bbc--2020-07-30--Kylie and Kendall Jenner endorsed 'knock-off' Apple products on Instagram

Kylie and Kendall Jenner are amongst dozens of influencers BBC Click has discovered to be promoting the sale of imitation Apple AirPods on Instagram .
The two celebrities have a combined following of 322 million followers .
Apple says cloned earphones infringe its intellectual property rights .
It is not thought to be pursuing a case against the two sisters .
However , the firm has taken previous action against influencers it believed to be hawking `` knock-off '' AirPods .
Click 's investigation uncovered dozens of social media influencers promoting clones of Apple Airpods and Apple Watches .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ goods themselves .
Instead , they promote links to websites where anonymous sellers ship the products directly from China .
The products typically may be indistinguishable from the genuine items at first glance but feature different brand names on their packaging and sometimes deliver a poor user experience .
Promotion of such products can be regarded as being a copyright and trademark infringement under UK law , if the knock-offs are deemed to look similar enough to the legitimate items .
The national co-ordinator for the UK 's National Trading Standards eCrime team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be promoting knock-off products , in the first instance they would be informed of consumer laws , but if they continued then `` formal action '' would be considered .
`` We would be concerned that some consumers , swayed by the power of social influencers , and the overall look and feel of the websites , might be misled into thinking they are buying genuine Apple AirPods , '' Mike Andrews said .
Instagram itself has told the BBC that influencers must follow local laws and vet brands before agreeing to paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are known as drop shippers - a kind of intermediary who does n't make or even see the products they sell , and uses influencers to promote them .
They typically source their products from online Chinese marketplaces and have them sent directly to consumers .
'You can have a massive business without ever going to China , '' Kevin David , a drop shipper based in Miami told Click .
`` I 've personally sent millions of dollars to China .
I 've gotten millions and millions of dollars of products and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
He added : `` Those Airpods , some of my personal friends make hundreds of thousands a month selling those . ''
While legal , drop shipping is open to abuse with reports of : • refunds not being given '' All you need is an internet connection and a website and you 're ready to go , '' commented Sanchit Jain , an e-commerce analyst , from the consultancy Ender Analysis .
`` The downside is that people get conned , do n't get what they paid for and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ West , especially because you are easily able to create a new store as and when you please . ''
Apple told BBC it was aware that drop shipping contributed to counterfeit sales and allowed bad actors to remain anonymous .
It added that its teams `` are continually adapting to counterfeiters ' latest tactics '' .
BBC Click 's investigation will be broadcast on the BBC News Channel on Saturday and will also appear on iPlayer

"The downside is that people get conned, don't get what they paid for and are misled. It really is the Wild West, especially because you are easily able to create a new store as and when you please."


bbc--2020-07-31--Afghanistan: At least 17 killed in Eid car blast

At least 17 people have been killed in Afghanistan in a powerful car bomb blast in Logar province .
The explosion came on the eve of a ceasefire declared by the Taliban during the festival of Eid .
The Taliban have denied responsibility for the attack , while the Islamic State has not yet commented .
The attack was believed to have been carried out by a suicide bomber , Dedar Lawang , spokesman for Logar 's governor , told the AFP news agency .
The blast happened near the governor 's office and where many people were shopping for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ once again struck on the night of Eid al-Adha and killed a number of our countrymen , '' interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said .
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack had `` nothing to do '' with the group .
The Taliban and Afghan government have agreed on a three-day ceasefire starting Friday , the first day of Eid .
There are hopes of a permanent truce but peace talks have been delayed due to prisoner exchanges .
An agreement was made that the government would release 5,000 Taliban prisoners in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Afghan government has released more than 4,400 Taliban prisoners , while a spokesman for the insurgents said on Thursday that a total of 1,005 government inmates had now been set free .
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There are hopes of a permanent truce but peace talks have been delayed due to prisoner exchanges. An agreement was made that the government would release 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 of its security personnel.


bbc--2020-07-31--Michael Brown: Ferguson officer won't be charged for 2014 killing

Prosecutors in the US city of St Louis have said they will not bring charges against a former police officer who shot dead a black teenager in 2014 .
The killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson triggered weeks of protests .
It also led to the founding of the Black Lives Matter movement .
Prosecutors said a five-month re-examination of the case had not found enough evidence to bring charges of murder or manslaughter against the former officer , Darren Wilson .
In 2015 the Justice Department concluded that he had fired in self-defence .
The exact details of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , eyewitnesses and family members .
What is known for certain is that around midday on 9 August 2014 , Mr Wilson was driving a police car and encountered Mr Brown and a friend walking down a street .
Minutes later 18-year-old Mr Brown was dead , suffering at least seven gunshot wounds , according to county prosecutor Bob McCulloch .
His body lay in the street for four hours before it was removed .
Mr Wilson fired a total of 12 bullets , though investigators were unclear exactly how many of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may have been a re-entry wound .
Witnesses said Mr Brown had his hands up when he was shot , but investigators said the evidence suggested this was not the case .
Nationwide protests were sparked by the killing and the decision not to charge the officer with murder .
Two police officers were shot as riots ripped through Ferguson .
The findings after a re-examination of the case found , once again , that Mr Wilson should not be charged .
`` Can we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bell , told a press conference .
`` The answer to that is no . ''
However , Mr Bell said the investigation could not exonerate the officer , who stepped down soon after the killing .
`` There are so many points at which Darren Wilson could have handled the situation differently , and if he had , Michael Brown might still be alive , '' he said .
The announcement comes as protests continue against racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd , an unarmed black man , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

"There are so many points at which Darren Wilson could have handled the situation differently, and if he had, Michael Brown might still be alive," he said.


bbc--2020-07-31--NBA: Basketball's unique role in the United States' discussion about racism

