Author: admin@primenews

Rita de Cassia Oliveira takes a brief pause to reorganise a display of colourful earrings, before returning to serve a group of tourists. They’re picking out shiny shorts and sparkly bikini tops for this year’s Carnival street parties. During this period, Oliveira swaps her usual swimwear merchandise for Carnival outfits, and expects February’s income to double compared to other months. “It’s the best time of year for those who work on the streets,” she says as she arranges pots of glitter at her outdoor stall on a busy Copacabana street corner. Shopping in Rio de Janeiro amps up in the…

North Korea hacked into the personal emails of an aide to the South Korean President, his office has confirmed to the BBC. The breach occurred in the run up to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the UK last November. The staff member was hacked after using a personal email account for official work, the president’s office said. A local newspaper cited a high-ranking government source as saying hackers had accessed Mr Yoon’s trip schedule. The Kukmin Ilbo newspaper added that messages sent by the president had also been stolen. But the President’s office would not divulge what information…

Foreign tourists must now pay a 150,000 rupiah (£7.60; $9.60) levy to enter Bali, one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. Indonesian authorities say this is aimed at protecting the island’s environment and culture. Bali is known for its pristine beaches and surfing waves, as well its beautiful landscapes. Official data shows that almost 4.8 million tourists visited Bali between January and November last year. The tourist tax, which was first announced last year, came into effect from Wednesday – Valentine’s Day. It applies to foreign tourists entering the province from abroad or other parts of the country, with…

Real Sociedad cannot match Paris St-Germain for glitz and glamour but the French giants may well look at their Basque visitors on Wednesday and see a blueprint for the future. According to analysis by Transfermarkt, there are just three academy graduates in PSG’s Champions League squad – Presnel Kimpembe, Warren Zaire-Emery and Ethan Mbappe – compared to 13 at Real Sociedad, the most of any side left in the competition. Wednesday’s last-16 first-leg meeting is another step on PSG’s bid for European success, something the club have craved for almost as long as they have witnessed young, talented Parisians slip…

A public feeding frenzy over artificial intelligence may encourage some companies to make hyped-up claims about their use of AI or what the technology can deliver — but they do so at their own peril, according to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Publicly traded companies that misleadingly or untruthfully promote their use of artificial intelligence risk engaging in “AI-washing” that can harm investors and run afoul of US securities law, said SEC Chair Gary Gensler in a speech on Tuesday. “We’ve seen time and again that when new technologies come along, they can create buzz from investors as well…

Flovent, one of the most commonly prescribed childhood asthma medications, is no longer being manufactured in the United States. GSK, the pharmaceutical company that made it, took if off the shelves January 1 and replaced it with an identical generic version, fluticasone. But what seemed to be a straightforward swap has left some doctors, nurses and parents of children with asthma scrambling for medications to care for young patients. Flovent and its generic belong to a class of asthma medications known as controllers. They work by reducing inflammation in the airways of children with asthma that puts them at risk of flaring — having an asthma attack — when exposed to…

Two of Pakistan’s major political parties – the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) – say they will form a coalition government after last week’s inconclusive elections. The move means the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan will not be in power, despite independent candidates affiliated with it gaining the most votes. At a press conference in Lahore Tuesday, former Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif from the PMLN and former President Asif Ali Zardari from the PPP, along with representatives from four other parties, announced they would be forming a government together. The PMLN also released…

Disneyland employees who perform as various Disney characters at the theme park are seeking to join the Actor’s Equity Association, which represents everything from actors on Broadway to strippers in Los Angeles. The union is seeking to represent the 1,700 Disneyland employees in the characters and parades departments at the park. It said after three days of collecting cards signed by employees, it already has more than the 30% support needed to file for a representation vote with the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees such elections. But it said it is waiting until it has the support of at least 60%…

A typo in Lyft’s fourth-quarter earnings report caused the rideshare company’s stock to surge and then dramatically reverse course on Tuesday. In an earnings statement released after the bell, Lyft estimated its gross margin would expand by 500 basis points, or 5 percentage points. That sent the company’s stock shooting higher. However, Lyft appeared to include an errant zero in its numbers: The company’s actual estimate is much lower, at 50 basis points or a half a percentage point. On Lyft’s earnings call, held shortly after the release, the company’s chief financial officer, Erin Brewer, provided the correct estimate. “This is…

The White House is making its frustration over recent press coverage known. In a letter Tuesday to the White House Correspondents’ Association, Ian Sams, spokesperson for the White House Counsel’s Office, expressed concern over how the news media has covered Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified material. In the letter, which CNN is first to report, Sams conceded that “covering the report is challenging,” given that it is “nearly 400 pages long” and “not straightforward.” Hur’s references to Biden’s mental acuity, he acknowledged, have stolen attention from the crux of the matter, writing that Hur’s “wrong and inappropriate personal comments have distracted from due…