Triathlon ban all transgender women from competing in female events at an elite and grassroots level

 

 Triathlon has become the first British sport to ban all transgender women from competing in female events at an elite and grassroots level.
Competition at the elite and grassroots level from the age of 12 and over will be split into a female category and an open category, which will welcome male, transgender, and non-binary athletes.
The female category will be open solely to athletes assigned the female sex at birth. British Triathlon announced its new transgender inclusion policy on Wednesday, following a lengthy and independent consultation.  It becomes the first national governing body to include trans athletes in a competitive open category, rather than one separate from the male and female categories.

Photos from mass funeral service for 21 teenagers who died under mysterious circumstances at South African bar

 

 A mass funeral service is underway for the 21 teenagers, 12 girls and nine boys, who died under unexplained circumstances at a bar in South Africa.
 The results of the toxicology report are not yet available, but it is widely believed that they died after inhaling toxic gas or fumes while partying in the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park in the early hours on June 26, 2022.
The service is holding at a stadium in Scenery Park township in the coastal city of East London, Eastern Cape Province.
 The coffins were lined up inside a gigantic marquee, with families expected to bury their children later this week. 

More pictures after the cut

Ferdinand Marcos Jr to be sworn in as Philippines president

 

 Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the Philippines’s late dictator, is set to be sworn in as the country’s new president.
Marcos Jr’s inauguration on Thursday marks a stunning political comeback for one of Asia’s most famous political dynasties, 36 years after it was toppled in a popular uprising.
Known as “Bongbong”, Marcos Jr, 64, won a rare landslide victory in last month’s presidential election, helped by what critics have said was a years-long campaign to whitewash the his family’s image.
He succeeds Rodrigo Duterte, who gained international notoriety for his deadly drug war and has threatened to kill suspected dealers after he leaves office.

President Putin is allegedly recruiting prisoners and paying £3,000 to fight for Russia in Ukraine amid shortage of frontline troops

 

 The Russian authorities are recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine with the promise of almost £3,000 and their sentences being annulled if they come back alive after six months, new report claims.
 Inmates are being actively recruited in St Petersburg jails, according to independent media outlet IStories.
The report said the convicts are told they will be put on the frontline to hunt down 'Nazis' in Ukraine in an arrangement that suggests they will be deployed as cannon fodder.
 Private military company Wagner is reported to be behind a recruitment drive at penal colonies number 7 ‘Yablonevka’, number 6 ‘Obukhovo’, and number 4 Fornosovo.
The FSB security service, once headed by Putin is also reported to be involved.

Juventus reach agreement to sign former Man,United star Paul Pogba on a four-year contract'

 

Juventus have reportedly reached an agreement to sign French midfielder Paul Pogba on a free transfer.
The former Manchester United star is expected in Turin on Saturday for a medical and to formally sign the contract.
The France World Cup winner is said to have agreed on a four-year contract with the Serie A giants ahead of much-anticipated return to Italy.
 Pogba has previously been linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, but he is now seemingly one step away from completing his return to Juve.

Florida father kills himself after finding his 18-month-old son dead in hot car

 

A man in Virginia has died by suicide after he found his infant child dead in an overheated car. The father, who has not been named, had left the child unattended for three hours on Tuesday, June 28, while he was at work, police officials said.
 After finding his 18-month-old child motionless inside the car, he shot himself.
He was found dead on Tuesday in Chesterfield with a gunshot wound to the head in the woods behind his home after police received reports he was threatening to harm himself. Officers found the body of the young child inside the home.

Woman is jailed for 50 years for 'stabbing her newborn baby in the neck six times'

 

A 21-year-old woman in El Salvador has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for aggravated homicide after authorities claimed she killed her baby girl after giving birth.
 Lesly Ramírez was home the night of June 17, 2020, when she felt the instant urge to go the bathroom, according to Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion, a feminist non-governmental organization that defended the woman.
 Ramírez, who was 19 years old and claims she was five months pregnant at the time, recalled how 'something (came) out of her as she unexpectedly delivered the unborn child.