When fans tuned in as the NBA season resumed at Disney World on Thursday , they were watching a game with a different feel .
Jerseys ordinarily emblazoned with well-known surnames - prized products sold to fans around the world - instead carried activist slogans : 'Justice Now ' , 'See Us ' , 'Hear Us ' , 'Respect Us ' , 'Love Us ' .
The stands were empty and silent , but one message is already echoing loudly : the NBA wants to talk about racism .
Even before the shocking death of George Floyd triggered a national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vehicle for protesting against what has been called America 's Original Sin .
Big moments - like the raising of a fist by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in a black power salute as the 'Star Spangled Banner ' played at the 1968 Olympics - have become iconic images .
More recent gestures , like those sparked by Colin Kaepernick 's refusal to stand for the national anthem , have become a contentious point of political debate in the United States .
Race , as the respected San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the room in our country '' - one that has come charging into the locker room on many occasions .
Of all sports , basketball is arguably the most obvious place for an unvarnished conversation .
From its earliest days of being popularised as entertainment by the Harlem Globetrotters , to a sport still primarily played by black athletes and , in the US , watched largely by ethnic minority fans ( two-thirds of those who tuned in during 2016-17 on US TV were non-white ) , race has figured prominently in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will embrace the conversation head-on this time .
But will it be any different than in the past - and will it make a difference ?
Black players have always been aware of the thin line that separates them from a life of professional success and a far different fate .
As the youngest of three sons of a single mother growing up in inner city Philadelphia , Rasheed Wallace realised early that it would be hard going , as did everyone around him .
`` The stakes are high , the stakes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who played for 2004 champions the Detroit Pistons - tells the BBC .
Growing up poor and with few opportunities , sports are one of the few ways young black men , especially , can conceive of success .
`` You see a lot of black parents getting on their kids , no matter [ whether ] it 's football , basketball , baseball or any sport .
It 's like , 'look - this could be our ticket out of here ' , '' he says .
`` There 's a standard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And for us , being black kids in the ghetto , we know that .
That if I can make it , I got a chance to make it better for my family . ''
But that success does not change how the world views a black man when he is out of team uniform , Wallace believes .
Stephen Jackson was sitting on his living room sofa in late May when his phone began to light up with messages .
`` I opened one from a close friend and it said : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your twin in Minnesota ? '
, '' Jackson , a former San Antonio Spurs shooting guard , tells the BBC .
He knew immediately what it meant .
George Floyd had been a close friend for more than 20 years .
Floyd , an imposing Texan of over 6ft 8in who was 46 when he was killed , and Jackson , 42 , looked so much alike they called themselves twins .
Today , one has an NBA championship ring and network sports podcast , and the other is dead .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jackson says .
`` I see myself down there because we look so much alike .
I definitely see myself getting murdered in the same fashion by a cop . ''
Wallace agrees .
`` For sure , it could have been me .
Especially with my attitude , the way I am . ''
He adds : `` Now I think [ race ] is even more of a bigger burden .
It 's almost like it 's a danger to stand up , to be black .
It 's a danger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighbourhood .
It 's almost to the point where black men , we 're the targets . ''
Floyd had been a star athlete in his younger days , and was recruited to play basketball for a university team .
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in relation to his death .
Three other officers were also charged with aiding and abetting murder .
A tentative trial date has been set for March 2021 .
For those like Jackson and Wallace , talent has kept @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no guarantee of a happy outcome .
Asked who he would call basketball 's greatest of all time , the legendary Kareem Abdul Jabbar did not name Michael Jordan , Wilt Chamberlain or some other household star but Earl Manigault , a street ball player he knew in Harlem , New York as a youth .
Manigault is little known , for he never made it into the professional ranks .
Seen as a prodigy on street courts , he instead went from an impoverished youth to difficult adulthood , becoming addicted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` For every Michael Jordan , there 's an Earl Manigault , '' Manigault once told the New York Times .
`` We all ca n't make it .
Somebody has to fail .
I was the one . ''
This is the realisation the rest of the country has been waking up to in 2020 - that the cards are stacked this way in black America .
The NBA says it wants to bring it into further focus .
According to the league 's 2020 handbook , a `` central goal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use the NBA 's platform `` to bring attention and sustained action to issues of social injustice , including combating systemic racism , expanding educational and economic opportunities across the black community , enacting meaningful police and criminal justice reform and promoting greater civic engagement '' .
Some , including Jackson , are sceptical .
This is not the first time the league has made public statements on racial justice .
In 2014 , the league allowed players to wear T-shirts bearing the words ' I ca n't breathe ' before matches .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York , had uttered the words before he died in a police chokehold during an arrest .
The same year , commissioner Adam Silver ejected Donald Sterling , then owner of the Los Angeles Clippers , from the league after racist remarks he made about black players emerged .
The league publicly condemned Sterling and the team was sold .
But critics say that on the metrics that matter , nothing much has changed .
Three-quarters of players in the NBA are black , but only one of the 30 teams has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Charlotte Hornets .
As recently as 2017 , there were only three black general managers .
Now there are six .
After retiring from playing , Wallace served as an assistant coach for the Pistons for a season .
There were not many like him in the league .
`` We do n't get the quote-unquote 'white opportunities ' - to be that GM , to be that head coach , assistant GM or partial owner , whatever .
That 's always up to the white people , '' he says @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be fully opened - but needs to be , he says , so that youngsters in neighbourhoods like the one he grew up in can see they `` do n't have to just play basketball or football or baseball to become someone , to become a significant person in my community , or to even make a lot of money '' .
He adds : `` That 's the only outlet that we see as young black men : I got ta make it in basketball or football or baseball .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
It would be hard to argue there has not been any progress .
The arc of basketball history has bent toward a bit more justice since the 1920s - when black athletes were forced to stay in segregated hotels while travelling through the American South - or even the 1980s , when white players were paid $ 26,000 more on average , despite poorer performances on the court .
Black players today have far greater power and command greater respect as public figures , plus the earnings to match .
Playing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was worth as little as $ 7.50 a game - $ 144 ( £111 ) today - according to basketball historian Doug Merlino , but it was often a choice between that or a life of menial labour .
The current top five NBA players , all of whom are black , will make a collective $ 192m ( £147m ) on salaries alone over 2019-20 .
There are those - fans , commentators and players themselves - who will see the limits of sports activism , or reject it altogether .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response from Laura Ingraham , a right-wing news anchor , when in 2018 LeBron James gave an ESPN interview criticising President Trump 's attitudes on race .
That Ingraham did not have similar advice more recently for Drew Brees , a white American football player , to keep out of politics have , in many people 's view , lent her previous comments a racial tinge .
( Brees had made remarks rejecting the take the knee protest in his sport . )
But the sentiment is not unique to conservative news figures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below sports talk shows , are complaints from fans decrying the forays of their favourite court stars into politics .
Others see a heavy dose of hypocrisy in how players , former players and the league handle divisive political issues .
Jackson , for example , was engulfed in controversy after making anti-Semitic comments on social media .
He said his comments were taken out of context , but the episode extinguished a measure of sympathy for his racial activism among many .
For some others , it nullified all goodwill entirely .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Jabbar said Jackson 's comments `` undid whatever progress his previous advocacy may have achieved '' by himself committing `` the kind of dehumanising characterisation of a people that causes the police abuses that killed his friend , George Floyd '' .
He wrote of `` a very troubling omen for the future of the Black Lives Matter movement , '' adding : `` So too is the shocking lack of massive indignation . ''
More recently , Houston Rockets star James Harden drew fury when he was photographed wearing a mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' , a counter-organisation to Black Lives Matter that backs police .
Harden said he was not trying to make a statement - he just thought that the design 'looked cool ' and covered his beard .
Detractors will say it proves sportsmen may not be the best agents of political messaging , and that it distracts from the experience fans are paying for with their time and money - a reprieve from politics .
And if politics should be allowed to enter in , where should the line be drawn ?
Another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Republican Missouri Senator , wrote to Silver to complain the NBA is allowing Black Lives Matter-themed slogans , but not those supporting US troops , or backing free speech in Hong Kong .
The senator accused the NBA of `` excusing and apologising for the brutal repression of the Chinese Communist regime '' .
`` Free expression appears to stop at the edge of your corporate sponsors ' sensibilities , '' he chided .
But even if thorny questions remain , there is no doubt that the zeitgeist in America has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2020 shows that , unlike in the past , Americans are largely accepting the idea that racism exists and plays a part in the many social ills black people face in the country .
The `` myth '' that America 's problems with race are largely overcome is being challenged , whether in basketball or in the greater society , believes Popovich , the 71-year-old Spurs coach .
`` You ca n't go on and enjoy your life if you do n't understand what has happened to so many , '' he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race campaign , he is realistic about the prospect of influence .
`` Fans are like any other group of people - some will get it , some will understand , some will just enjoy the games and move on , '' he says .
`` Others will hopefully get involved in being part of the solution of being anti-racist , but that 's a pretty individual thing . ''
After all , sport - as much a cultural product of the times as any entertainment - can only reflect the realities of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reality is that to be black is in itself to be political , and that position is not a choice , whether you are a basketball star or a bouncer .
The slogan stencilled beside the NBA logo is a reminder .
The lives of so many of the men dribbling , jumping , performing feats of athleticism are black ones - and they matter not just on the court .

