Author: admin@primenews

The deadly Hamas attacks of October 7 united a shocked, grieving Israel behind its leaders, burying at a stroke the divisions that had riven the country for years. Four months into the war and with hopes for a new deal to return Israeli hostages from Gaza in doubt, those divisions are re-emerging – and Israelis are increasingly ready to speak their mind. Many, including the families of those hostages still held by Hamas, direct their anger toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who dismissed the terms of a ceasefire and hostage deal put forward by Hamas in forthright terms. “Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional…

The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it is immediately outlawing scam robocalls featuring fake, artificial intelligence-created voices, cracking down on so-called “deepfake” technology that experts say could undermine election security or supercharge fraud. The unanimous FCC vote extends anti-robocall rules to cover unsolicited AI deepfake calls by recognizing those voices as “artificial” under a federal law governing telemarketing and robocalling. The FCC’s move gives state attorneys general more legal tools to pursue illegal robocallers that use AI-generated voices to fool Americans, the FCC said. “Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities,…

The French offices of Chinese tech giant Huawei were searched this week, the company confirmed Friday, saying it was fully cooperating with the authorities. A French judicial source told CNN Thursday that the raid had been carried out as part of a preliminary probe launched by the financial prosecutor’s office over alleged “breach of probity,” a broad term concerning offenses such as acts of corruption, favoritism and influence peddling. The source did not provide any further details about the investigation. A preliminary investigation does not imply any wrongdoing. The Shenzhen-based firm told CNN that the search had taken place Tuesday.…

Weather warnings remain in place as snow and rain continue to fall across the UK. Yellow warnings for snow and ice are in force for much of Scotland through Friday and Saturday, with a chance of power cuts and travel disruption. Dozens of flood warnings and hundreds of flood alerts are also in place across parts of England. “We’ve had the worst of it but it’s still not completely clear,” the Met Office’s Dan Stroud said. It comes after a cold blast sent temperatures well below freezing in parts of the country and brought dozens of schools closures to northern areas…

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he had no choice but to ditch Labour’s £28bn a year green investment pledge. He defended the U-turn by claiming it was no longer affordable because the Tories had crashed the economy. And he told the BBC Labour would still spend more than the Tories on green projects if it wins the election, and was committed to “clean power by 2030”. But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Labour’s signature economic policy was “in tatters”. “That’s what happens when you don’t have a plan, and if you don’t have a plan you can’t deliver any change…

Ex-world champion James Magnussen says he will take banned drugs in an attempt to swim faster than a world record. The Australian, 32, will come out of retirement to compete in the Enhanced Games, where doping is allowed. Magnussen will try to swim faster than the 50-metre freestyle record, though it would not be official because there would be no drug-testing regime. “I’ll juice to the gills and I’ll break it in six months,” said Magnussen, who will be paid $1m (£792,000). The men’s 50m freestyle world record of 20.91 seconds was set by Brazilian Cesar Cielo in 2009, though…

A new Oscar for best casting will be introduced from 2026, Academy Awards organisers have announced. It will be the first new competitive category at the ceremony since best animated feature was added in 2002. Casting directors have campaigned in recent years to be recognised in the way other film crafts like sound, costume and hair and make-up are. In a statement, Academy bosses said casting directors “play an essential role in filmmaking”. Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang continued: “As the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognise and celebrate.…

Vladimir Putin lectured, joked and occasionally snarled – but not at his host. Tucker Carlson laughed, listened – and then listened some more. During the American’s much-hyped encounter with the Russian president, his fixed, fascinated expression slipped a few times. Especially when Putin’s promise of a 30-second history lesson became a 30-something minute rant. But for the most part, Carlson seemed to lap up what Russia’s president was telling him. Putin was fully in charge of this encounter and for large parts of it his interviewer barely got a word in. Instead of pushing the Russian leader – indicted as…

For Lionel Messi, it should have been a few minutes of easy work. But the Argentine soccer idol’s failure to leave the substitutes’ bench in a routine preseason exhibition match has unleashed an unexpected public relations nightmare in one of the world’s most lucrative sports markets where, until now, he had enjoyed widespread popularity. The public backlash in China began Sunday when Messi didn’t appear for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami while in Hong Kong – and ramped up when he joined the team’s game in Japan just days later. Messi, who was declared unfit to play in Hong Kong, came on as a 60th minute substitute against…

Three-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce says she “owes” it to her family to retire after the 2024 Games. The 37-year-old, regarded as one of the greatest sprinters of all time, won the 100m title in 2008 and 2012. Jamaican Fraser-Pryce also won Tokyo 2020 Olympic relay gold, plus three of her 10 world titles, in a comeback after giving birth to her son in 2017. “There’s not a day I’m getting up to go practise and I’m like, ‘I’m over this,'” she told Essence.com, external. “My son needs me. “My husband and I have been together since before I won in 2008.…