Author: admin@primenews

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and to allow more competition in its Play app store, according to the terms of an antitrust settlement with US states and consumers filed in federal court on Monday. In separate complaints, the Justice Department and dozens of states accused Google in 2020 of abusing its dominance in online search by allegedly harming competition through deals with wireless carriers and smartphone makers that made Google Search the default or exclusive option on products used by millions of consumers. The complaints eventually consolidated into a single case. “Today, the details of a settlement reached in September with…

Attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea risk pushing up the price of oil and other goods, analysts have warned. Several firms have paused shipments through the route after vessels were attacked by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The world’s second largest shipping line, Maersk, has said it will reroute some of its vessels around the Cape of Good Hope. The disruption has led US to launch an international naval operation to protect ships in the Red Sea route. Countries joining the security group include the UK, Canada, France, Bahrain, Norway and Spain. US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said: “The…

Chemical firm Monsanto is to pay $857m (£676m) to seven people who said they were affected by chemicals leaking from light fittings at a US school. In a court case, the plaintiffs said chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) made them sick. A jury found the company negligent and liable for selling the PCBs used in the Sky Valley Education Centre in Monroe in Washington state. The chemicals were not safe and lacked warnings, according to the verdict. PCBs are human-made chemicals that were once used as lubricants, coolants, or to insulate electrical equipment. They could be found in other…

In the shadow of Timbuktu’s ivory-coloured Monument To Peace, musicians from across Mali took the stage as the sun set on the sand-coloured houses of the historic city on the edge of the Sahara Desert. Local community leaders and representatives of the military government opened the city’s traditional festival with the usual pomp and ceremony. But this year things were different. Timbuktu has been under blockade by the al-Qaeda affiliated group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) since late August. Villages just outside the city have become a battleground between the Mali’s army and the jihadist fighters. People in Timbuktu have…

A family travelling to Australia without flying have reached Indonesia after a journey of three and a half months. Shannon Coggins, Theo Simon and their daughter Rosa, 19, left East Pennard on 16 August to begin the 10,000-mile (16,000km) journey to Sydney. They decided to stop flying in 2002 “because of its effect on the climate”. The family is hoping to make it in time for Ms Coggins’ sister’s wedding on 28 December. They have travelled through Kazakhstan, China, Laos, Thailand and Indonesia, and are now in Dili, East Timor’s capital, hoping to find a boat to cross the Timor…

Squaring our urge to see the world with the need to ease the impact of flights on the planet is now a major concern among top travel companies. According to the International Energy Agency, flights account for at least 2% of all global carbon emissions, with the sector’s impact growing faster than road, shipping and rail. With a 2017 EU study showing that 85% of programs to offset planet-warming emissions from air travel do not work, pioneering operators are now looking towards a new approach, advising those who want to go on long-haul trips to take fewer of them and to stay for…

In the end it was the thriving online scam centers that finally forced China to lose patience with Myanmar’s brutal military rulers. The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has long been a trouble spot on China’s southwestern border. For decades Beijing’s leaders have played a careful game of backing Myanmar’s military regimes – lending them much-needed economic, military and diplomatic support, including at the United Nations – whilst also maintaining close ties to powerful rebel militias along its borders. But Beijing’s frustration has been building with Naypyidaw’s generals who seized power in 2021, overthrowing a democratically elected government that Beijing had built close…

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio has secured $2.2 billion in investment from CYVN Holdings of Abu Dhabi, giving the Tesla challenger a longer financial runway as it seeks to make inroads in an increasingly competitive market. The deal, which follows a previous $1 billion investment from CYVN in July, will give the Emirates-based firm a 20% shareholding in Nio (NIO), the Shanghai-based EV upstart said in a Monday statement. CYVN will also be able to nominate two directors to Nio’s board. “With the enhanced balance sheet, Nio is well prepared to sharpen brand positioning, bolster sales and service capabilities, and make long-term investment…

Indian opposition leaders have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of attacking democracy after 78 MPs were suspended from parliament in one day. The MPs were protesting against last week’s security breach in parliament. Overall, 92 opposition lawmakers have been suspended from the two houses of parliament in the ongoing session. Most of them have been barred for the rest of the winter session, which ends on Friday. Around two dozen of them may have to stay away for longer, depending on the decision of the parliament’s privileges committee. Monday’s suspensions are expected to worsen already frosty relations between the opposition and Mr Modi’s…

Deontay Wilder believes Anthony Joshua does not “have the heart” to fight him, but says a bout between the former heavyweight world champions is closer than it ever has been. The pair are on the same bill in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and could fight each other in 2024 if they both win. “I don’t want to say he’s 100% afraid, but I think he’s 75%,” said Wilder. Joshua told BBC Sport he would “love to fight” Wilder, but is eyeing the IBF title first if he beats Otto Wallin. Wilder is one of the greatest knockout punchers in heavyweight…