El Paso shooting at Walmart leaves at least 20 people dead

At least 20 people have been killed after a shooter opened fire at a busy Walmart store packed with families shopping for the new school year in the Texas border city of El Paso, sending panicked shoppers fleeing.
Texas governor Greg Abbott said 20 people had been killed, and more than two dozen more were injured. Mexico’s President Manuel Lopez Obrador said three Mexicans were among the dead and six were among the wounded.

Barcelona sell Malcom to Zenit St Petersburg for €45 million after just one season in Spain

Russian club, Zenit St Petersburg have announced the signing of Brazilian winger Malcom Filipe Silva de Oliveira from Spanish champions Barcelona  for €45 million after just one season in Spain.
 The 22-year-old, who joined Barcelona last season from French club Girondins Bordeaux, made 24 appearances and scored four times in all competitions. He also won two titles as a Barça player: the Spanish Super Cup against Sevilla and the 2018-19 La Liga title.

Ethiopia plants over 350 million trees in a day, setting new world record

In a record-breaking day this week, at the Gulele Botanical Garden in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia launched an historic tree planting campaign. Over 350 million trees were planted in an ambitious move to counter the effects of deforestation and climate change.
The event is part of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Green Legacy Initiative. It aimed at planting 200 million trees in a single day in 1,000 sites across the country.
Prime Minister Ahmed congratulated the country for not only meeting its collective Green Legacy goal but also exceeding it.

Lionel Messi given three-month ban and £41k fine over his claims Copa America was 'corrupt' and 'set up for Brazil to win'

Lionel Messi has been given three-month suspension and £41,000 fine following his controversial comments about Copa America tournament.  The Barcelona superstar and Argentine striker accused the South American governing body CONMEBOL of being 'corrupt' just after Argentina won their third-place play-off against Chile.

Woman breaks down as she is publicly whipped 100 times for having pre-marital sex with boyfriend

A woman cried as she pleaded with a masked sharia officer to stop whipping her in a public ceremony in Indonesia's deeply conservative Aceh province on Wednesday. The 22-year-old woman, who was being punished for having pre-marital sex, was among three people who were publicly whipped 100 times.

Ex-US President, Ronald Reagan once described African delegates to the UN as "monkeys"

Former US President Ronald Reagan described African delegates to the UN as "monkeys", in newly-unearthed tapes published by a US magazine. He made the comment in a 1971 telephone call with then-President Richard Nixon.
Mr Reagan, who was governor of California at the time, was angered that African delegates at the UN sided against the US in a vote.

Cameron Boyce's official cause of death is revealed

Disney star Cameron Boyce's cause of death has been revealed to have been a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy'. The 20-year-old died on July 6 while he was asleep at his North Hollywood home and Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner has confirmed that epilepsy was the cause of his death.

Kelechi Iheanacho gives up his No.8 jersey for Belgium star Youri Tielemans at Leicester City

Premier League Club, Leicester City have confirmed their squad numbers ahead of the new season. The Foxes stars have been given their jersey numbers for the new season with a number of notable changes made to the squad.

Turkish bee declared wanted by British Government

A bee that was accidentally carried from Turkey to the United Kingdom in a British family’s luggage is to be destroyed if caught because it might endanger British species, said government officials.  The rare osmia avosetta variety is deemed as a threat to the ecosystem in the island country, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said, according to The Telegraph.

Doctors remove 526 teeth from 7-year-old boy’s mouth

Doctors in India removed 526 teeth from a seven-year-old boy's mouth after he developed a rare condition. The boy, called Ravindran, had been complaining of swelling on the right side of his lower jaw since the age of three.
Medical investigation by surgeons revealed the presence of a large growth containing multiple hard structures within the jaw.

US pulls out of nuclear treaty with Russia

The US is set to formally withdraw from a nuclear treaty with Russia, raising fears of a new arms race. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. It banned missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (310-3,400 miles).

Kenya census to include male, female and intersex citizens

Kenya will become the first country in Africa to collect data on intersex people in its national population census, in a major victory for rights activists. The August survey will determine the number of citizens who do not identify as either male or female. Intersex people in Kenya often face violence and discrimination. There are thought to be more than 700,000 of them out of a general population of 49 million.

US teen wins $3m as Fortnite world champion

A US teenager has won a record-breaking $3m (£2.4m) to become world champion of the computer game Fortnite. It is the largest prize pool in the history of e-sports, with $30m shared amongst the winners. Kyle Giersdorf, 16, won the solo event of the competition in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, which hosts the US Open tennis tournament. British teenager Jaden Ashman won almost £1m for coming second in the duos event.

Saudi Arabia allows women to travel independently

Women in Saudi Arabia can now travel abroad without a male guardian's permission, royal decrees say. The new rule announced on Friday allows women over the age of 21 to apply for a passport without authorisation, putting them on an equal footing to men. Women are also being granted the right to register childbirth, marriage or divorce.

Brazil prisoners filmed playing football with decapitated heads of rival gangs during bloody prison clash (graphic photo)

At least 57 inmates were killed in a bloody prison clash between gang members in Brazil. Footage from the Brazillian prison has now shown inmates playing football with the heads of rival gang members they killed.
 A fight broke out at the Altamira Regional Recovery Center in Brazil's northern Pará state at around 7am Monday, July 29 (read here). According to local reports, gang members from Block A stormed Block B, which was occupied by a rival group, locked a room and set it on fire, causing many prisoners to die of asphyxiation.
Graphic picture after the cut

Katy Perry loses to Christian rapper Flame in court as Jury finds that her 2013 hit, Dark Horse, was copied from his 2009 song

Katy Perry has lost to Christian rapper Flame in a copyright infringement trial.  A federal jury in Los Angeles on Monday ruled that Katy Perry's 2013 song Dark Horse violated copyright infringement law in its similarity to the 2009 song Joyful Noise from Flame, a Christian rapper.

Charity calls for boycott of zoos that force their animals to interact with visitors for entertainment

Chained to a table and unable to escape, a young tiger squirms uncomfortably as two tourists ruffle its fur and pose for pictures. Tragically, this kind of treatment is far from unusual. An investigation by animal welfare charities found at least three quarters of zoos and aquariums force their beasts to interact with visitors.
They also found lions and tigers forced to perform in shows in ‘gladiatorial’ ampitheatres to entertain large crowds and dolphins used as surfboards by their keepers.

King Mohammed of Morocco grants amnesty to 4800 prisoners in celebration of his 20th year on the throne

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has marked 20 years on the throne, with a generous heart, by pardoning thousands of prisoners, including some from the “Hirak” protest movement that rocked the country in 2016.
 On the eve of the royal anniversary on Tuesday July 30th, an official statement announced 4,764 people were to be pardoned including some detained during the months of protests in the long-marginalised northern Rif region.

Personal details of 106 million individuals across US and Canada stolen by hackers in epic Capital One data breach

The personal details of about 106 million individuals across the US and Canada were stolen in a hack targeting financial services firm Capital One, the company has revealed.   The announcement came after the alleged hacker was arrested on Monday. According to Capital One, the data included names, addresses and phone numbers of people who applied for its credit card products, but the hacker did not gain access to credit card account numbers.

Brazil police close Neymar rape investigation over lack of evidence

Brazilian authorities investigating rape allegations against footballer Neymar have closed the case over lack of evidence.  The Sao Paulo attorney general’s office said the police decision will be sent to prosecutors on Tuesday, which will have 15 days to evaluate the case.  A final decision on the case will be made by a judge.