Author: admin@primenews

US Congress leaders have reached a deal over the total amount of spending for the rest of 2024 as they seek to avoid a partial government shutdown, local media report. The $1.6tn (£1.2tn) figure includes $886bn for defence and more than $704bn for non-defence spending, according to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. However, there appears to be some discrepancy over the numbers. The deal now needs approval from the House of Representatives and Senate. They have less than two weeks to finalise funding and stop the suspension of some federal services. According to a statement from Democrats Hakeem Jeffries and…

The rumour was old, but effective: the Taiwanese were being fed “poisonous” pork imported from the US. The weeks-old claim followed another: the Taiwanese government was secretly harvesting blood from citizens and giving it to the US to make a bioweapon to attack China. Both were swiftly debunked. But this is a narrative that has been blooming in Taiwan ahead of Saturday’s presidential and legislative elections. “Yimeilun” or US scepticism, questions the faithfulness of Taiwan’s biggest ally, portraying the island as a pawn exploited by America. Its ultimate goal, say analysts, is to drive a wedge between Taiwan and the…

The US aviation regulator has said 171 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes will remain grounded until it is satisfied the planes are safe. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been inspecting the jets after part of an Alaska Airlines plane’s fuselage fell off on Friday. The FAA said its first priority was “keeping the flying public safe”. Boeing’s CEO Dave Calhoun told staff that its response “is and must be” the focus of the company. Thousands of passengers saw their flights cancelled after major US airlines grounded dozens of the jets. “We have grounded the affected airplanes, and they will…

Evidence of widespread abuse and torture by the founder of one of the world’s biggest Christian evangelical churches has been uncovered by the BBC. Dozens of ex-Synagogue Church of all Nations members – five British – allege atrocities, including rape and forced abortions, by Nigeria’s late TB Joshua. The allegations of abuse in a secretive Lagos compound span almost 20 years. The Synagogue Church of All Nations did not respond to the allegations but said previous claims have been unfounded. TB Joshua, who died in 2021, was a charismatic and hugely successful preacher and televangelist who had an immense global…

Google has begun testing changes to the way companies are able to track users online. A new feature in the Chrome browser disables third-party cookies – small files stored on your device to collect analytic data, personalise online ads and monitor browsing. It will initially be available to 1% of global users, about 30 million people. Google describes the changes as a test, with plans for a full rollout to eliminate cookies later this year. However, some advertisers say they will suffer as a result. Google’s Chrome is the world’s most popular internet browser. Rivals such as Apple’s Safari and…

Grocery giant Carrefour will stop selling Pepsi products in France, citing “unacceptable price increases”. The supermarket started putting up signs in stores on Thursday to inform customers of the decision, which will affect products such as Pepsi soda, Doritos and Quaker cereals. Pepsi said it would continue to try to negotiate in “good faith”. The spat comes as France continues to grapple with food prices that are rising uncomfortably quickly. The most recent report from the government statistics agency estimated that food prices rose 7.1% in December from a year earlier. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire last year pushed…

The Abu Dhabi-backed bidder for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph has said journalists will be given total editorial freedom. The ownership of the papers was due to be transferred to the Gulf-backed RedBird IMI consortium. But the government intervened over fears the papers might come under the control of an autocratic foreign state. Jeff Zucker, who is leading the bid, told the BBC commitments were backed by legally binding agreements. An independent editorial trust board will further protect the Telegraph’s editorial independence, the former CNN executive added. The bid is largely funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan…

A critical 72-hour period to find survivors from when the quake struck ended late on Thursday. On Friday, the death toll from the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the remote Noto peninsula rose to 92. Japan’s Self-Defense Forces doubled the number of troops taking part in rescue and relief to 4,600, Kyodo news agency reported. Many people are thought to be trapped under their collapsed homes – mostly in the towns of Suzu and Wajima. The wooden structures were not built to withstand powerful earthquakes that frequently plague the country. Tens of thousands of residents are still without power and water, while…

North Korea has fired more than 200 rounds of artillery shells off its west coast, towards the South’s Yeonpyeong island, Seoul’s military has said. South Korea ordered civilians to seek shelter on the island before holding live fire drills of its own. The South has condemned the move, calling it a “provocative act”. In 2010, North Korean artillery fired scores of times on Yeonpyeong island, killing four people. The artillery shells fired on Friday, between 09:00 to 11:00 local time (00:00 to 02:00 GMT) did not enter South Korean territory as they all landed in the buffer zone between the…

Writing is a lonely business, and for many in India’s Bollywood, not a profitable one. Unless a screenwriter lands a big break – a successful film where they also get credit. But until then, money and opportunity are often in short supply. A major reason, writers say, is the “harsh contracts” they have to sign, which they allege are designed to protect the interests of the producer. “Most contracts have arbitrary termination clauses and offer paltry fees, especially to newcomers,” says Anjum Rajabali, a senior member of the Screenwriters Association (SWA) – the Indian equivalent of the Writers Guild of…