LeBron James has been among the most vocal of those calling for change
When fans tuned in as the NBA season resumed at Disney World on Thursday, they were watching a game with a different feel.
On gleaming courts refashioned from ballrooms, in a basketball 'bubble' protected from coronavirus at the Florida resort, three words were stencilled alongside the enormous NBA logo: 'Black Lives Matter'.
Jerseys ordinarily emblazoned with well-known surnames - prized products sold to fans around the world - instead carried activist slogans: 'Justice Now', 'See Us', 'Hear Us', 'Respect Us', 'Love Us'.
The stands were empty and silent, but one message is already echoing loudly: the NBA wants to talk about racism.
Even before the shocking death of George Floyd triggered a national reckoning, sport had long been a vehicle for protesting against what has been called America's Original Sin.
Big moments - like the raising of a fist by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in a black power salute as the 'Star Spangled Banner' played at the 1968 Olympics - have become iconic images.
More recent gestures, like those sparked by Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the national anthem, have become a contentious point of political debate in the United States.
Race, as the respected San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich puts it, is the "elephant in the room in our country" - one that has come charging into the locker room on many occasions.
Of all sports, basketball is arguably the most obvious place for an unvarnished conversation.
From its earliest days of being popularised as entertainment by the Harlem Globetrotters, to a sport still primarily played by black athletes and, in the US, watched largely by ethnic minority fans (two-thirds of those who tuned in during 2016-17 on US TV were non-white), race has figured prominently in the NBA.
The league says it will embrace the conversation head-on this time. But will it be any different than in the past - and will it make a difference?
Black players have always been aware of the thin line that separates them from a life of professional success and a far different fate.
As the youngest of three sons of a single mother growing up in inner city Philadelphia, Rasheed Wallace realised early that it would be hard going, as did everyone around him.
"The stakes are high, the stakes are real high," Wallace - who played for 2004 champions the Detroit Pistons - tells the BBC. Growing up poor and with few opportunities, sports are one of the few ways young black men, especially, can conceive of success.
"You see a lot of black parents getting on their kids, no matter [whether] it's football, basketball, baseball or any sport. It's like, 'look - this could be our ticket out of here'," he says.
"There's a standard you have to live up to. And for us, being black kids in the ghetto, we know that. That if I can make it, I got a chance to make it better for my family."
But that success does not change how the world views a black man when he is out of team uniform, Wallace believes.
Stephen Jackson (right) and George Floyd called themselves twins
Stephen Jackson was sitting on his living room sofa in late May when his phone began to light up with messages.
"I opened one from a close friend and it said: 'Do you see what they did to your twin in Minnesota?'," Jackson, a former San Antonio Spurs shooting guard, tells the BBC. He knew immediately what it meant.
George Floyd had been a close friend for more than 20 years.
Floyd, an imposing Texan of over 6ft 8in who was 46 when he was killed, and Jackson, 42, looked so much alike they called themselves twins.
Today, one has an NBA championship ring and network sports podcast, and the other is dead.
"That could have been me," Jackson says. "I see myself down there because we look so much alike. I definitely see myself getting murdered in the same fashion by a cop."
Wallace agrees. "For sure, it could have been me. Especially with my attitude, the way I am."
He adds: "Now I think [race] is even more of a bigger burden. It's almost like it's a danger to stand up, to be black. It's a danger for you to be jogging in a neighbourhood. It's almost to the point where black men, we're the targets."
Floyd had been a star athlete in his younger days, and was recruited to play basketball for a university team. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in relation to his death. Three other officers were also charged with aiding and abetting murder. A tentative trial date has been set for March 2021.
Wallace, pictured here in 2016, was assistant coach with Detroit from 2013-2014
For those like Jackson and Wallace, talent has kept misfortune at bay, but it is no guarantee of a happy outcome.
Asked who he would call basketball's greatest of all time, the legendary Kareem Abdul Jabbar did not name Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain or some other household star but Earl Manigault, a street ball player he knew in Harlem, New York as a youth.
Manigault is little known, for he never made it into the professional ranks. Seen as a prodigy on street courts, he instead went from an impoverished youth to difficult adulthood, becoming addicted to heroin and serving time for drug possession.
"For every Michael Jordan, there's an Earl Manigault," Manigault once told the New York Times. "We all can't make it. Somebody has to fail. I was the one."
This is the realisation the rest of the country has been waking up to in 2020 - that the cards are stacked this way in black America. The NBA says it wants to bring it into further focus.
According to the league's 2020 handbook, a "central goal" of the season will be to use the NBA's platform "to bring attention and sustained action to issues of social injustice, including combating systemic racism, expanding educational and economic opportunities across the black community, enacting meaningful police and criminal justice reform and promoting greater civic engagement".
Some, including Jackson, are sceptical. This is not the first time the league has made public statements on racial justice.
In 2014, the league allowed players to wear T-shirts bearing the words 'I can't breathe' before matches. Eric Garner, a black man from New York, had uttered the words before he died in a police chokehold during an arrest.
The same year, commissioner Adam Silver ejected Donald Sterling, then owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, from the league after racist remarks he made about black players emerged.
The league publicly condemned Sterling and the team was sold.
But critics say that on the metrics that matter, nothing much has changed. Three-quarters of players in the NBA are black, but only one of the 30 teams has a black majority owner - Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Hornets. As recently as 2017, there were only three black general managers. Now there are six.
After retiring from playing, Wallace served as an assistant coach for the Pistons for a season. There were not many like him in the league.
"We don't get the quote-unquote 'white opportunities' - to be that GM, to be that head coach, assistant GM or partial owner, whatever. That's always up to the white people," he says.
It is another closed door yet to be fully opened - but needs to be, he says, so that youngsters in neighbourhoods like the one he grew up in can see they "don't have to just play basketball or football or baseball to become someone, to become a significant person in my community, or to even make a lot of money".
He adds: "That's the only outlet that we see as young black men: I gotta make it in basketball or football or baseball. And that's all that we're offered."
It would be hard to argue there has not been any progress.
The arc of basketball history has bent toward a bit more justice since the 1920s - when black athletes were forced to stay in segregated hotels while travelling through the American South - or even the 1980s, when white players were paid $26,000 more on average, despite poorer performances on the court.
Black players today have far greater power and command greater respect as public figures, plus the earnings to match. Playing for the Harlem Globetrotters in the 1930s was worth as little as $7.50 a game - $144 (£111) today - according to basketball historian Doug Merlino, but it was often a choice between that or a life of menial labour.
The current top five NBA players, all of whom are black, will make a collective $192m (£147m) on salaries alone over 2019-20.
James Harden was criticised for wearing this mask with an emblem supporting 'Blue Lives Matter'
There are those - fans, commentators and players themselves - who will see the limits of sports activism, or reject it altogether.
"Shut up and dribble" was the response from Laura Ingraham, a right-wing news anchor, when in 2018 LeBron James gave an ESPN interview criticising President Trump's attitudes on race.
That Ingraham did not have similar advice more recently for Drew Brees, a white American football player, to keep out of politics have, in many people's view, external-link lent her previous comments a racial tinge. (Brees had made remarks rejecting the take the knee protest in his sport.)
But the sentiment is not unique to conservative news figures. On plenty of forums and comments below sports talk shows, are complaints from fans decrying the forays of their favourite court stars into politics.
Others see a heavy dose of hypocrisy in how players, former players and the league handle divisive political issues.
Jackson, for example, was engulfed in controversy after making anti-Semitic comments on social media.
He said his comments were taken out of context, but the episode extinguished a measure of sympathy for his racial activism among many. For some others, it nullified all goodwill entirely.
In a column for the Hollywood Reporter, external-link Jabbar said Jackson's comments "undid whatever progress his previous advocacy may have achieved" by himself committing "the kind of dehumanising characterisation of a people that causes the police abuses that killed his friend, George Floyd".
He wrote of "a very troubling omen for the future of the Black Lives Matter movement," adding: "So too is the shocking lack of massive indignation."
More recently, Houston Rockets star James Harden drew fury when he was photographed wearing a mask with an emblem supporting 'Blue Lives Matter', a counter-organisation to Black Lives Matter that backs police.
Harden said he was not trying to make a statement - he just thought that the design 'looked cool' and covered his beard.
Detractors will say it proves sportsmen may not be the best agents of political messaging, and that it distracts from the experience fans are paying for with their time and money - a reprieve from politics.
And if politics should be allowed to enter in, where should the line be drawn? Another row was stirred up after Josh Hawley, the Republican Missouri Senator, wrote to Silver to complain the NBA is allowing Black Lives Matter-themed slogans, but not those supporting US troops, or backing free speech in Hong Kong.
The senator accused the NBA of "excusing and apologising for the brutal repression of the Chinese Communist regime".
"Free expression appears to stop at the edge of your corporate sponsors' sensibilities," he chided.
But even if thorny questions remain, there is no doubt that the zeitgeist in America has shifted more broadly.
Poll after poll in 2020 shows that, unlike in the past, Americans are largely accepting the idea that racism exists and plays a part in the many social ills black people face in the country.
The "myth" that America's problems with race are largely overcome is being challenged, whether in basketball or in the greater society, believes Popovich, the 71-year-old Spurs coach.
"You can't go on and enjoy your life if you don't understand what has happened to so many," he says.
As for the league's race campaign, he is realistic about the prospect of influence.
"Fans are like any other group of people - some will get it, some will understand, some will just enjoy the games and move on," he says.
"Others will hopefully get involved in being part of the solution of being anti-racist, but that's a pretty individual thing."
After all, sport - as much a cultural product of the times as any entertainment - can only reflect the realities of its era. In 2020, the reality is that to be black is in itself to be political, and that position is not a choice, whether you are a basketball star or a bouncer.
The slogan stencilled beside the NBA logo is a reminder. The lives of so many of the men dribbling, jumping, performing feats of athleticism are black ones - and they matter not just on the court.


bbc--2020-07-31--Africa's week in pictures: 24-30 July 2020

In a church in the Kenyan capital , Nairobi , on Sunday this woman sings her heart out after the @ @ @ @ @ to reopen following the coronavirus lockdown ...

Image caption,
In a church in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Sunday this woman sings her heart out after the government allowed places of worship to reopen following the coronavirus lockdown...


bbc--2020-07-30--Iraqis struggle to stay cool in 51C heat

Iraqis have been struggling to keep cool as a heatwave continues across much of the Middle East .
The temperature in the capital Baghdad reportedly approached 52C on Tuesday , one of the highest the city has ever seen .
The heat is said to have remained above 51C on Wednesday .
• Summers could become 'too hot for humans' Many people stayed indoors , with some in central Baghdad seeking respite under an improvised shower .
But the extreme heat has put even greater pressure on the country 's already strained public resources .
Electricity cuts have left many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep fans and air conditioners running .
The situation has led to widespread anger , with renewed protests taking place earlier this week .
At least two demonstrators died on Monday , with the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights reporting that more than 20 people were killed by security forces .
The country has also been affected by a drop in oil prices since the coronavirus pandemic began .
The pandemic has resulted in more than 118,000 cases and 4,603 deaths in Iraq , according to figures from Johns Hopkins University .

At least two demonstrators died on Monday, with the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights reporting that more than 20 people were killed by security forces.


bbc--2020-07-31--Coronavirus: Why is Melbourne seeing more cases?

