Author: admin@primenews

Wikipedia’s top 25 most viewed pages in 2023, released Tuesday, reflect the world’s interest in innovation in artificial intelligence, people who died this year and the growing power of Indian users to influence trends on the website. Run by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia has received more than 84 billion page views so far in 2023, according to data the foundation shared with CNN. Given its massive surge in popularity, the page about OpenAI’s virtual chatbot ChatGPT was the most viewed page on Wikipedia this year, amassing more than 49.4 million page views. ChatGPT set a record for the fastest-growing user base this past February, amassing 100…

Israel believes that it has killed two Palestinian civilians for every Hamas militant in its intense campaign to eliminate the armed group from the Gaza Strip, a ratio an IDF spokesperson described to CNN Monday as “tremendously positive.” The AFP news agency first reported the Israeli assessment on Monday, citing a briefing for foreign media by senior Israeli military officials. Asked about reports that about 5,000 Hamas militants had been killed since October 7, one of the officials replied, according to AFP: “The numbers are more or less right.” Asked by CNN’s Erin Burnett about the details that emerged in the briefing,…

Members of SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood actors union, have ratified a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents major studios and streamers, the union said on Tuesday. SAG-AFTRA members voted to ratify the contract with about 78% in favor. The union said about 38% of members turned out to vote. The agreement expires on June 30, 2026. “SAG-AFTRA members have remained incredibly engaged throughout this process, and I know they’ll continue their advocacy throughout our next negotiation cycle,” union president Fran Drescher said in a statement. “The AMPTP member companies congratulate SAG-AFTRA on the ratification…

Muhammad Fadli was near the peak of Mount Marapi when the ground started to shake on Sunday afternoon. When he heard the rumbling, he and three friends hid behind a pile of rocks for safety. But another the size of a human fist came flying towards him. “I dodged it with my empty hand, it broke my finger,” he told BBC News Indonesia. Another rock then broke his leg. The rumbling sound marked the beginning of Mount Marapi’s eruption on Sunday. The volcano spewed a 3km (9,800ft) ash cloud into the air, shrouding surrounding villages in ash. Twenty-two people died…

Nimisha Priya, barely 19, left the southern Indian state of Kerala for Yemen in 2008 with big dreams. She had found work as a nurse in a government-run hospital in the capital Saan’a and told her mother, a poorly-paid domestic helper, that their days of hardships would be over soon. Fifteen years later, that dream has turned into a nightmare for Nimisha and her family. The 34-year-old is on death row for murdering a local man, Talal Abdo Madhi. She’s counting out her days in Sana’a central jail in the capital of the war-torn country. On 13 November, Yemen’s Supreme…

In the shaky mobile phone footage, women’s voices can be heard panicking. The camera moves in and out of focus, positioned through a crack in a door frame. Across the yard, Pakistani police are outside a property, looking for undocumented foreigners. The officers flip through papers as several men sit expectantly inside. Then the video cuts out. Across Pakistan, unannounced arrivals of police are becoming increasingly common in a crackdown on hundreds of thousands of foreigners who do not have the right documents to stay. The vast majority affected are Afghans, who now face the threat of deportation. Many have…

Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has been named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year. Messi joined Miami in July and scored 11 goals in 14 games in all competitions to help them lift the Leagues Cup, their first ever trophy. The 36-year-old also won the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in October. “Lionel Messi this year managed to do what once seemed impossible, when he signed with Inter Miami: turning the US into a soccer country,” read Time.’ The magazine said Messi’s arrival had driven a surge in attendances, ticket prices, merchandise sales and viewership of MLS games. The…

The risks from China’s debt pile are mounting as the country grapples with an economic slowdown and property crisis, a leading credit ratings agency has said. Moody’s issued the warning as it cut its outlook on the government’s debt to negative, from stable. The firm is the latest to raise concern about problems facing the world’s second-largest economy. China said it was disappointed by the move, calling the economy resilient. The country has signalled plans to ramp up stimulus spending, as it battles soaring youth unemployment, weaker global demand hitting its manufacturing industry and deepening woes in the property sector.…

K-pop superstars Blackpink have renewed their agency contract as a group, ensuring that the quartet will continue to perform together. This follows months of contract negotiations that have left millions of fans around the world on edge. In a statement on Wednesday, YG Entertainment said “an exclusive contract for group activities based on strong trust” has been signed. Blackpink, formed in 2016, have become the world’s biggest K-pop girl group. The agency also said Blackpink plans to “repay their fans around the world with activities that match their global status in the K-POP scene with new albums and world tours”.…

The UN climate change conference in Dubai is close to a big breakthrough on reducing the gases heating our planet, its United Arab Emirates hosts believe. Expressing “cautious optimism”, the UAE negotiating team believes COP28 is gearing up to commit to phasing down fossil fuels over coming decades. Maybe even ditching them altogether. Hosting a climate conference in a petrostate sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but there are signs that it could deliver real progress on climate. Surely working out how to get rid of fossil fuels is what this UN climate conference is all about, you…