Author: admin@primenews

The US has warned Israel that staging a military offensive into Gaza’s southern city of Rafah without proper planning would be a “disaster”. The White House said it would not support plans for any major operations in Rafah without due consideration for the refugees there. The comments come days after Israel’s leader said the military had been told to prepare to operate in Rafah. More than half of Gaza’s people now live in the city bordering Egypt. Some 1.5 million Palestinians are surviving there in dire humanitarian conditions. Israel bombed parts of Rafah from the air on Thursday morning and…

President Vladimir Putin has said he believes a deal can be reached to free Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter detained last year in Russia. Speaking with US host Tucker Carlson, Mr Putin said talks were ongoing with the US about the journalist, who is being held on espionage charges. In the interview, Mr Putin held forth on Ukraine, US presidents and the CIA. It’s the first time the Russian leader has sat down with a Western journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The exclusive has thrust Mr Carlson and his fledgling media company back into the spotlight following the…

Original supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista are among the 40 stars on British Vogue’s latest cover. Oprah Winfrey, Victoria Beckham, Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus are also in the “farewell shoot” for the final issue by outgoing editor Edward Enninful. He wanted the Legendary issue to be entirely “dedicated to women”. Enninful said no single person could “encapsulate the past few years for the magazine”. He selected women who he claimed had “reached beyond fashion and culture to change the fabric of society in the 2020s, in ways small and large and always positive”. Kate Moss, Cara…

Global cocoa prices have hit a fresh record high as dry weather hurts crops in West Africa. Cocoa prices on the New York commodities market reached a new all-time high of $5,874 (£4,655) a ton on Thursday. The cost of the key ingredient for making chocolate has now roughly doubled since the start of last year. Soaring cocoa prices are already filtering through to consumers and squeezing major chocolate makers. On Thursday, one of the world’s biggest chocolate manufacturers Hershey warned: “Historic cocoa prices are expected to limit earnings growth this year.” The company’s chief executive Michele Buck also did…

A report from Special Counsel Robert Hur has raised serious questions about Joe Biden’s memory, provoking a strong reaction from the US president. Declining to prosecute Mr Biden for retaining troves of classified documents, Mr Hur – who served in the Trump administration – said the 81-year-old would likely present himself at trial as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”. Elsewhere, the report challenged Mr Biden for retaining reams of classified information, and for storing it improperly and insecurely. Shortly after the report was released, President Biden held a surprise news briefing at the White House, telling…

Fawad says his favourite colour is green. The 12-year-old loved looking at the grass, leaves and trees around the mosque where he lived and studied in India’s capital Delhi. He moved here two years ago from a neighbouring state after his parents suddenly died. His home in Delhi – the Akhoondji Mosque, estimated to be at least 600 years old, and its adjoining madrassa (religious school) – was also green, its joists, beams and several archways painted in the same colour. In a new city, looking at the familiar colour made Fawad feel safe. But now, he says it makes…

Australian rugby union player Kurtley Beale has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a Sydney pub bathroom. Prosecutors alleged he had groped the 29-year-old woman and later forced her to perform oral sex in December 2022. But the Wallabies star, 34, said their encounter was consensual. His legal team argued the woman had lied to get sympathy from her fiancé. After a two-week trial, a jury cleared Mr Beale of three charges. The verdict paves the way for Mr Beale, who was suspended by Rugby Australia when he was charged, to return to the field. Outside…

Ukraine’s president has sacked the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. It follows speculation about a rift between the president and Gen Zaluzhnyi, who has led Ukraine’s war effort since the conflict began. Battle-hardened Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi was announced as his replacement in a presidential decree. It is the biggest change to Ukraine’s military leadership since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the high command needed to be “renewed” and that Gen Zaluzhnyi could “remain on the team”. “Starting today, a new management team will take over the leadership of the Armed Forces of…

US President Joe Biden has angrily criticised an investigation that found he mishandled top secret files and said he struggled to recall key life events. In a surprise news briefing on Thursday evening, Mr Biden insisted to media: “My memory is fine.” He slammed a claim that he could not recollect when his son died, saying: “How the hell dare he raise that?” The inquiry found Mr Biden “wilfully retained and disclosed” classified files, but decided not to charge him. Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Hur determined Mr Biden had improperly kept classified documents related to military and foreign…

Millions of people around the globe are spitting into vials in the hopes of learning more about their genes. But they’re not just looking for information about their ancestry. Increasingly, people are interested in pursuing how their genes may be affecting their health, nutrition, fitness potential and risk of injury. The global market for these direct-to-consumer genetic tests is projected to soar in the next several years, skyrocketing from $1.9 billion in 2023 to $8.8 billion by 2030, according to a market analysis report by Grand View Research. North Americans are leading the way, with 60.5% of the market share, although Europe…