For the first few months of the pandemic , Australia appeared to have successfully clamped down on Covid-19 .
But since June , an outbreak in Melbourne has exploded .
It is suspected to have begun with failures in the hotel quarantine of travellers arriving from overseas .
About three weeks ago , the nation 's second-largest city embarked on a new six-week lockdown .
But halfway through , hundreds of cases are still emerging each day in the state of Victoria .
Thursday and Friday saw the worst rises yet - 723 and 627 respectively .
The numbers are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for this deep into the lockdown .
So why is n't it working more effectively ?
The full picture is n't clear - but here 's what we know so far .
What does Australia 's situation look like ?
The second wave is centred in Victoria , with most of the cases reported in the state capital , Melbourne .
More than 9,000 cases were confirmed in the state in July - about half of Australia 's total since the pandemic began .
• Why did the virus re-emerge in Melbourne ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with small clusters identified in Sydney in neighbouring New South Wales , and a handful of infections in Queensland .
In Victoria , the biggest problems have emerged in certain settings : aged care homes , meat factories , schools and public housing estates .
Often the people infected have been those who ca n't work from home .
The outbreak also appears to be being driven by people who might be in insecure work or working multiple jobs , as well as from family groups and care facilities , virologists say .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ people are doing the wrong thing - such as going to work while sick .
`` Together with community transmission , that is what makes cases grow and grow , '' said Premier Daniel Andrews .
Last week , he revealed more than half of newly infected people had not self-isolated while waiting 48 hours for their test result .
Nine out of 10 also failed to immediately get tested after feeling symptoms .
Online there have also been instances of people flouting lockdown rules , claiming it breaches their human rights .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mr Andrews also acknowledged that in many cases , people were breaking rules because they felt they could n't afford to take medical leave .
He has since re-emphasised there is a pandemic leave payment for those who need it .
But is there enough data ?
The latest record numbers mostly represent people who caught the virus about a week ago , when lockdown was well under way .
This takes into account the timeline between feeling symptoms , going for testing and receiving results .
But overall it 's hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , when other assumed drivers of transmission are n't being measured publicly .
Experts say it 's clear that transmission from asymptomatic people is happening , but the extent of it is unknown .
The continued high numbers also suggest the virus was embedded in the community earlier than first thought .
But due to a lack of public information no conclusions can be drawn yet , says Prof John Mathews , from the University of Melbourne .
`` There needs to be more transparency .
We really do n't know what data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it supports the current policies , '' he said .
There are also questions over the rate of government response .
Australia has deployed thousands more medical staff to identified hotspots - is it helping ?
Are efforts to trace the contacts of infected people happening soon enough , as the state government insists they are ?
So what happens now ?
Following an emergency meeting , authorities will now review all their lockdown case data to get `` clarity on what 's happening with this virus right now '' .
`` That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and tomorrow and then we will have more to say , '' Mr Andrews said on Friday .
`` My exclusive focus is on beating this thing - this wicked , silent enemy . ''
Most experts say that a lockdown extension for Melbourne will be likely .
Based on what the review finds , it 's widely speculated that tougher restrictions could be brought in .
Melbourne only made it mandatory to wear masks a week ago - meaning any positive effect from them is unlikely yet to be seen in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than one week will be needed to indicate the situation is improving , experts say .
While case numbers remain high , Prof Bruce Thompson from Swinburne University said it 's encouraging that the reproduction rate has stabilised .
Now , on average , an infected person is transmitting the virus to only one other person .
`` For the past few days , it has been less than one , which provides significant hope , '' he said .
• The 3,000 Australians who were under police guard at home

The second wave is centred in Victoria, with most of the cases reported in the state capital, Melbourne. More than 9,000 cases were confirmed in the state in July - about half of Australia's total since the pandemic began.


bbc--2020-07-30--The middle-class Pakistani students fighting for a homeland dream

Nearly three months have passed since Sana Baloch disappeared .
Like many students , he 'd travelled home during the coronavirus lockdown in the spring .
Like many , he faced an uncertain future .
A promising postgraduate student at one of Pakistan 's top universities in Islamabad , Sana Baloch was born in a small town called Kharan in the sparsely populated province of Balochistan , hundreds of miles south-west of the capital .
It was on the outskirts of Kharan on 11 May that he went missing .
His case is not unique - it mirrors a host @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Balochistan , where Pakistan 's military is accused of a decades-long campaign to brutally suppress aspirations for provincial autonomy - a charge it denies .
In recent years , `` internment '' or `` torture '' centres are reported to have proliferated inside military cantonments in Balochistan .
These are described by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( HRCP ) as places `` where people are disappeared , tortured and interrogated outside of the law '' .
Activists say that thousands have gone missing in recent years .
Several sources with knowledge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be identified for safety reasons , told the BBC that Sana Baloch was being held at such an internment centre in the town of Kharan itself .
His family do n't know - or wo n't say - where he is .
Nor have they gone to court to press the authorities for information on his whereabouts .
But it is not because of a lack of concern .
`` When you live in Balochistan , you do n't do that , '' said one of the sources .
`` You wait @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - just like the parents of Shahdad Mumtaz . ''
Shahdad Mumtaz , another student from Balochistan , went missing in early 2015 .
His family remained silent , and months later their son came back to them .
But what happened to him in the end might hold lessons for others .
On 1 May , 10 days before Sana Baloch went missing , Shahdad Mumtaz was killed in a shoot-out with the Pakistani military .
To the surprise of many who knew him , an armed separatist group , the Baloch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him as one of its members .
It said in a statement that he had died fighting `` the Pakistani army and members of its proxy death squad '' .
Was Shahdad Mumtaz planning on being an armed insurgent all along , keeping his secret from relatives , friends and lecturers ?
If he was , why was he released by his captors ?
Could Sana Baloch be on the same path ?
The answers to these questions lie in decades of troubled relations between Balochistan and Islamabad - and the impact of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ educated youth .
Tensions are explained not just by Balochistan 's vast natural wealth - the province comprises 44 % of Pakistan 's land area but only about 5.9 % of its population , and has mineral resources estimated at more than $ 1 trillion - but also its geographical contiguity to southern Afghanistan , where conflict has raged for decades and affects people over the border in Pakistan .
This is the world into which young men like Shahdad Mumtaz and Sana Baloch were born and raised .
• 'My father was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • The untold story of Pakistan 's other war Educated and socially active , Shahdad Mumtaz taught at a prestigious grammar school in his home town of Turbat in the far south of the province , and worked as a regional co-ordinator for the HRCP , mostly reporting on missing persons - a major issue in the region .
In 2015 he joined the ranks of the missing , but he was among those lucky ones who , in the words of a local analyst , `` manage to convince their captors that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nationalist activism was a mistake '' .
After his release , in 2016 , Shahdad Mumtaz joined Islamabad 's Quaid-e-Azam University ( QAU ) for a Masters ' programme , and he confided in a fellow Baloch student about his life in detention .
`` He told me that the message being imparted was mainly about the ills of political activism , '' the former student told the BBC , requesting anonymity for his safety .
`` 'End it , they would say .
Take an interest in your studies , find a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shouting slogans that suit the designs of the enemies of Pakistan ? '
'' The message was conveyed to the interned men `` through torture and abuse '' , the student said .
`` They would kick them , beat them with sticks , hurl at them threats of death and dishonour , abuse them , keep them awake for days , '' he said .
`` And the only food they gave them was lentils . ''
Shahdad hated lentils , he said .
They reminded him of his days in captivity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to die .
It was apparent in his activities at the university .
He joined the university 's student council ; he was injured during a clash with a hardline religious students ' group ; and he and many others were arrested by the police during a student protest against the university administration .
Shahdad was also a `` compulsive preacher '' of Baloch rights , the student friend said - and the book Prison Notebooks , by the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci , was `` his bible '' .
`` In endless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he would use the book 's construct of a hegemonic culture to convey how the state was dismantling the Baloch people 's indigenous outlook and perspective , '' he said .
Such feelings are widely shared in Balochistan , and date back to Pakistan 's independence in 1947 .
When Britain partitioned India , princely states dotting the sub-continent were given options to either join India , join the new Pakistan or remain independent .
The state of Qalat , which encompassed modern-day Balochistan , declared independence .
Pakistan forcibly annexed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birthed a movement for Baloch rights that has increasingly drifted towards left-wing nationalism , and in some extreme cases armed separatism .
There has been conflict ever since , fuelled by Balochi demands for a greater share of the proceeds from their vast mineral wealth , notably gas reserves in the Sui area in central Balochistan .
The latest , and by far the most enduring , round of conflict dates from the early 2000s when then military ruler General Pervez Musharraf held what many saw as rigged elections .
That caused unrest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after a female doctor working in Sui was raped by a soldier .
No one was convicted .
Thousands of troops were sent in to quell the rebellion that followed .
Over the years since , the military has expanded its presence by building new garrisons and , as reported by several rights groups , funding private spy networks to detain real or suspected nationalists in the province .
Activists say the army has `` disappeared '' those caught instead of producing them in courts of law .
It is also accused of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Baloch areas to further its aims , both in Balochistan and over the border in Afghanistan .
There have been widespread allegations of the military using local crime gangs and former rebels `` reformed '' in internment centres to operate `` death squads '' - armed groups that provide local intelligence on nationalists and separatists so that the military can track them down and eliminate them .
According to estimates provided by the Europe-based Human Rights Council of Balochistan ( HRCB ) , at least 20,000 Baloch activists have been `` disappeared '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them are dead .
The Pakistani authorities routinely deny allegations of abuses in Balochistan .
The BBC contacted the army 's spokesman and Pakistan 's human rights minister for comment for this report but there was no immediate reply .
In the past , the military has avoided comment on allegations of enforced disappearances , `` torture centres '' or extra-judicial killings .
The civilian government in the province has previously blamed the killings of hundreds of political activists and suspected armed separatists in recent years on infighting among insurgent groups .
Analysts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and a failure by other state institutions such as parliament and the judiciary to rein in the powerful military and address the problems in Balochistan , has caused nationalist groups to radicalise and to evolve from their tribal roots .
The middle class `` is today the main target of the Pakistani military in what seems to be an attempt to eradicate all manifestations of Baloch nationalism and to rule out the very possibility of its renaissance '' , said a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , a US based @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as 2013 .
Shahdad Mumtaz was very much a member of that educated , urban middle class .
But students who knew him say that at no point did they ever suspect he would pick up a gun and wage a war against the state .
On the contrary , he completed his Masters in 2018 and enrolled for an M.Phil course .
He also had plans to go to Lahore with a friend to prepare for civil service exams , the route to a career in Pakistan 's administrative elite .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said his student friend .
`` When some activists he knew would go missing , or their mutilated bodies would be found , or when some journalist or teacher would be killed in a targeted attack , he would say , 'Man , this state only understands the language of the gun ' . ''
Friends last saw him in late January , when he was headed to Lahore for his planned preparation for the civil service exams .
After that they could not reach him .
Then on 1 May , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Balochistan , he lost his life .
The case of Sana Baloch appears not much different from the case of Shahdad Mumtaz , or hundreds of other Baloch activists .
He too is a staunch nationalist , and an active member of the BNP-M party .
He is also an accomplished student , having completed a Masters in Balochi literature , and currently studying for an M.Phil degree at Islamabad 's Allama Iqbal Open University ( AIOU ) .
One of his teachers told the BBC that he had almost completed his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it by end of May but had to leave for his home town when the university closed due to the coronavirus lockdown .
A BNP-M source in Quetta , the capital of Balochistan , says that while in Kharan , Sana Baloch resumed his political work .
This involved `` helping local villagers with paperwork to apply for their national IDs , sorting their issues with the local police and the administration , and so on '' .
What will happen to him now is unclear .
Will his dead body turn up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Might he agree to use his contacts to spy on other nationalists for the authorities , as many others have done ?
Or will he come home `` reformed '' , lie low for a while and then take up arms against the state , as Shahdad Mumtaz did ?
Only time will tell , and meanwhile his family must wait .
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But what happened to him in the end might hold lessons for others. On 1 May, 10 days before Sana Baloch went missing, Shahdad Mumtaz was killed in a shoot-out with the Pakistani military. To the surprise of many who knew him, an armed separatist group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), claimed him as one of its members. It said in a statement that he had died fighting "the Pakistani army and members of its proxy death squad".


