Author: admin@primenews

Few had heard of him a year ago, and now he is set to become president. Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s extraordinary rise caps a rollercoaster period in Senegalese politics that caught many off-guard. Months in jail alongside ally and kingmaker Ousmane Sonko ended suddenly, with the pair released the week before the presidential election. Now Mr Clean, as he’s nicknamed, must get to work on the sweeping reforms he has promised. “Methodical” and “modest” are words often used to describe the tax collector, who celebrates his 44th birthday on Monday. Mr Faye fondly recalls his rural upbringing in Ndiaganiao, where he…

Donald Trump will face the first ever criminal trial of a former US president on 15 April over alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Justice Juan Merchan denied the defence’s request to delay the case. Mr Trump faces four criminal cases, but this may be the only one to make it to a courtroom before November’s election. He has pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony charges, arguing the claims do not constitute “a crime”. After spending much of Monday morning sitting next to his attorneys inside the courtroom, Mr Trump told reporters that the case…

Properties connected to rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs were raided on Monday by federal agents. The Department of Homeland Security said it had pursued the “law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation” in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Two properties were searched in Los Angeles and Miami as part of the probe. Officials did not specify the reasons for the raids or whether they were tied to Mr Combs. Representatives for the hip-hop mogul did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment on Monday. Several recent lawsuits have accused Mr Combs of sexual misconduct. His attorneys have…

Boeing boss Dave Calhoun will leave at the end of this year amid a deepening crisis over the firm’s safety record. Boeing also said that the head of its commercial airlines division will retire immediately while its chairman will not stand for re-election. The firm is under pressure after an unused door blew out of a Boeing 737 Max in January shortly after take-off. No-one was injured but the firm’s safety and quality control standards came under renewed scrutiny. Many analysts said a change in Boeing’s leadership was overdue. “A shake-up at the top is necessary,” said Stewart Glickman, equity…

For weeks, President Joe Biden and his senior officials have been losing patience with the way that Israel is fighting the war in Gaza. They have used increasingly stiff language to convey their displeasure to Israel and the wider world. The decision to allow the latest ceasefire resolution through the Security Council shows that President Biden has decided that strong words are not enough. Removing diplomatic protection from Israel’s conduct of the war is a significant step. It shows the depth of the rift that has opened between the White House and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Prime Minister Netanyahu responded with…

An Australian man has been freed after spending 36 hours trapped in a drain network. He first entered a drain in Brisbane on Saturday “while trying to retrieve his phone”, according to authorities. The man, aged in his 30s, was rescued on Monday after emergency crews received a call about someone “stuck” underground. He is now being treated for abrasions and hypothermia in hospital, officials said. Local media reported he had waded through storm water searching for an exit before eventually being rescued by firefighters who lifted a drain lid, allowing him to climb out. The rescue effort took about…

A former president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), Chen Xuyuan, has been sentenced to life in prison for bribery, according to the country’s state media. In January, he pleaded guilty to accepting bribes totalling 81 million yuan ($11.2m; £8.9m). An anti-corruption crackdown led by President Xi Jinping has cut through sport, banking and the military. In football, more than a dozen coaches and players have been investigated. The trial at the Intermediate People’s Court of Huangshi in central China revealed Chen’s illicit activities from 2010 to 2023, which included his earlier role as the president and chairman of Shanghai International…

Japan’s cabinet has approved the export of new fighter jets it is developing with the UK and Italy, in the latest move away from its pacifist policies. It eased arms export rules to allow the jets to be sold to countries that Japan has signed defence pacts with, and where there is no ongoing conflict. Japan has pledged to double military spending by 2027, citing threats posed by China and North Korea. Each fighter jet sale will require cabinet approval, authorities said. In December 2022, Japan came on board a UK-Italy collaboration, dubbed the Tempest, to develop this new fighter jet that…

The UK government has formally accused China of being behind what it called “malicious” cyber campaigns against MPs and the Electoral Commission. Two people and a company have been sanctioned over cyber-attacks. Deputy PM Oliver Dowden said they were behind attempts to access details of MPs critical of Beijing, as well as the data of potentially 40 million voters. The Chinese embassy in the UK says these are “completely unfounded” claims amounting to “malicious slander”. The two Chinese nationals sanctioned by the UK are Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin and the company is Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company Ltd, said…

Millions of Americans’ online accounts have been caught up in a “sinister” Chinese hacking plot that targeted US officials, the justice department and FBI said on Monday. Seven Chinese nationals have been charged with enacting a widespread cyber-attack campaign. They are accused of ties to a hacking operation that ran for 14 years. The US state department announced a reward of up to $10m (£8m) for information on the seven men. The justice department said hackers had targeted US and foreign critics of China, businesses, and politicians. The seven men allegedly sent over 10,000 “malicious emails, impacting thousands of victims,…