Author: admin@primenews

Dutch anti-Islam populist leader Geert Wilders has abandoned his bid to become prime minister, despite his party’s dramatic victory in the 2023 elections. “I can only become prime minister if ALL parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. His Freedom Party (PVV) won the most votes last year – but needed support of other parties to form a coalition. Talks with three other parties over the shape of a new government are ongoing. The negotiator leading the latest round of talks, which concluded on Tuesday, is due to…

A 16-year-old from Oklahoma whose death in February was the subject of attention across the US died by suicide, a medical examiner has said. Nex Benedict was non-binary and used they/them pronouns. Their death one day after a fight in a school toilet prompted protests and vigils across the country. The cause of death was revealed in a partial autopsy report released on Wednesday by Oklahoma’s chief medical examiner. The medical examiner said Nex had died from taking a combination of medications. The day before Nex died, the student was involved in a brief fight in a toilet at Owasso…

Matthew Perry’s stepfather has said the Friends actor “felt like he was beating” his years-long struggles with addiction before his death in October. “But you never beat it, and he knew that too,” Keith Morrison said. Perry, who openly spoke of his alcohol and substance misuse, was found unresponsive in his hot tub, at age 54. An autopsy report listed the effects of two drugs – ketamine and buprenorphine – as well as coronary artery disease and drowning as causes of his passing. The report also said Perry had been “reportedly clean for 19 months”. But he was also said…

An AI weapons-scanning company has backtracked on claims its technology has been tested by the UK government. Evolv Technology makes “intelligent” scanners designed to replace metal detectors by identifying people with concealed guns, knives and bombs. But the company has come under mounting criticism for overstating what the technology can deliver. Evolv told BBC News it had altered its claims about UK testing to “better reflect the process taken”. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into the company last month. And in October the company revealed the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was looking into its marketing practices. As…

As I walk around Borovsk, two things strike me about this town 60 miles (100km) from Moscow. First, there is almost no sign of the presidential election coming up this weekend. I see few election banners or billboards and no political flyers being handed out. Not surprising, really. The absence of election preparations mirrors the absence of drama surrounding a stage-managed event that will hand Vladimir Putin a fifth term in the Kremlin. The other thing you can’t help noticing in Borovsk is the street art. It’s everywhere. Much of it has been created by street artist Vladimir Ovchinnikov. All…

A man has been killed and another critically injured following a gold mine collapse in Australia. The pair were hit by falling rocks 500m (1,640ft) underground at the site in Ballarat, near Melbourne, on Wednesday afternoon local time. Another 29 miners took refuge in a nearby “safety pod” and the injured man was evacuated almost four hours later. A trade union has sharply criticised the incident, which will be investigated by a workplace regulator. A 37-year-old man’s body was recovered at the scene – about 3km from the mine’s entrance – early on Thursday morning. His injured colleague, 21, had…

Ten years ago, Malaysia Airlines was devastated by the twin disasters of MH370 and MH17. Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared over the Indian Ocean on 8 March 2014 with 239 people on board. Despite millions of dollars spent on the largest search in aviation history the plane has still not been found. The airline was still reeling from that tragedy when in July of the same year, MH17 was shot down by a Russian-controlled armed group above conflict-ridden Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 flight crew were killed. There had been 160 planes flying over the war zone that day…

Trailblazing footballer Josh Cavallo says “it felt right to share this special moment on the pitch” after he proposed to his partner at Adelaide United’s Coopers Stadium. Cavallo came out in 2021 and at the time was the world’s only top-flight openly gay male professional player. The Australian midfielder, 24, thanked the A-League club for their help after getting engaged to Leighton Morrell. He said the club had provided “a safe space in football” for him. Cavallo posted pictures of the proposal on social media at the stadium where he has played since 2021. He wrote: “Thank you Adelaide United for helping…

Israel’s military says it is trying to “flood” Gaza with aid as international pressure to address the territory’s humanitarian crisis grows. Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said Israel would facilitate further aid convoys, after a new land route opened up to deliver food to northern Gaza. The UN has warned that Gaza, under Israeli attack since the war with Hamas began in October, is at risk of famine. Brussels says starvation is being used as a weapon of war in the territory. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said earlier that land routes had been deliberately closed off to prevent the delivery of aid.…

Denmark has announced plans to extend military conscription to women for the first time and increase the standard service time. It also wants to boost its defence budget by nearly $6bn (£4.6bn) in the next five years to meet Nato targets. “We do not rearm because we want war. We are rearming because we want to avoid it,” said PM Metter Frederiksen. Tensions in Europe have spiked since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Unveiling the reforms on Wednesday, Ms Frederiksen said the government was seeking to achieve “full equality between the sexes”. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Troels Lund…