bbc--2020-07-31--Fans not allowed to attend pilot events this weekend after spike in coronavirus cases

Fans will not be allowed to attend the pilot sports events scheduled for this weekend in England after a spike @ @ @ @ @ Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said .
Spectators were due to watch the first two @ @ @ @ @ matches while fans were at the World Snooker Championship when it started on Friday .
@ @ @ @ @ permit 4,000 racegoers at Goodwood on Saturday .
A rise in the Covid-19 infection rate @ @ @ @ @ the plans .
The rethink follows new restrictions for people in parts of northern England @ @ @ @ @ crowds at sports venues will not take place , '' Johnson said at a news @ @ @ @

Last updated on .From the section Sport
Barry Hearn says 'the show must go on' after government restriction wreck snooker plans
Fans will not be allowed to attend the pilot sports events scheduled for this weekend in England after a spike in coronavirus cases, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
Spectators were due to watch the first two days of two county cricket matches, while 205 fans were at the start of the World Snooker Championship on Friday.
It was also hoped to allow 4,000 racegoers at Goodwood on Saturday.
The new restrictions on fans will be enforced until at least 15 August.
The announcement comes after general restrictions were reintroduced for people in parts of northern England.
"Pilots of larger crowds at sports venues will not take place," Johnson said at a news conference on Friday.
"I said from May we would not hesitate to put on the brakes at the slightest sign that the numbers were going in the wrong direction."
Johnson had said earlier this month that spectators could be able to return to stadiums in England from October.
The planned pilots - and reaction
Fans were already at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield when the prime minister spoke on Friday, with announcer Rob Walker shouting "we are back" as play started, before adding: "Our socially distanced crowd are poised to roar once more."
World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn was shown smiling, clapping and fist-pumping, as spectators - some wearing masks - cheered on the first players Judd Trump and Tom Ford.
Just hours earlier, Hearn had told BBC of his "pride" and "relief" at getting fans back at events.
However, while those with tickets for Friday's further sessions were allowed to stay, there will now be no spectators permitted at the Crucible Theatre from Saturday. Fans with tickets will be given a refund, or be allowed to use them next year.
After the government decision, Hearn told BBC Sport he was "gutted" and "disappointed" to not have an atmosphere, but added: "The show must go on.
"There is a chance - I'm forever the optimist - that maybe a return for the final [on 16 August] is the earliest possible opportunity.
"Congratulations to those guys who went today because they will be able to talk about this for the rest of their lives - the ultimate golden ticket.
"I've never known a circumstance change in a couple of hours, but that is symbolic of what is happening in the world at the moment.
"We don't go off into a corner or go into sulks or tears, we get the job done."
Sport has been held behind closed doors since its return, including England's Test series against West Indies
Two matches in cricket's Bob Willis Trophy starting on Saturday had been due to welcome spectators - Surrey v Middlesex at the Oval and Warwickshire against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said: "We understand the reasons the government has made this decision, and remain ready to work with them to ensure supporters can safely return to stadiums when government advice allows.
"We are pleased the Bob Willis Trophy will still begin this weekend behind closed doors, and fans will be able to watch their teams in action through the online streams being provided."
The Oval had been due to host 2,500 fans on Saturday and Sunday, having held the first pilot last weekend of 1,000 fans.
Surrey chief executive Richard Gould said: "A lot of hard work has taken place to ensure that members and fans could return to our ground safely.
"We still hope to welcome members to the ground for future matches this summer, and we will continue to work with the ECB and the government to encourage this to happen."
A statement from Goodwood racecourse said: "We are very disappointed for those who were hoping to attend tomorrow's event and for all those who have worked so hard to make it possible for spectators to be present.
"We will engage with public health authorities and the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) over a rescheduled pilot at the earliest opportunity."
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden posted on social media that it was "very disappointing news".
"I know the huge efforts cricket, snooker and horseracing have made to welcome fans back. We'll keep working together on their safe return ASAP," he added.
Analysis
BBC sports editor Dan Roan
This will be hugely disappointing news for the events involved, and obviously very worrying for the wider sports industry, which is increasingly desperate to get paying fans back through the turnstiles to ease an unprecedented financial crisis - especially for those sports bodies dependent on matchday revenue, like English Football League clubs.
Until now, the effort to get sports back up and running after lockdown had gone relatively smoothly, with the football season resuming and now almost completed, along with other events such as Test cricket, Formula 1 and horse racing.
This then is a first major setback in the wider effort to return sport to some kind of normality.
However, crucially, I am told by Whitehall sources that the government remains keen to work with sports and Public Health England with a view to getting fans back inside venues from 1 October.
Some sports organisations - like the Premier League - would like to see that target date brought forward, but Friday's news will not have helped them win that argument.
Attendances of 20% to 40% capacity - depending on the nature of the venue - is envisaged by officials from October, and more pilots are being planned in the coming weeks.
It is simply too early to tell whether this is now unrealistic. It remains the aim but there are no guarantees.
This is a stark reminder that the nature of the pandemic means it is difficult to plan months in advance, and that officials will need to take decisive action when data shows worrying trends.


bbc--2020-07-31--Newcastle fans 'confused and heartbroken' after takeover collapses

Newcastle United fans say they are `` confused '' and `` heartbroken '' following the collapse of the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover .
A consortium , led by the country 's Public Investment Fund ( PIF ) , agreed a £300m deal to buy the club from Mike Ashley in April but has now pulled out .
Greg Tomlinson , from the Newcastle United Supporters ' Trust , said `` answers are needed from the Premier League '' .
The deal was delayed after being scrutinised under the Premier League 's owners ' and directors ' test .
The consortium , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Reuben Brothers , has pulled out because it is understood the PIF ran out of patience .
Magpies supporter George added : `` As fans , we are heartbroken .
It sounds dramatic but we have suffered for 13 years under Ashley through a lack of interest and investment in the club .
`` So the fact it played out how it did and for the length of time it did and then for the news to break , and we still do n't have the full picture , it 's left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handed over to the Premier League 16 weeks ago , but the bid has been dogged by claims regarding Saudi Arabia 's human rights record and its handling of TV piracy .
The delay to the process came because the Premier League lawyers struggled to establish precise links between the consortium and the Saudi government .
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also the PIF 's chairman .
Despite the ownership complications , a survey of Newcastle United Supporters ' Trust members found that 97 % of them were in favour of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ashley .
`` Everyone was excited about the bid and potential investment in the city , so it represents a missed opportunity for Newcastle and the north-east as a region , '' added Tomlinson .
`` We 're left confused about what has gone on here - it 's been almost 17 weeks of noise .
`` It 's been made clear that football supporters are the least important part in a decision which affects supporters the most .
`` We have been treated with contempt . ''
George , who is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to `` shoulder some blame '' for the deal falling through .
`` The test did n't allow [ Premier League chief executive ] Richard Masters to take into account moral issues which he or the people around him thought were important , '' she said .
`` I understand it was a confidential process but for it to carry on that long , they should at least tell us what the position was . ''
She added : `` Everybody was thinking we could be the next Manchester City , although caveated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that nothing really good happens with Newcastle . ''
As for the future , both Tomlinson and George are hopeful , so long as that future does not involve Ashley .
American businessman Henry Mauriss is understood to be keen to buy the club for £350m .
Tomlinson says he is `` sceptical '' about that deal , but added : `` I now hope we can find somebody who is willing to buy the club and pass relevant tests and take us forward in a proper manner .
`` There is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ current owner . ''
George said : `` Fans were done with Mike Ashley before this happened and looking ahead to the new season , it does n't give you a huge amount of motivation to spend £70 on a new shirt , or a look at transfer rumours because other clubs have already started to buy players , and we know we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel .
`` There will still be things to talk about but everyone is going to wake up and feel a bit sad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most controversial takeover deal in Premier League history is finally over .
Sources close to the consortium say they tried to prove to the Premier League that the Saudi government would have no say in the day-to-day running of the club .
The Premier League seems to have been concerned that individuals not on the club 's new board would have had influence over decision-making at St James ' Park because the Saudi Crown Prince is the chairman of PIF .
Given that the Saudis has been forced to deny allegations they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the Premier League themselves , this took on even greater importance , and ultimately this issue could not be resolved .
Current owner Mike Ashley is also understood to have tried to renegotiate the deal in recent days because of the length of time that had lapsed , and that also contributed to the decision by the group to walk away .
But with so many negative headlines over Saudi Arabia 's poor human rights record , the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 , and the war in Yemen - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partner beIN Sport over television rights piracy concerns - Premier League officials may be privately relieved the consortium has taken the decision out of its hands .
Many in football will now want to see its owners and directors ' Test strengthened to ensure states like Saudi Arabia can not buy clubs , and there is no repeat of a saga that has done little for the game 's reputation .
After months of uncertainty , however , Newcastle United fans desperate to see the back of Ashley will no doubt see it @ @ @

