Top News Stories –

Sam Smith best new artist at BET Awards as Nicki Minaj wins rap prize –
Sam Smith has won best new artist at this year’s BET Awards in LA. He wasn’t at the Black Entertainment Television ceremony, so the prize was picked up for him by actor Anthony Anderson. Nicki Minaj, who won her sixth best female hip-hop artist award in a row, brought her mum onstage. Rapping on top of a police car with a large American flag waving behind him, hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar kicked off the BET Awards. He later won best male hip-hop artist. Janet Jackson was honoured with the ultimate icon award as she made a rare public appearance. [BBC Newsbeat] See List of the Day below
Nicki Minaj

SpaceX Rocket Falls Apart on Way to Space Station –
An unmanned cargo ship destined for the International Space Station disintegrated minutes after being launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Sunday morning, NASA said, raising questions about how the agency and its partners will continue keeping the station supplied. It was the third loss of a cargo ship headed to the space station in the past eight months. However, NASA officials said they had prepared for such a mishap, and do not anticipate any major disruptions to the operations of the space station. The countdown had proceeded without a hitch or worries about weather, and the 208-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket, built by Space Exploration Technologies, better known as SpaceX, lifted off at 10:21 a.m. But 2 minutes, 19 seconds later, just as George Diller, the commentator during a NASA television broadcast said, “Data coming back shows vehicle on course, on track,” a white cloud emerged from the rocket’s midsection. Moments later, a rain of debris started falling toward the Atlantic Ocean more than 20 miles below. [NY Times] See Video of the Day

Greek debt crisis: Banks to remain shut all week –
The Greek government has confirmed that banks will be closed all week, after a decision by the European Central Bank not to extend emergency funding. In a decree, it cited the “extremely urgent” need to protect the financial system due to the lack of liquidity. Cash withdrawals will be limited to €60 (£42; $66) a day for this period, the decree says. Talks between Greece and the eurozone countries over bailout terms ended without an agreement on Saturday, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras then called a surprise referendum on the issue to be held on 5 July. Greece risks default and moving closer to a possible exit from the 19-member eurozone. [BBC]

Video of the Day –

SpaceX Falcon 9 Explosion – June 28th 2015

List of the Day –

Black Entertainment Television Awards 2015 winners

Ultimate Icon, Music Dance Visual Award: Janet Jackson
Humanitarian Award: Tom Joyner
Best New Artist: Sam Smith
Best Female Hip-Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Male Hip-Hop Artist: Kendrick Lamar
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist: Beyoncé
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist: Chris Brown
Best International Act UK: Stormzy
Best International Act Africa: Stonebwoy
Best Group: Rae Sremmurd
Best Collaboration: Common & John Legend, “Glory”
Best Actress: Taraji P. Henson
Best Actor: Terrence Howard
Youngstars Award: Mo’ne Davis
Best Movie: Selma
Best Gospel Artist: Lecrae
Video of the Year: Beyoncé, “7/11”
Video Director of the Year: Beyoncé, Ed Burke & Todd Tourso
Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
Sportsman of the Year: Stephen Curry
Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award: Nicki Minaj f/ Drake, Lil’ Wayne & Chris Brown, “Only”
Centric Award: The Weeknd, “Earned It”
Fandemonium Award: Chris Brown
Lifetime Achievement Award: Smokey Robinson

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Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2015 Sousse attacks
  • Tunisia deploys an additional 1000 police in resorts and beaches following the attack on tourists on Friday. (AP)
  • With the number of British dead expected to exceed 30, the U.K. warns its citizens about traveling to certain parts of Tunisia, including the south and near the Libyan border. (AP), (BBC)
• 2015 Kuwait mosque bombing
  • Kuwait claims that the suicide bomber responsible for the attack that killed 27 people was Fahd Suleiman Abdulmohsen al-Qaba’a, a citizen ofSaudi Arabia. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
• Operation Zarb-e-Azb
  • At least 24 militants are killed in Pakistan Air Force air strikes on positions in the Khyber Agency and North Waziristan. (IANS via the Hindu)
• In Istanbul, Turkish police forces interrupt the LGBT pride parade, which was refused this year due to the holy month Ramadan, by firing water cannons and rubber pellets. (Reuters UK)

Business and economy

• Greek government-debt crisis
  • The BBC reports that the European Central Bank will cap lending to Greece‘s struggling banks, causing the run on the nation’s banks to become even worse. Next week a referendum will be held about leaving the Euro currency. (BBC), (BBC), (Irish Times)
  • Greece announces that it will close banks until July 6, with limits being placed on automatic teller machine withdrawals. The Athens Exchangeis also closed as financial conditions worsen. (Reuters), (CNBC)
• The Governor of Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Padilla, says that Puerto Rico‘s debts are “not payable”. (New York Times)

Health

• 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in South Korea
  • The number of deaths from MERS in South Korea rises to 32, with the number of cases stabilizing at 182. (Yonhap)
• A six-year-old boy whose parents refused to have him vaccinated dies of diphtheria, the first case in Spain since 1987. (AFP via MENA-FN)(Fox News Latino)

Law and crime

• 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape
  • Remaining escapee David Sweat is shot and captured in upstate New York near the border with Canada. (NBC News)
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating a series of fires at black churches in the states of Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia with three of the four cases confirmed as arson. (Buzzfeed)

Politics and elections

• Danish general election, 2015
  • Lars Løkke Rasmussen forms Denmark’s first single-party government in 33 years, and Rasmussen himself becomes the first prime minister in 33 years to serve in two non-consecutive terms; Kristian Jensen becomes the sixth foreign minister since 2010. (The Local) (Copenhagen Post)

Science and technology

• An unmanned Space-X Falcon 9 space rocket explodes 2 minutes after take-off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The rocket was on a resupply mission to the International Space Station. This is the third such incident in a year. (Reuters via News24) (CNN)

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