Author: admin@primenews

After three-and-half years in jail, Jimmy Lai was finally ushered into a Hong Kong courtroom to stand trial for treason. He was brought in through the back door, so only those inside the courtroom on Monday saw the democracy champion, who Beijing calls a “notorious anti-China element”. Noticeably thinner and gaunt, the 76-year-old sat facing three judges who will decide his fate over the coming months. He has denied all charges, arguing he was only defending freedoms in Hong Kong, the city where he built a fortune. Mr Lai cannot expect a fair trial in today’s Hong Kong – although…

Where does artificial intelligence (AI) fit into the world of Indian cinema? While AI has already disrupted Hollywood with writers going on a strike, the debate around the contentious issue is not widespread in the Indian film industry which employs tens of thousands of people. Some Indian film industry creators are underplaying the threat of AI for now, while others feel it needs to be taken very seriously. Director Shekhar Kapur’s debut Indian film, Masoom (1983), followed a woman’s journey towards accepting a child born out of her husband’s extramarital affair. For the sequel to this emotional film, which had delicately handled…

A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity. About 4,000 people were earlier evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was closed. The eruption started north of the town at 22:17 local time (22:17 GMT), the Icelandic Met Office said. The region around the capital Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late October. Images and videos posted on social media showed lava bursting from the volcano just an hour after an earthquake swarm, or seismic events, were detected. A coastguard…

The European Union has formally announced it suspects X, previously known as Twitter, of breaching its rules in areas including countering illegal content and disinformation. Digital commissioner Thierry Breton set out the alleged infringements in a post on the social media platform. He said X, which is owned by Elon Musk, was also suspected of breaching its obligations on transparency and in the design of its user interface. The BBC has approached X for comment. In October the EU said it was investigating X over the possible spread of terrorist and violent content, and hate speech, after Hamas’ attack on Israel.…

Oil giant BP has announced it is pausing all shipments of oil through the Red Sea after recent attacks on vessels by Houthi rebels. It made the decision because of the “deteriorating security situation” though said it was a temporary move. A number of freight companies have also suspended their ships after being targeted by Houthis in Yemen. On Monday, one of the world’s largest shipping firms said it would no longer carry Israeli cargo via the Red Sea. In an update seen by the BBC, Evergreen Line said that it would instruct its container ships to suspend journeys “until…

When Kyle Pukylo started feeling stomach pain, he struggled to find a doctor who could see him in person on short notice in Lakeland, Florida, where he lives. So he booked a telehealth session. “They said, ‘Yeah, there’s a stomach bug going around. Just give it a few days,’” Pukylo said. That was in May 2021. A month later, a nurse practitioner examined him in person and recommended that he go to the emergency room. A CT scan revealed a large tumor that had spread to Pukylo’s liver. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. “They were surprised that I…

The world’s forests are under threat. As well as being logged for timber and cleared to make way for agriculture, rising global temperatures are causing more intense wildfires. This year is set to be the hottest on record and has been the worst on record in terms of fires in boreal forests worldwide. Re-forestation is essential in the fight against climate change and to protect biodiversity, but planting saplings by hand can be slow and labor-intensive. In recent years, drones have begun to be used to drop seeds onto land deforested by wildfires; a company called Mast Reforestation, formerly DroneSeed, has applied this method in the western United States…

India’s Kerala state has asked people to stay cautious but urged them not to panic after an increase in Covid cases. The southern state has witnessed the increase after the detection of JN.1, a sub-variant of Covid-19. It has been previously found in several countries, including the US and China. The World Health Organization (WHO) says all approved Covid-19 vaccines will continue to provide protection against JN.1. The southern Indian state currently has 1,324 Covid-19 active cases and reported four deaths from the disease on Saturday. Officials have attributed this to the high testing rate in the state. But it’s…

Manchester United and manager Erik ten Hag would not have chosen Liverpool and the newly extended Anfield as the place to staunch wounds inflicted by a week of abject misery at Old Trafford. Ten Hag’s future and the very fibre of Manchester United came under increasing scrutiny after a heavy beating at home to Bournemouth in the Premier League before a shambolic Champions League campaign came to a close with defeat by Bayern Munich. And with a lengthy injury list accompanied by constant reminders of last season’s historic 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool here last season, it almost…

Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer is “thankfully responsive” after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during the Premier League game against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, his club announced. The match was abandoned due to the incident and Luton said that Lockyer had been taken to hospital. “Our medical staff have confirmed that the Hatters captain suffered cardiac arrest on the pitch, but was responsive by the time he was taken off on the stretcher,” Luton said in a statement. “He received further treatment inside the stadium, for which we once again thank the medical teams from both sides. “Tom was transferred…