Newcastle have been owned by Mike Ashley since 2007
Newcastle United fans say they are "confused" and "heartbroken" following the collapse of the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover.
A consortium, led by the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF), agreed a £300m deal to buy the club from Mike Ashley in April but has now pulled out.
Greg Tomlinson, from the Newcastle United Supporters' Trust, said "answers are needed from the Premier League".
Fellow supporter Michelle George said: "It's left fans devastated."
The deal was delayed after being scrutinised under the Premier League's owners' and directors' test.
The consortium, which also included PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben Brothers, has pulled out because it is understood the PIF ran out of patience.
Magpies supporter George added: "As fans, we are heartbroken. It sounds dramatic but we have suffered for 13 years under Ashley through a lack of interest and investment in the club.
"So the fact it played out how it did and for the length of time it did and then for the news to break, and we still don't have the full picture, it's left fans devastated."
Legal documents were handed over to the Premier League 16 weeks ago, but the bid has been dogged by claims regarding Saudi Arabia's human rights record and its handling of TV piracy.
The delay to the process came because the Premier League lawyers struggled to establish precise links between the consortium and the Saudi government.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is also the PIF's chairman.
Despite the ownership complications, a survey of Newcastle United Supporters' Trust members found that 97% of them were in favour of the takeover, with many wanting rid of Ashley.
"Everyone was excited about the bid and potential investment in the city, so it represents a missed opportunity for Newcastle and the north-east as a region," added Tomlinson.
"We're left confused about what has gone on here - it's been almost 17 weeks of noise.
"It's been made clear that football supporters are the least important part in a decision which affects supporters the most.
"We have been treated with contempt."
George, who is a solicitor, said the Premier League had to "shoulder some blame" for the deal falling through.
"The test didn't allow [Premier League chief executive] Richard Masters to take into account moral issues which he or the people around him thought were important," she said.
"I understand it was a confidential process but for it to carry on that long, they should at least tell us what the position was."
She added: "Everybody was thinking we could be the next Manchester City, although caveated by what's come to light now, that nothing really good happens with Newcastle."
As for the future, both Tomlinson and George are hopeful, so long as that future does not involve Ashley.
American businessman Henry Mauriss is understood to be keen to buy the club for £350m.
Tomlinson says he is "sceptical" about that deal, but added: "I now hope we can find somebody who is willing to buy the club and pass relevant tests and take us forward in a proper manner.
"There is no future for Newcastle United under the current owner."
George said: "Fans were done with Mike Ashley before this happened and looking ahead to the new season, it doesn't give you a huge amount of motivation to spend £70 on a new shirt, or a look at transfer rumours because other clubs have already started to buy players, and we know we will be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
"There will still be things to talk about but everyone is going to wake up and feel a bit sad for a few days."
Analysis
BBC sports editor Dan Roan
Arguably the most controversial takeover deal in Premier League history is finally over.
Sources close to the consortium say they tried to prove to the Premier League that the Saudi government would have no say in the day-to-day running of the club.
The Premier League seems to have been concerned that individuals not on the club's new board would have had influence over decision-making at St James' Park because the Saudi Crown Prince is the chairman of PIF. Given that the Saudis has been forced to deny allegations they had facilitated TV rights piracy after complaints from the Premier League themselves, this took on even greater importance, and ultimately this issue could not be resolved.
Current owner Mike Ashley is also understood to have tried to renegotiate the deal in recent days because of the length of time that had lapsed, and that also contributed to the decision by the group to walk away.
But with so many negative headlines over Saudi Arabia's poor human rights record, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, and the war in Yemen - plus tension with rival clubs and broadcast partner beIN Sport over television rights piracy concerns - Premier League officials may be privately relieved the consortium has taken the decision out of its hands.
Many in football will now want to see its owners and directors' Test strengthened to ensure states like Saudi Arabia cannot buy clubs, and there is no repeat of a saga that has done little for the game's reputation.
After months of uncertainty, however, Newcastle United fans desperate to see the back of Ashley will no doubt see it very differently.


bbc--2020-07-31--Premier League looking at 'clinical passports' to help get fans back into stadiums

The Premier League is looking at `` clinical passports '' to help get fans back into stadiums to watch matches , says chief executive Richard Masters .
The English top flight restarted in June and completed the 2019-20 season without supporters because of the coronavirus pandemic .
Masters , writing in The Times , said the Premier League was `` willing to see how we can support the development of 'clinical passports ' - an app-based system that looks at all symptoms and other Covid-19 contributing factors '' .
The 2020-21 season is scheduled to start on 12 September .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the cross-sport working group with government and health officials on the return to sport - recently told BBC Sport that sports events are highly unlikely to have full capacity crowds this year .
He added that the whole of the next football season in England could be played in front of reduced capacities and crowd sizes could be further impacted if chanting is proven to heighten transmission risk .
Masters said the Premier League had a club working group liaising with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and medical experts looking at `` practical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
He added a `` wide-ranging fan consultation '' was also taking place and their attendance at games would help provide a `` boost to the whole game 's economic viability in these challenging times '' .
`` We are prepared to help lead football through trials of what is possible , investing in technology and best-practice steps to reduce risk and make the return of fans to grounds viable , '' said Masters .
`` Test and trace will provide crucial support for getting fans back into the stands .
We will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with this programme , helping to make football environments as safe as possible .
`` We are considering all areas of a match day , from ticketing solutions , stadium seating allocation configuration and timed entries , to temperature checks and an in-seat food and drink service for fans .
`` We will work with local authorities and clubs to seek solutions to local transport challenges such as introducing additional car parking and secure bicycle spaces and implementing park-and-walk schemes . ''
• Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty : How did the media @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Last updated on .From the section Premier League
Masters says the return of fans would "boost to the whole game's economic viability"
The Premier League is looking at "clinical passports" to help get fans back into stadiums to watch matches, says chief executive Richard Masters.
The English top flight restarted in June and completed the 2019-20 season without supporters because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Masters, writing in The Times, external-link said the Premier League was "willing to see how we can support the development of 'clinical passports' - an app-based system that looks at all symptoms and other Covid-19 contributing factors".
The 2020-21 season is scheduled to start on 12 September.
Professor James Calder - who has chaired the cross-sport working group with government and health officials on the return to sport - recently told BBC Sport that sports events are highly unlikely to have full capacity crowds this year.
He added that the whole of the next football season in England could be played in front of reduced capacities and crowd sizes could be further impacted if chanting is proven to heighten transmission risk.
Masters said the Premier League had a club working group liaising with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and medical experts looking at "practical solutions" for the return of supporters.
He added a "wide-ranging fan consultation" was also taking place and their attendance at games would help provide a "boost to the whole game's economic viability in these challenging times".
"We are prepared to help lead football through trials of what is possible, investing in technology and best-practice steps to reduce risk and make the return of fans to grounds viable," said Masters.
"Test and trace will provide crucial support for getting fans back into the stands. We will urge supporters to be responsible and engage with this programme, helping to make football environments as safe as possible.
"We are considering all areas of a match day, from ticketing solutions, stadium seating allocation configuration and timed entries, to temperature checks and an in-seat food and drink service for fans.
"We will work with local authorities and clubs to seek solutions to local transport challenges such as introducing additional car parking and secure bicycle spaces and implementing park-and-walk schemes."


bbc--2020-07-31--'We want to keep our foot on the gas' - Lakers' James leads protests as NBA returns

Last updated on .From the section Basketball Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James called for players to `` keep our foot on the gas '' in the push for racial justice as the NBA season resumed in Orlando .
`` In the past when we 've seen progress , we 've let our foot of the gas a little bit .
We ca n't do that , '' said James .
`` We want to keep our foot on the gas . ''
Before the anthems , television coverage of the matches broadcast an introductory segment - narrated by rapper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initiatives and the campaign for societal change sparked by viral video of the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis in May .
Instead of displaying their names on the back of their jerseys , several players wore a slogan from a list approved by the league organisers , including `` Black Lives Matter , '' `` Say Their Names '' and `` I Ca n't Breathe . ''
• None What to look out for as the NBA season returns James , 35 , who kept his own name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slogans `` seriously resonated '' with his goals , said that basketball has the power to make a change globally .
`` The game of basketball has always been bigger than just the ball and the rim and 10 guys on the floor , '' he told TNT .
`` It 's an opportunity to use this platform to be able to spread a lot of positive , a lot of love , throughout the whole world . ''
New Orleans Pelicans ' meeting with the Utah Jazz was the first NBA match @ @ @ @ @ @ @ league had been suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic .
The 22 teams with a chance of making the post-season play-offs have assembled in a bio-secure 'bubble ' at Walt Disney World , Orlando to play out the remainder of the season at the resort 's elite-level basketball facilities .
All matches are taking place without fans and even the opening-night anthems , performed by jazz star Jon Batiste and Compton Kidz Club respectively , were performed virtually and displayed via video link .
• None The NBA wants to talk race .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ match-up of the evening , which pitted James against Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George , lived up to billing with the Lakers shading a see-saw contest 103-101 .
Earlier the Jazz , who are fourth in the Western Conference , came on strong in the final quarter to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 106-104 .
• None How did the media empire shape Brexit and Donald Trump ?

