![Woodstock 50 organisers announce cancellation of troubled festival]()
July 31, 2019
Organisers of the troubled Woodstock 50 have announced that the festival has been cancelled.
The three-day festival was originally scheduled for August 16-18.
But hold-ups included permit denials and the loss of a financial partner and a production company proved too much.
Last week Jay-Z, Dead & Company and John Fogerty announced that they would not perform at the event after organisers said it was moving to Maryland from New York.
Woodstock 50 was originally supposed to take place across three main stages at Watkins Glen International racetrack in New York, about 115 miles northwest of the original site.
But the venue pulled out. Tickets were supposed to go on sale on April 22, which was Earth Day, but that was postponed.
Woodstock will still celebrate its anniversary: Ringo Starr, Santana and Fogerty will perform at Woodstock’s original site in Bethel, New York, in a smaller anniversary event at the Bethel Woods Centre for the Arts not connected to Woodstock 50.
The original Woodstock, a festival pushing the message of peace, love and music, was a seminal, groundbreaking event in 1969 that featured performances by Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, The Who and other iconic acts.
![Israel backs West Bank homes for settlers and Palestinians]()
July 31, 2019
Israel has approved the construction of 6,000 new homes for Jewish settlers and 700 homes for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The decision about new homes in settlements further extends the Israeli presence in the West Bank.
But it’s Israel's approval for Palestinian homes that’s unusual.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are seen as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
It’s not clear whether the Palestinian homes would be new constructions or merely legal approval for 700 already existing homes - in what is known as "Area C" of the West Bank - where Palestinian villages often lie close to Israeli settlements, and where Israel has full control of the territory.
The Palestinian leadership dismissed the announcement, saying it rejected any Israeli construction or controls over Palestinian construction in the West Bank.
It said it was "evidence of the dark colonial mentality of the rules in Israel - which ignores all United Nations resolutions, international law and the signed agreements".
July 31, 2019
Burger King workers in Spain will now be able to grow beards.
It’s after local officials decided the company's ban on facial hair violated the constitutional rights of staff.
Authorities in Catalonia also ruled that ordering men and women to wear different clothes amounted to sexual discrimination.
Officials were asked to step in after the fast food giant refused to back down over the issue.
Inspectors said the rules infringed on "the right to one's own image".
Burger King employs more than 1,260 people in 46 restaurants in the province of Barcelona.
July 31, 2019
The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has cut interest rates for the first time since 2008.
The Fed announced a 0.25 percentage point cut, taking the federal funds target range to 2-2.25%.
Supporters say it’ll give a boost to a US economy showing signs of needing help.
Critics argue that a rate cut will not help and that the Fed is pandering to President Donald Trump, who had demanded a big cut.
Cutting rates makes borrowing money cheaper for businesses and consumers alike.
The Dow Jones fell 1.4% following the announcement before recovering slightly.
July 31, 2019
A 79-year-old woman from Ohio has been given a 10-day jail sentence after she was repeatedly cited by police for feeding stray cats in her neighbourhood.
Since 2015, neighbours of Nancy Segula have been complaining to officials about the strays.
She claims the cats were left behind by an ex-neighbour.
Mrs Segula has been ordered by a judge to begin her sentence on 11th August.
She has been cited by police four times over the past four years, after her neighbours began complaining of the swarm of cats on her property.
July 31, 2019
YouTuber Grant Thompson, star of the "King of Random" channel, has died in a paragliding accident.
The 38 year old, whose channel had 11 million subscribers with billions of views, failed to return from a trip in Utah on Monday.
Thompson had a GPS device which helped locate his body the next day.
His YouTube channel was known for its creative - and sometimes dangerous - experiments such as "What does Liquid Nitrogen do to Your Face?"
Thompson's death was officially announced on his Instagram page, with calls for his fans to "do a random act of love or kindness today in honour of The King of Random".
![Fresh flooding hits UK as authorities issue multiple warnings]()
July 31, 2019
Heavy rainfall has brought fresh flooding to parts of the UK as forecasters issued further warnings to the public.
The Environment Agency put out multiple flood warnings and alerts covering central, north-west and north-east England on Wednesday.
Forecasters at the Met Office also issued an all-day yellow warning of heavy rain and thunderstorms, covering a large swathes of England northwards from Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln.
Photos shared on social media showed the aftermath of heavy rain and flooding on Wednesday afternoon.
The Army was drafted in to help with clean-up efforts after storms left scores of homes and businesses flooded and roads and bridges washed away.
The fire service received hundreds of calls to flooding incidents, while pictures and videos on twitter showed bridges in ruins and sheds floating down roads.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning of thunderstorms for western Scotland up until the end of Wednesday, which could bring flooding and travel disruption.
July 31, 2019
A stream of stars celebrated author JK Rowling’s and Harry Potters birthday today.
The writer shares her birthday with her best-selling creation, Harry Potter. She was 54 – he would be 39 today.
#HappyBirthdayHarryPotter trended on Twitter, with fans paying tribute to the books.
Known for their creativity, humour and razor wit - London Underground boards, gave every London underground station a magical twist.
Renamed stations included Dobby Hill, Azkabank and Severus Sisters.
The first novel in the series about the boy wizard, Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, was published in 1997.
Eight movies were adapted from Rowling’s seven books, starring Daniel Radcliffe in the title role.
July 31, 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the army to help tackle massive wildfires raging in Siberia and other regions in the east.
The decision was taken after Mr Putin was briefed on the growing crisis by the head of the emergencies ministry.
About three million hectares (7.4 million acres) have been affected, in what Greenpeace is describing as an "ecological catastrophe".
The organisation estimated that 3.3 million hectares were burning across Russia, adding that this was bigger than territory of Belgium.
Many local residents say not enough is being done to tackle the fires.
The acrid smoke has affected not only remote villages and small towns but major cities such as Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk.
Wildfires in Russia have been raging for weeks, caused by record high temperatures combined with lightning and strong winds.
July 31, 2019
A poll out this week says that a majority of Americans think that Donald Trump is racist.
The (P: Quin-knee -pee yak) Quinnipiac University poll shows that 51% of voters believe the U.S President is a racist. Forty-five percent say that he is not.
Only 21 percent of white Evangelicals believe the President is racist. Compare that to 63 percent of voters who don't affiliate with any organized religion.
Although the sample size was small - responses are reported for 1,306 self-identified registered voters.
