(SOUNDBITE OF BONFIRE CRACKLING)
INSKEEP: And they re moving after last night s bonfires. People built up stacks of fuel, in some cases as tall as a 14-story building, and lit them up.
SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: It s all part of marching season, an annual ritual that Northern Irish Protestants use to proclaim their allegiance to the United Kingdom. NPR s Frank Langfitt spent time with a marching band called The True Blues in the town of Portadown.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: So you can see the Union flags sitting out of windows and kids twirling batons. You can hear the bass drums and the flutes in the background - and people sitting out on their front yards. Watching this, it actually reminds me a lot of a Fourth of July parade in the States. This is Adam Love. He is the secretary of the band.
Racist abuse targets 3 English players who missed penalties in Euro 2020 final
By Frank Griffiths and Pan Pylas
Published
Italians Celebrate Euro 2020 Victory With Fireworks
Italians took to the streets to celebrate the nation’s penalty kick victory over England in the Euro 2020 final held on the evening of July 11. (Credit:Josette Rezkallah via Storyful)
LOS ANGELES - The Metropolitan Police condemned the unacceptable abuse of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Sako, and said they will be investigating the offensive and racist social media posts published soon after Italy won Sunday s shootout 3-2 after the match ended 1-1.
The English Football Association said it was appalled by the disgusting behavior, adding that social media companies should take action to make their platforms free from this abhorrent abuse.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday (local time) confirmed that all virus restrictions in England will end on July 19. Johnson told reporters that the move will eliminate mandates to wear masks in public places, social distancing rules, and work-from-home recommendations, reported NHK World. Johnson noted that vaccines help to prevent people with the coronavirus from developing serious symptoms. He insisted that, while hospitalisations and deaths will continue to rise, they will likely be much lower than during the peak of the outbreak last autumn, reported NHK World. Johnson urged people to act with caution and personal responsibility, saying, this pandemic is not over.
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SYDNEY â Australia has recorded a third COVID-19 death this year.
New South Wales state Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant on Tuesday declined to say whether the man, who was aged in his 70s, had been vaccinated. He died Monday in Sydneyâs eastern suburbs where the current Sydney cluster began last month.
The New South Wales state government has said Sydneyâs three-wee-old lockdown is likely to be extended Friday.
A woman in her 90s from southwest Sydney died Saturday, a day after testing positive for the coronavirus. An 80-year-old man died April 12 after becoming infected in the Philippines.
Australia had not previously recorded a COVID-19 death since Oct. 19.