Russian Voters Overwhelmingly Back A Ploy By President Vladimir Putin To Rule Until 2036 – President Vladimir Putin has won a resounding victory in his bid to stay in power until the middle of the next decade, as Russians voted overwhelmingly to endorse the country’s political status quo, according to preliminary results. [cnn]

Ghislaine Maxwell Appears In Court Charged With Aiding Epstein’s Sex Crimes – Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite, has appeared via video in a US court after being arrested in relation to alleged sex crimes, conspiracy and perjury involving her late close friend and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. [guardian]

Boris Johnson Says College Agreeing To Remove Rhodes Statue ‘Like Politician Changing Wikipedia Entry’ – Prime Minister says he is ‘pro-history, and in favour of people understanding our past with all its imperfections’. [tele]

Coronavirus In North Korea: Kim Jong-Un Claims ‘Shining Success’ – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hailed his country’s “shining success” in dealing with Covid-19, according to state news agency KCNA. [bbc] Obvs.

Brits Are Going Wild For New ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Services – In the UK, more and more people are ditching credit and lay-by in favour of increasingly popular ‘buy now, pay later’ services. [here]

Rand Breaks Below R17.00 Vs The Dollar – The rand strengthened by close to a percent against the dollar in mid-morning trade on Thursday (2 July), as risk appetite received a welcome boost from upbeat global economic data. [btech]

Another Record-Breaking Day In SA As 8,700 New Cases Confirmed – 95 Covid-19 related deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours. [tlive]

Ethiopia Shut Down The Entire Country’s Internet After The Assassination Of A Popular Singer – Ethiopia’s population of 102 million is undergoing a government-sanctioned internet blackout after a popular musician was assassinated on Monday night. [busins]

Finnish Air Force Removes Swastika From Logo After 100 Years – The Finnish Air Force quietly dropped a swastika from the official logo of its Air Force Command and replaced it with a golden eagle after a century. [usat]

Tech Billionaire Peter Thiel May Ditch Trump Because He Thinks Trump Will Lose – He’s shying away from donating toward or supporting the president’s reelection campaign. [verge]

George Floyd: Twitter Drops ‘Master’, ‘Slave’ And ‘Blacklist’ – Social media platform Twitter is dropping the terms “master”, “slave” and “blacklist” in favour of more inclusive language. [bbc]

Scotland’s Gaelic Language Could Die Out In 10 Years, Says Study – Gaelic-speaking communities in Scotland are in crisis and the language could die out within 10 years, according to a new study. [cnn]

Jaguar Land Rover Has Launched A Car Subscription Service – Jaguar Land Rover, through startup Pivotal, has launched a premium car subscription service. [btech]

Harry Potter Fan Sites Distance Themselves From JK Rowling Over Transgender Rights – Websites the Leaky Cauldron and Mugglenet say they won’t provide links to Rowling’s website or use photos of the author. [guardian]

Limited Edition Vespa Gets Very Stylish Makeover – Vespa has teamed up with fashion house Dior to produce the most stylish scooter ever to hit the streets. [here]

Talking Heads, Hand Of God, Review: A Vintage Kristin Scott Thomas Gives A Performance To Treasure – The actress brought restraint and charm to a role originally played by Eileen Atkins, in another impressive remake. [tele]

White YouTube Creators Struggle To Address Past Use Of Racist Characters – Shane Dawson has apologized for his use of blackface, anti-Semitic and racist language, and disturbing comments about children and animals on several occasions in the past — and audiences have largely given him a pass. But after posting a new apology video on Friday that didn’t go over well with some high-profile viewers, that’s suddenly started to change. [verge]

Meghan Markle ‘Felt Unprotected By The Royal Institution – Because palace press officers couldn’t defend her against TRUE stories that angered her’. [dm]

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DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T TELL YOU…

There are a number of ongoing deals set up at our various exclusive partners. Here they are – just for you;-)

Buy Any Product From Websites That ‘Don’t Ship To SA’ – One of our most exciting partners offers you a PO Box in US, UK or Hong Kong, for you to deliver overseas online purchases to. Postbox Courier handles it from there – getting the package to you in under a week. [more]

There Is Only One Company When It Comes To Import Export Logistics – Your freight forwarding / shipping partner is probably more important than the actual products you want to move from country to country. Choose the wrong guys and you can get stung in so many ways. Be smart, use 2ov’s partners, Berry & Donaldson. [here]

First Month Storage Space 50% Off At Stor-Age – Whether you need a locker for a bicycle or a garage for your house contents, Stor-Age has the space you need. And they’re offering a special ‘50% off the first month’ deal – no strings attached! You can take your stuff out after one month – no problem! [check it out]

Affordable Cane Furniture – If you’re buying cane or wicker furniture anywhere else, you’re wasting a lot of time and money. These guys import directly from Malawi. Hand-Made cane furniture – buy online and have it delivered! [check it out]

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