Last updated on .From the section Basketball
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James called for players to "keep our foot on the gas" in the push for racial justice as the NBA season resumed in Orlando.
The staff of the Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Utah Jazz and the New Orleans Pelicans - the four teams in action on Thursday night - all knelt during the pre-match anthem.
"In the past when we've seen progress, we've let our foot of the gas a little bit. We can't do that," said James.
"We want to keep our foot on the gas."
Before the anthems, television coverage of the matches broadcast an introductory segment - narrated by rapper Meek Mill - that promoted social justice initiatives and the campaign for societal change sparked by viral video of the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
Instead of displaying their names on the back of their jerseys, several players wore a slogan from a list approved by the league organisers, including "Black Lives Matter," "Say Their Names" and "I Can't Breathe."
The matches are being played in front of a video wall of remote watching fans
Black Lives Matter branding featured on the court alongside the league logo
James, 35, who kept his own name on his jersey as none of the slogans "seriously resonated" with his goals, said that basketball has the power to make a change globally.
"The game of basketball has always been bigger than just the ball and the rim and 10 guys on the floor," he told TNT.
"It's an opportunity to use this platform to be able to spread a lot of positive, a lot of love, throughout the whole world."
New Orleans Pelicans' meeting with the Utah Jazz was the first NBA match in more than four months after the league had been suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 22 teams with a chance of making the post-season play-offs have assembled in a bio-secure 'bubble' at Walt Disney World, Orlando to play out the remainder of the season at the resort's elite-level basketball facilities.
Players were able to wear slogans from a league-approved list on the back of their jerseys
Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans players took a knee before the first game of the NBA's restart
LeBron James (left) got the better of Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers when the action got under way
All matches are taking place without fans and even the opening-night anthems, performed by jazz star Jon Batiste and Compton Kidz Club respectively, were performed virtually and displayed via video link.
The headline match-up of the evening, which pitted James against Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, lived up to billing with the Lakers shading a see-saw contest 103-101.
Earlier the Jazz, who are fourth in the Western Conference, came on strong in the final quarter to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 106-104.


bbc--2020-07-31--News Corp: Rupert Murdoch's son James quits company

James Murdoch , the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch , has resigned from the board of News Corporation citing `` disagreements over editorial content '' .
In a filing to US regulators , he said he also disagreed with some `` strategic decisions '' made by the company .
The exact nature of the disagreements was not detailed .
But Mr Murdoch has previously criticised News Corp outlets , which include the Wall Street Journal , for climate change coverage .
Rupert Murdoch , News Corp 's executive chairman , and his other son Lachlan , co-chairman , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` We 're grateful to James for his many years of service to the company , '' the statement said .
`` We wish him the very best in his future endeavours . ''
Representatives of Mr Murdoch and his wife Kathryn have acknowledged the couple 's `` frustration '' with coverage of the subject by some of most influential Murdoch-owned news brands , including Fox News .
They have also spoken of particular disappointment about climate change denial in Murdoch-owned Australian outlets .
News Corp also owns The Times , The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ UK , as well as a stable of Australian newspapers , including The Australian , The Daily Telegraph and The Herald Sun .
What do we know about past disagreements ?
Earlier this year , amid devastating wildfires in Australia , Mr Murdoch and his wife Kathryn expressed their frustration with climate change coverage by News Corp and Fox .
Their spokesperson told The Daily Beast they were `` particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary . ''
Rupert Murdoch has described @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' and denies employing climate deniers .
But critics of News Corp pointed to its comment articles and reporting of the alleged role of arson in the wildfires as minimising the impact of a changing climate .

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bbc--2020-07-31--Florida teenager charged over major Twitter hack

A man living in Bognor Regis - on the UK south coast - is one of three individuals charged over a major Twitter hack , according to the US Department of Justice .
The UK 's National Crime Agency ( NCA ) confirmed it had searched a property in Bognor Regis with police on Friday .
A teenager in Tampa and Nima Fazeli , 22 , of Orlando , were also charged in Florida .
US Attorney David L Anderson said the arrests proved `` nefarious hacking ... for fun or profit '' did not pay off .
Twitter accounts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in an apparent Bitcoin scam on 15 July .
They included former President Barack Obama , Amazon boss Jeff Bezos , entrepreneur Elon Musk , Microsoft founder Bill Gates , Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and reality star Kim Kardashian West , who all falsely tweeted out requests for Bitcoin donations .
In his statement , US Attorney Anderson said : `` There is a false belief within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the Twitter hack can be perpetrated anonymously and without consequence . ''
He added : `` Criminal conduct @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people who perpetrate it , but there is nothing stealthy about it .
In particular , I want to say to would-be offenders , break the law , and we will find you . ''
• Twitter hack : What went wrong and why it matters In Florida , Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren filed 30 felony charges against the teenager , 17 , who can not be named , for `` scamming people across America '' .
The charges include organised fraud and fraudulent use of personal information .
`` As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ track and recover if stolen in a scam , '' Mr Warren said .
`` These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities , but they 're not the primary victims here .
This 'Bit-Con ' was designed to steal money from regular Americans from all over the country , including here in Florida .
`` This massive fraud was orchestrated right here in our backyard , and we will not stand for that . ''
The charges against the teenager include 17 counts of communication fraud , 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , one count of fraudulent use of personal information with over $ 100,000 ( £76,340 ) or 30 or more victims , one count of organised fraud and one count of access to computers or electronic devices without authority .
`` He 's a 17 year-old kid who apparently just graduated high school , '' said State Attorney Warren .
`` But no make no mistake , this was not an ordinary 17-year-old .
This was a highly sophisticated attack on a magnitude not seen before . ''
He added that the investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a collaboration between the Florida Department of Law enforcement , the US Attorney 's Office for the Northern District of California , the FBI , the IRS , and the Secret Service .
The teenager lives in Tampa , Florida and so will be prosecuted by Hillsborough State authorities .
Twitter said in a statement : `` We appreciate the swift actions of law enforcement in this investigation and will continue to cooperate as the case progresses .
`` For our part , we are focused on being transparent and providing updates regularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the hackers had targeted its employees `` with access to internal systems and tools '' .
It added that `` significant steps '' had been taken to limit access to such internal systems and tools while the company 's investigation continued .
According to BBC cyber-security reporter Joe Tidy , the consensus in the information security community is that Twitter 's employees were likely duped by a spear-phishing attack via a phone call .
This involves using friendly persuasion and trickery to get victims to hand over crucial information that enables hackers @ @ @ @ @ @ @

He added: "Criminal conduct over the Internet may feel stealthy to the people who perpetrate it, but there is nothing stealthy about it. In particular, I want to say to would-be offenders, break the law, and we will find you."