Woman facing 15 years in jail for secretly selling corpses and giving families fake ashes

 

 An American undertaker is facing charges for selling dead bodies for cash and giving grieving families fake ashes that she claimed are their loved ones. Megan Hess is accused of handing over urns filled with fake ashes to families to hide her shameful scam.
She even gave one mourner concrete mix in place of their relative's remains.
 The 45-year-old, who previously denied all the charges levelled against her, finally admitted the shocking truth as she entered a guilty plea in court earlier this week.
An FBI investigation found that Hess forged dozens of body-donor consent forms at her Sunset Mesa funeral home in the town of Montrose, before selling various heads, arms, spines and legs to medical research and extracting and selling the gold teeth of some of the deceased. Hess, who stands accused of body harvesting from 2010 to 2018 alongside her mother Shirley Koch, is also believed to have used the thousands of dollars she made to fund a trip to Walt Disney World.

Man paid 330 times his monthly salary disappears with the money before company could get it back

 

 An employee of an industrial company in Chile has absconded after the company mistakenly paid him 330 times his salary.  The man, who is a staff at the Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos company, was paid around £150,000 for one month of work.  He should only have been paid around £450 for the month of June.
 After he received the money, rather than return the excess to the company, he took the money and ran. He hasn't been seen or heard from since then.

Carson Pickett becomes the first player with a limb difference to play for the US Women's National Team

 

 Carson Pickett has become the first person with a limb difference to play for the US Women's National Team (USWNT).
 On Tuesday, June 29, the 28-year-old helped her side to a 2-0 victory in a friendly against Colombia.
 Carson, who was born without part of her left arm, has played for the North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) since February 2021 when she was traded from Orlando Pride.
 She was named to the 2021 NWSL First-Team Starting XI and was a finalist for 2021 Defender of the Year. This was rewarded with a call up to the national squad.

Denmark shooting update: Gunman who killed 3 people in Copenhagen shooting mall charged with murder

 

 A 22-year-old man suspected of killing three people at a shopping center in Copenhagen, Denmark has been charged with murder. Two Danish citizens, both aged 17, and a 47-year-old Russian citizen were killed in Sunday's attack by the youngman.
Police on Monday, July 24,  said the suspect had mental health issues and there is no indication of a terror motive in his attack.
He had a rifle and a knife and his shooting was random — "not motivated by gender or anything else" — they said.
The suspect appeared in front of a court in a blue T-shirt accompanied by three heavily armed officers, Danish media report.

Germany signs deal to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria

 

 
The Federal government on Friday, July 1, signed an agreement with the German government to begin the repatriation of hundreds of Benin bronzes back to Nigeria.
 The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock and Culture Minister Claudia Roth signed the deal with their Nigerian counterparts in Berlin after Germany first announced that it would begin returning the bronzes last year.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister of Culture, Lai Mohammed, thanked Germany for having “taken the lead in correcting the wrongs of the past”, hailing “the dawn of a new era of cooperation”.
 The first two artworks, the head of a king and a plaque depicting three warriors, were on Friday July 1, handed over to representatives from Nigeria.

Son fatally stabbed parents 184 times in chest and eyes then booked getaway flight from Manchester Airport

 

A son has been convicted of a brutal double murder of his parents as he mercilessly stabbed them 184 times at their home in Lancashire, Manchester, UK. Lee Tipping, 36, then fled the scene of the crime and later tried to fly out of the city using the Manchester Airport.
Tipping was on Thursday, June 30 found guilty of the murder of his parents Anthony Tipping and Patricia Livesey by a jury following a trial at Preston Crown Court.
He claimed he acted in self defence when he knifed his dad 131 times in his chest and even his eyes.
Speaking in court, he said he lost control and turned the blade on his mum, stabbing her 153 times. But the jury dismissed Tipping's claims and found he was the aggressor in the frenzied attack at the house in Cann Bridge Street in Higher Walton, Lancashire, on November 19, 2021.

