Author: admin@primenews

This is Partygate: Russia-style. What happened at a Moscow nightclub was bizarre. What happened next says so much about the current atmosphere in Russia. On 20 December, blogger and TV presenter Nastya Ivleeva threw an “Almost Naked Party” at Moscow’s Mutabor nightclub. Dress code? More like an undress code. Scantily clad pop stars and celebrities attended the soiree. Including Russian rapper Vacio [real name Nikolai Vasiliev]. He turned up wearing only training shoes and one strategically placed sock. It was a private party. But it became very public when videos and photos appeared on social media. Overnight, Vacio’s became the…

At least 10 people, including a nine-year-old girl, have died in eastern Australia during severe thunderstorms on Christmas and Boxing Day. Most of the deaths were in the state of Queensland, where tens of thousands of people are still without power. Victoria and New South Wales were also hit by widespread flooding and destructive winds. Further thunderstorms have been forecast but conditions are expected to improve over the next day. The winds were so strong in places, they tore roofs off buildings, felled trees and ripped concrete-based electricity poles from the ground. “It’s the first time we’ve ever had a…

A six-year-old boy flew alone to the wrong US city after he was “incorrectly boarded” on a Spirit Airlines plane. Casper was travelling from Philadelphia to meet his grandmother in Fort Myers, Florida. But he ended up in Orlando – a four-hour drive from Fort Myers – after he was mistakenly put on the wrong plane. Spirit Airlines has apologised and offered to reimburse his grandmother for the drive to pick Casper up. Casper was mean to be travelling from Philadelphia International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers on Thursday, to meet his grandmother, Maria Ramos. But…

Taylor Swift didn’t have to run a major company or helm a central bank to wield some immense economic power this year. The pop superstar reigned supreme in 2023 not just as a musical artist, but also as a businessperson: Her career-defining “Eras” tour sold out stadiums across the globe, fans splurged on merchandise while attending her concerts, the film of her tour broke box office records in its opening weekend, and Swift herself became a billionaire along the way. Swift achieved remarkable feats that would be impressive for any typical business leader running a Fortune 500 company. She commanded a loyal base of fans…

The clock has wound down on the newest Apple Watch after President Joe Biden declined to issue a last-minute, emergency action to keep the best-selling smartwatch on store shelves. President Joe Biden had until the end of Christmas day to overturn a US International Trade Commission ruling that prevents Apple from selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, among other newer models, because they violate patents registered to another company. But, as expected, Biden did not intervene. Apple had already taken the offending Watch models off its online store, and Apple Store locations opened Tuesday without any of the latest top-of-the-line watches…

It was the year of artificial intelligence, and no Big Tech company leaned into the trend like Microsoft. In 2023, the company’s CEO Satya Nadella made a multi-billion dollar investment in AI, commercialized and added AI tools like ChatGPT into its suite of products before rivals, and stunned industry onlookers with his ability to handle a crisis quickly, calmly and thoughtfully. Under his leadership, the company is re-emerging as a tech innovator after years of riding the success of Windows. Wall Street has noticed, too: Microsoft’s stock is up 55% this year. That’s why CNN Business’ staff chose Nadella as the CEO of…

The US military carried out airstrikes on three facilities used by the Iraq-based Kataib Hezbollah and “affiliated groups” on Monday night after an attack injured three US troops, leaving one in critical condition, the White House said. A US Central Command statement said early assessments indicated that the US airstrikes, ordered by President Joe Biden, “likely killed a number of Kataib Hezbollah militants.” The Iranian-backed militant group earlier claimed credit for using a one-way attack drone to target the US forces on Erbil Air Base on Monday morning, the White House said. A statement from US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson…

Australia ended a rain-affected opening day of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan in Melbourne on 187-3. Marnus Labuschagne was 44 not out and Travis Head unbeaten on 10 as the hosts try to seal a series victory. David Warner made 38 and Usman Khawaja 42, while Steve Smith fell for 26. Khawaja had his daughters’ names on his shoes, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) charged him for wearing a black armband in support of civilians in Gaza during the first Test. The 37-year-old was denied permission to have a sticker showing a black dove holding an olive branch on his…

Danish shipping giant Maersk has said it is preparing to resume shipping operations through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The move follows the deployment of an international military operation to prevent attacks on commercial ships by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Several firms have paused shipments via the Red Sea following the attacks. German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd has said it will decide on Wednesday whether to resume using the route. The Red Sea is one of the world’s most important routes for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, as well as for consumer goods. It is bookended by the Bab…

India has said it is sending three warships to the Arabian Sea after a drone hit an “Israel-affiliated” merchant vessel off its western coast last week. MV Chem Pluto was attacked about 200 nautical miles (370km) off the coast of the western state of Gujarat. The attack triggered a fire but it was quickly extinguished by the crew. There were no casualties. The vessel’s crew included 21 Indians and a Vietnamese citizen. The MV Chem Pluto is Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker. British Maritime Security firm Ambrey said the ship was linked to Israel but didn’t specify the connection.…