bbc--2020-07-31--Hong Kong 'seeking arrest' of fleeing activists

Police in Hong Kong are seeking the arrest of six pro-democracy activists living in exile in Western countries , including the UK , media reports say .
The group reportedly includes former UK consulate worker Simon Cheng , well-known activist Nathan Law and US citizen Samuel Chu .
They are wanted on suspicion of violating a new security law imposed in Hong Kong by Beijing , Chinese state TV reported , calling them `` troublemakers '' .
The development comes after legislative elections scheduled for September were delayed for a year by Hong Kong 's government on Friday .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a spike in Covid-19 infections , but the opposition accused it of using the pandemic as a pretext .
The White House said the move undermined democracy .
Pro-democracy politicians had hoped to capitalise on anger in the Chinese territory about the new security law to win a majority in the Legislative Council ( LegCo ) .
Many in Hong Kong , a former British colony handed back to China in 1997 , fear that unique freedoms meant to be guaranteed until 2047 are under serious threat .
The UK and Australia are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treaties with Hong Kong in recent weeks .
Germany did so on Friday - one of those reported to be on the new `` wanted list '' has received asylum there .
Who are the 'wanted ' ?
Chinese state TV network CCTV said six people were wanted on suspicion of inciting secession or colluding with foreign forces - both crimes can be punished with up to life in prison under the new security law .
The six , according to CCTV and Hong Kong media , are : Simon Cheng , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kong consulate who was recently granted political asylum in Britain .
He was detained last August while on a business trip to mainland China and accused of inciting political unrest in Hong Kong .
He denies that and says he was beaten and forced to sign false confessions while in Chinese custody .
Responding to news of the arrest warrant , Mr Cheng told the BBC that he would not stop speaking out about issues in Hong Kong .
`` The totalitarian regime now criminalises me , and I would take that not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he said .
Nathan Law , 27 , a high-profile activist who has fled to the UK .
`` I have no idea what is my 'crime ' and I do n't think that 's important .
Perhaps I love Hong Kong too much , '' he said on Twitter .
Mr Law first came to prominence as a student protest leader in 2014 .
He said he was disappointed and frightened to have to live in exile , and that he was going to have to `` sever '' his relationship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • China 's new law : Why is Hong Kong worried ?
• The Hong Kong residents ready to leave for the UK Samuel Chu , a US citizen .
He is the son of Reverend Chu Yiu Ming , a Baptist minister who was one of the founders of the 2014 `` Umbrella Movement '' .
Mr Chu runs the Washington DC-based Hong Kong Democracy Council and said he last visited Hong Kong in November 2019 .
`` I might be the first non-Chinese citizen to be targeted , but I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ am targeted , any American and any citizen of any nation who speaks out for Hong Kong can , and will be , too , '' he said .
The national security law carries extraterritorial provisions that say anyone , including non-Hong Kong residents , can be charged under it .
China says the law is necessary to restore stability and order in the global financial hub .
Ray Wong , a pro-independence activist who fled to Germany in 2017 and is now in Britain , told the BBC that the list of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to `` intimidate '' pro-democracy activists who are trying to drum up international support for their cause .
Lau Hong ( also known as Honcques Lau ) , an 18-year-old now in the UK , first came to prominence in November 2017 when he brandished a pro-independence banner next to Hong Kong 's leader Carrie Lam .
`` Come arrest me in the UK , '' he was quoted as telling a journalist on Friday .
Wayne Chan , another pro-independence activist , is in an undisclosed country .
`` For me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is even more dangerous than what I face .
I ca n't think too much about my personal safety , '' he told Reuters news agency .

"I might be the first non-Chinese citizen to be targeted, but I will not be the last. If I am targeted, any American and any citizen of any nation who speaks out for Hong Kong can, and will be, too," he said.


bbc--2020-07-31--Boston Marathon bombing: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence overturned

A US appeals court has overturned the death sentence given to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for the deadly bombing attack at the @ @ @ @ @ people were killed and more than 260 injured when two bombs planted by Tsarnaev and @ @ @ @ @ finish line .
The court said Tsarnaev would spend the rest of his days in @ @ @ @ @ ordered a retrial over the sentence for the crimes , which can carry the death @ @ @ @ @ , the court said the trial judge had failed to exclude jurors who had already @ @ @ @ @ .
Tsarnaev and his elder brother Tamerlan , both Kyrgyz-American nationals of Chechen descent , @ @ @ @ @ finish line of the Boston Marathon on 15 April 2013 .
Tamerlan was killed in @ @ @ @ @ days later .
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fled the shootout and was captured a day later , @ @ @ @ @ a boat in the backyard of a house in Watertown - a suburb of Boston @

Three people were killed and more than 260 injured when two bombs planted by Tsarnaev and his brother exploded at the finish line.


bbc--2020-07-31--Johnson puts lockdown easing on hold in England

The further easing of lockdown restrictions in England - due to come in this weekend - has been postponed for at least two weeks , after an increase in coronavirus cases .
Casinos and bowling alleys will remain shut , as Boris Johnson said it was time to `` squeeze the brake pedal '' .
Face coverings will be mandatory in more indoor settings , such as cinemas .
England 's chief medical officer , Prof Chris Whitty , warned the UK may have hit its limits on easing restrictions .
Appearing alongside the prime minister at a special Downing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` idea that we can open up everything and keep the virus under control '' is wrong .
Asked whether it was safe for England 's schools to fully reopen to all pupils in the autumn , he said it was a `` difficult balancing act '' but `` we have probably reached near the limit , or the limits , of what we can do in terms of opening up society . ''
Speaking at the briefing , Mr Johnson said planned changes to guidance for those who have been shielding during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , will still go ahead .
The rethink on easing England 's lockdown follows new restrictions for people in parts of northern England , after a spike in virus cases .
The prime minister said progress in tackling coronavirus continues , with the daily and weekly number of deaths falling , but warned that some European countries are `` struggling '' to control it .
The UK must be ready to `` react '' , he said .
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) on Friday suggest infection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around 4,200 new infections a day - compared with 3,200 a week ago .
The ONS 's estimates of daily cases - based on a sample of households completing swab tests - are higher than the figures for lab-confirmed cases reported by the Department of Health and Social Care ( DHSC ) because they include people without symptoms who would not otherwise have applied for a test .
Highlighting the ONS figures , Mr Johnson added : `` The prevalence of the virus in the community , in England , is likely to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ May . ''
He said that with `` numbers creeping up '' it was time to `` squeeze that brake pedal in order to keep the virus under control '' .
He urged people to `` follow the rules , wash our hands , cover our faces , keep our distance - and get a test if we have symptoms '' , summing the advice up with the slogan : `` Hands , face , space , get a test '' .
A further 120 people have died with Covid-19 in the UK @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bringing the total number of virus deaths to 46,119 .
Meanwhile , 880 new lab-confirmed cases have been recorded .
Cases in England are increasing for the first time since May .
Data from the ONS suggests there are around 4,200 new infections a day compared with 3,200 a week ago .
This is not a return to the height of the epidemic in March , but it is telling .
Every restriction we ease increases the ability of the coronavirus to spread , and the government 's scientific advisers have always warned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lift restrictions and still suppress it .
The uptick in infections is a warning we may have already passed the limit of lifting lockdown .
That is why Boris Johnson has delayed some of the planned lifting of restrictions in England and face masks will become a more frequent sight .
The big question remains around schools .
If the current rules are leading to an increase in cases , can we open schools as well ?
If we open schools will we have to close something else ?
It is worth noting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scientists suspect the virus will spread even more easily in the winter months .
You can read more from James here .
Mr Johnson said the planned reopening of `` higher risk settings '' on 1 August would be delayed for at least a fortnight .
This means that the following will not be able to take place until 15 August , at the earliest : • the reopening of casinos , bowling alleys , skating rinks and remaining close contact services • pilots of larger gatherings in sports venues and conference centres @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow up to 30 people • beauty treatments that involve the face , such as eyelash , eyebrow and threading treatments Fans attended the World Snooker Championship when it started on Friday as part of a pilot to test the return of larger crowds to sports venues .
The tournament will now go ahead without spectators until at least 15 August , which is when the final is scheduled to begin .
Neil White , 51 , from Chorley in Lancashire , owns a wedding photography business .
Of the 44 weddings he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three bookings remain .
`` I think I speak for the rest of the wedding industry in that there is a huge amount of worry and stress about the future , '' he said .
Mr White said that while businesses such as pubs and restaurants in have been able to reopen , those in the wedding sector `` seem to have been brushed under the carpet '' even though they are `` itching to get back to work '' .
`` If it continues to next year there are a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he added .
The British Beauty Council said the changes were `` very disappointing for a sector that has already seen delay after delay in reopening '' .
• At-a-glance : What can I do now ?
Separately , face coverings will be compulsory in more indoor settings where people are likely to come into contact with people they do not know , such as museums and places of worship , from next weekend .
They are already required in shops , banks , airports and other indoor transport hubs .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverings would be enforceable in law from 8 August .
However , he said the plan to pause shielding for those most vulnerable to the virus will go ahead from Saturday .
That means some 2.2 million people who have been self-isolating in England during the pandemic can return to work , if they can not work from home , so long as their workplace is Covid-secure .
Guidance for employers will also change , as planned , from the start of August , Mr Johnson said .
The latest announcement came shortly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parts of northern England , including Greater Manchester , east Lancashire , and parts of West Yorkshire .
The rules include a ban on separate households meeting each other inside their homes and private gardens .
• What are the new local lockdown rules ?
• How can we celebrate Eid ?
And other lockdown questions • Lockdown rules mean 'spirit of Eid has gone' The changes come as Muslim communities prepare to celebrate Eid this weekend , and nearly four weeks after restrictions were eased across England - allowing people to meet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March .
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the government had made the `` right decision '' regarding the new rules for parts of northern England , but urged it to `` improve '' what he called `` extremely poor '' communication .
Ministers have said police forces and councils will be given powers to enforce the new rules .
• Pubs and restaurants in Leicester - which saw the UK 's first local lockdown - are set to reopen from Monday as a number of restrictions in the city are lifted • @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a life-threatening illness after being `` gravely neglected '' by her family during lockdown .
The High Court 's Family Division has been asked to intervene to take the girl into care • Thousands of people descended on beaches in Bournemouth , Brighton and Poole , prompting some local councils to warn day-trippers to stay away • Tory MP Craig Whittaker has defended his claim that some Muslims in West Yorkshire are `` not taking the pandemic seriously '' Are you getting married this weekend ?
Or were you reopening your business ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay @ bbc.co.uk .
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist .
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Asked whether it was safe for England's schools to fully reopen to all pupils in the autumn, he said it was a "difficult balancing act" but "we have probably reached near the limit, or the limits, of what we can do in terms of opening up society."