Gay and lesbian couples are finally able to tie the knot in Switzerland as the country makes same-s3x marriage legal

 

 The first same-sex couples tied the knot in Switzerland on Friday, July 1, following a referendum that makes same-sex marriage legal in the country.
 Pictures show gay and lesbian couples getting married in the country, where same-sex marriage officially became legal from today.
Same-sex couples will also be able to convert their registered partnership into marriage from today.
 They can also apply for joint adoption of children and to inherit a partner’s pension when they die.

‘Ronaldo Made Manchester United Worse’ - Liverpool Legend, Jamie Carragher

 

 Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher has accused Cristiano Ronaldo of being responsible for Manchester United's poor campaign last season, claiming the Portuguese made them worse.
Ronaldo returned to United last season and was top scorer for the club in the Premier League scoring 18 goals in 30 appearances.
Unfortunately, his goals were not enough to lead the club to the Champions League, as the Red Devils will feature in the Europa League next season.
Carragher’s claim comes following reports on Saturday, June 2 that Ronaldo asked to leave United if a decent offer is made to the club.

5 dead, 16 hospitalised as gunman opens fire at a Fourth of July parade

 

 
Five people were killed and 16 others wounded when a gunman opened fire at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb today, July 4.
 Today is Independence Day in the United States of America and parades are taking place across the country.  Ten minutes after the Highland Park Fourth of July parade kicked off, a shooter opened fire, authorities said.
 Shortly after noon, the Highland Park police said it remained an "active incident" and urged people to stay away.
A Chicago Sun-Times reporter saw blankets covering three bloodied bodies and five other people wounded and bloodied near the parade’s reviewing stand.

Mo Salah signs a new three-year contract worth nearly £400,000-a-week to become the best paid player in the club's history

 

 Liverpool star, Mohamed Salah has committed his future by signing the biggest deal in the club's history.
 Salah, 30, had entered the final 12 months of his current contract, which were signed in July 2018, but after months of negotiations between the club and player, they have an agreement that will see him remain at Liverpool until June 2025 on £400,000 per week salary.
Salah, one of the best purchases the club has ever made, is one of the all-time top 10 scorers in Liverpool's history.
He has scored 156 goals in 254 appearances, as well as helped guide the team to last season's FA Cup and Carabao Cup triumphs.

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku rejoins Inter Milan on season-long loan

 

 Romelu Lukaku has completed a return to Inter Milan with no obligation to buy after his nightmare second spell at Chelsea. Inter will pay Chelsea a loan fee of £6.9m plus £3.5m in bonuses if they win the Scudetto, and will cover all his wages this season.
The Chelsea striker flew into Milan Linate airport around 6.20am local time and posed with an Inter scarf before getting in a car.
 "I'm so happy to be back," he said. Having completed his medical, Lukaku has officially been announced as a new Inter player.
The Belgian striker endured a season to forget after re-joining the Blues for £98million last summer as he struggled to hit top form.

Update: Manchester United star, Mason Greenwood has his bail extended as police continue to probe allegations he raped and assaulted young woman

 

 Manchester United star, Mason Greenwood has had his police bail extended over allegations he raped and assaulted a young woman earlier this year.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) applied to have his bail extended at Manchester and Salford Magistrates, where it was granted.
The 20-year-old footballer was arrested in January after images and videos were posted online.
He was also later quizzed on suspicion of making threats to kill as he spent three nights in cells at a Greater Manchester police station.
 Greenwood was released on conditional bail. This was first extended until mid-June and has now been extended.

Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, ending right to abortion

 

 The U.S. Supreme Court has officially overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, June 24, declaring that Americans no longer have a constitutional right to abortion.
 In the court's most closely watched and controversial case in years, a majority of the justices – all of whom were appointed by Republican presidents – held that the right to end a pregnancy was not found in the text of the Constitution nor the nation's history.
The court, in a 6-3 vote, upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks.
 Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said: "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.
"Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division."