, a £2 billion ‘kickstart scheme’ aiming to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for young people, an extra £111 million for apprenticeship and training schemes, and a stamp duty holiday for homes up to £500,000.
Despite this economic experts and unions have warned of the country being swept by mass unemployment, especially if a second wave of coronavirus infections causes businesses to shut their doors once again.
UK government accused of phoning Saudi Arabia to apologise after imposing human rights sanctions

The government was accused of “calling to apologise” to the regime after some Saudi individuals were included on the Foreign Secretary’s new “Magnitsky Act” sanctions list on Monday.
Defence minister Ben Wallace is understood to have discreetly telephoned his Saudi counterpart on Wednesday to reiterate the UK’s support for the regime and its work.
Stormzy surprises Croydon teenager by helping to redecorate his room

What would be one of the least likely things to happen to you after getting home from a normal day at school?
We’re betting Stormzy turning up to paint your bedroom walls would be high up there. The rapper, who grew up in the Norbury part of Croydon, was taking part in The Good Guys’ “give back” scheme, which involves redecorating the bedrooms of deserving children for free.
So when 15-year-old Ishae from Croydon came home to find his bedroom had been totally transformed, and Stormzy was standing right there, you can understand why he said “I’m shocked, I’m shocked”.
The ‘Neverspoons’ app shows you independent pubs near to Wetherspoons

Last weekend saw pubs across the city reopen, but a new app is urging people not to sip their much-missed pints at Wetherspoons.
The Neverspoons app offers suggestions for nearby independent boozers rather than heading straight for a ’Spoons.
On the app, you can view a map which shows local independent pubs with a green pin and Wetherspoons with a red pin. You can also view a full list of nearby Wetherspoon pubs and you’ll be given a variety of alternatives, including how long it’ll take to walk there from your current location.
The app’s creators say they developed Neverspoons because of the pub chain’s response to the crisis of the last few months. It came under fire in March for refusing to pay suppliers until lockdown had ended and encouraging unpaid staff to take jobs at Tesco.
Romania criminalises cyber harassment as a form of domestic violence

Romania now recognises cyber harassment as a form of domestic violence, under a new legal amendment.
The new law, which came into effect on Thursday, amends the country’s 2003 legislation on domestic violence.
“This is a very important step in aligning our legislation to that of other EU member states,” said Monica Statescu, a Romania lawyer who specialises in cybersecurity and intellectual property.
“It was very much a required change in this current climate of online activity, where people spend more time on social media.”
Domestic violence will now include a provision specifically for “cybernetic violence” which intends to “shame, humble, scare, threat, or silence the victim”. This will include online threats or messages, or where a partner sends intimate graphic content without consent.
The law will also criminalise illegal access to communications and private data via computers, smartphones, or devices that can connect to the internet.
Labour MP Dawn Butler closes Willesden constituency office after threats ‘dramatically escalate’

Labour MP Dawn Butler has closed her constituency office in north-west London after threats against her and staff “dramatically escalated”.
The Brent Central MP said bricks have been hurled through the windows of her small office on High Road, Willesden, and staff have been attacked inside.
Government spent £10,000,000,000 on failing test and trace programme

Ministers have spent £10 billion on the failing test and trace programme – even though it’s still not yet fully operational. The revelation came after documents were released yesterday showing the Government has spent £48 billion on public services during the coronavirus crisis.
Officials in charge of NHS test and trace, which was championed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, admitted this week it is still not hitting government targets.
A total of 31,421 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England had their case transferred to the contact tracing system during the first five weeks of its operation, according to figures from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Up to one third of people in UK may refuse coronavirus vaccine, new poll finds

Almost a third of people in the UK may refuse a coronavirus vaccine if one is developed, according to a new poll.
Nearly one in five British adults say they would either probably or definitely turn down a vaccine, according to the YouGov poll of 1,663 adults, and another 15 per cent say they don’t know yet how they feel about it.
Zambia sells part of Victoria Falls land to China

Zambian media reports indicate that Heritage authorities in the Southern African country are resisting the move by corrupt politicians.
Heritage authorities are rightly arguing that the land being offered to the Chinese business tycoon is within the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site and construction of the wheel would be in violation of UNESCO regulations.
Local government and central government authorities in Zambia have teamed up to evict families that are currently living in the area, giving them 3 months notice to vacate.
It baffles the mind how so called foreign direct investment in Africa takes over consideration of Human Rights as the rightful owners of land get displaced and become destitutes in their motherland.
“While they are busy arresting their own sons and daughters for speaking against the corruption going on in their own land, they are also busy selling Zambia to Chinese,” said socialite and Zambian citizen Prophet Seer1.
In Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa also offered land to the Chinese to pave way for the construction of a golf course in the National Park.
The move was met with widespread condemnation from citizens and animal rights groups.
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