Author: admin@primenews

Senate Republicans have blocked a move to pass an aid bill for Ukraine after failing to secure border compromises they sought in exchange. The $110bn (£87.3bn) package included $61bn for Ukraine, as well as funds for Israel and aid for Gaza. Republicans are insisting that any aid to Ukraine be tied to sweeping US immigration and asylum reforms. The White House has warned that US funds for Ukraine could soon run out. Senators voted 51 to 49 against advancing the bill, with 60 votes needed. The vote throws uncertainty into the future of aid for Ukraine and sends lawmakers back…

When Yasmin Fatoum set sail to Indonesia with her two young children, she was hoping to escape squalid and violent conditions in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazaar – the world’s largest refugee camp, and home to about one million Rohingya Muslims. But before the flimsy boat that she shared with about 250 other Rohingyas landed on the shores of Aceh province, Ms Fatoum, 25, saw her dream of a better life turn into another nightmare. Angry villagers, who see the refugees as a strain on local resources, blocked the boat and pushed it back to sea twice. Video footage seen by the…

Police say three people have been killed in a shooting at the Las Vegas campus of the University of Nevada (UNLV) on Wednesday morning. Officers struck and killed the suspect, who remains unnamed, in a shootout. One other victim remains in a critical condition at a local hospital, police said in a statement. UNLV and all other southern Nevada System of Higher Education institutions across the state will be closed for the rest of Wednesday. The university first tweeted at around 11:53 local time (19:53 GMT) that police were responding to reports of shots fired on campus. About 20 minutes…

McDonald’s has announced the details of its new restaurant idea, CosMc’s, which would operate in the same market segment as Starbucks. Its pilot will open this month in a part of Chicago, with a plan to be in about ten locations by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, the fast-food giant also plans to open about 10,000 McDonald’s restaurants globally by 2027, with many of those in China. The expansion would boost the number of stores to about 50,000. The first CosMc’s is due to open in Bolingbrook, Illinois later this week, with about 10 more to open in Texas in…

On a chilly and foggy winter day, hundreds of apple farmers in Pulwama district of Indian-administered Kashmir stored their harvest in a temporary tin shelter installed at the fruit market, anticipating the arrival of traders who would purchase their produce. The farmers were anxious as the quality of apples this year had not been the best and would affect the price they’d get. Kashmir is known in India for its variety of apples. But a series of challenges – from the onslaught of fungal scab, the impact of climate change, and a range of economic hurdles – has thrown the…

The US has grounded its entire fleet of V-22 Osprey helicopters after a report said a crash off the coast of Japan last week, which killed eight crewmembers, was due to a malfunction. Air Force and Navy officials said they had taken the step “to mitigate risk while the investigation continues”. Not all of the remains of service members killed in the crash have been recovered yet. Japan grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys after the crash as well. Japan is the only other nation known to operate Ospreys, which operate both as a helicopter and an aircraft with a…

Nvidia is working closely with the US government to ensure new chips for the Chinese market are compliant with export curbs, CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday. The California-based artificial intelligence chip designer has commanded more than 90% share of China’s $7 billion AI chip market, but analysts have said new U.S. curbs on chip exports are likely to create opportunities for Chinese rivals to make inroads. Reuters last month reported Nvidia (NVDA) had told customers in China it was delaying the launch of a new China-focused AI chip until the first quarter of next year. Huang declined to confirm the Reuters article. “Nvidia has been working very closely with the…

A few nights ago, the school in Khirbet Zanuta, a small Palestinian village in the hills south of Hebron, was destroyed along with most of the houses, by a bulldozer. Its tracks lay fresh and undisturbed in the sand when we arrived. The village was empty as its population of about 200 Palestinians left around a month ago, after sustained pressure and threats from armed and aggressive Jewish settlers who live in nearby outposts that are illegal under both Israeli and international law. A twisted metal sign lies in the rubble of the school in Khirbet Zanuta. In bold black…

Campaigners warn that the government will be “on the wrong side of history” if it rejects a new compensation scheme for NHS infected blood scandal victims. Thousands died after being treated with contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. MPs backed plans to set up a new compensation scheme, following a rebellion on Monday by Tory MPs. The Haemophilia Society said a new scheme can be ready by the end of the year if there was the “political will”. Chairman of the Haemophilia Society, Clive Smith, said campaigners have received only “warm words” while the government worked “at a snail’s pace”…

US President Joe Biden and his would-be challenger Donald Trump have been attacking one another as the 2024 White House campaign heats up. Mr Biden said part of his motivation to run for a second term next year is to thwart the Republican, adding that “we cannot let him win”. In a Fox News event, Mr Trump said he thought Mr Biden was too old for such a political rematch. Neither candidate is yet the official nominee of their respective party. Mr Trump is the runaway front-runner in the Republican race even as he faces four criminal cases. Mr Biden, as the incumbent president, is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Current…