Author: admin@primenews

Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have filmed their last episode of motoring show The Grand Tour, after seven years on Amazon Prime. Clarkson, 63, May, 60, and Hammond, 52, have returned from filming in Zimbabwe, with the special set to be shown next year. The BBC understands options are being explored for a new incarnation of the show. Amazon Prime and the three presenters have been approached for comment. The Grand Tour has enjoyed five series, and has been hosted by the trio since their departure from the BBC’s Top Gear show in 2015. The news comes days…

Edinburgh Zoo visitors will be able to see its giant pandas for the final time on Thursday before they are sent back to China. Tian Tian and Yang Guang arrived in Scotland to huge fanfare in 2011. But they are due to return in December under the terms of a 10-year loan, which was extended due to the pandemic. The first giant pandas to live in the UK for 17 years, they touched down in a plane dubbed the “FedEx Panda Express” on 4 December 2011. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which runs the zoo, paid an annual fee…

Google has reached a deal with Canada to avert a news blockade over a law that forces tech giants to pay for news content. Google had vowed to remove links to news in Canada in response to the Online News Act, due to take effect on 19 December. Social media giant Meta is already blocking news on its platforms as a result of the law. The deal comes after months of talks between the search giant and Canada. The law – which is aimed at Google and Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram – requires tech firms to negotiate payment…

A deal that will bring Abu Dhabi-backed investors a step closer to taking control of the Telegraph and Spectator magazine could be agreed as soon as Friday, the BBC understands. The titles were taken over by Lloyds Bank as it sought to recover £1.1bn owed by the owners, the Barclay family. An Abu Dhabi-backed firm this month agreed to pay the sum and take control. It is not clear yet if the deal will be scrutinised but sources said it was “unlikely” to be blocked. Under the terms of the deal, the Barclay family is expected to transfer ownership of…

Nepal has registered its first same-sex marriage, following a protracted legal battle by the couple and activists. Authorities in the western Lumjung district formally registered the union of Maya Gurung, 36, and Surendra Pandey, 26, on Wednesday. It came five months after the Supreme Court issued an interim order allowing same-sex couples to register their marriages. Taiwan is the only other place in Asia that has legalised same-sex marriage. Ms Gurung and Mr Pandey have been together for almost a decade. They wed in a temple ceremony in 2017 and had sought legal recognition of their union since. Ms Gurung…

Seventeen freed Thai hostages are set to return home after being held in captivity by Hamas for nearly 50 days. Their release is separate to an agreement that has so far seen Hamas free 70 Israeli women and children. The extension of the truce has now renewed hope for the release of the remaining nine Thai hostages. Nearly all of the abducted foreign workers were Thais. Israel employs some 30,000 of them as farm labour, making it one of the largest migrant groups. Thirty-nine Thai nationals were among the 1,200 people Hamas killed in its attack on Israel on 7…

The president of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai has denied that his country is using the meeting to make oil and gas deals. The BBC reported on Monday that leaked briefing documents revealed plans by the United Arab Emirates to discuss fossil fuel deals with 15 nations. COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber said at a news conference that the report aimed to undermine his COP28 presidency. “These allegations are false, not true, incorrect and not accurate,” he said. A BBC spokesperson said: “Our investigation was rigorously researched according to highest editorial standards.” As well as being COP28 president, Mr Jaber is…

The US has said it foiled an alleged plot to assassinate an American citizen in New York who advocated for a Sikh separatist state. Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, is accused of trying to hire a hitman for $100,000 (£79,000) in cash. But the hitman was actually an undercover federal agent, prosecutors said. Mr Gupta, 52, is in jail in the Czech Republic pending extradition. The charges carry up to 20 years in prison. He was allegedly directed by an Indian government official who was not named or charged in the indictment. The White House said it had raised the…

Henry Kissinger – who has died, aged 100, at his Connecticut home – divided opinion. A committed practitioner of “realism” in foreign relations, he was both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and roundly condemned as a war criminal. As US National Security Adviser and Secretary of State, he energetically pursued the policy of détente – which thawed relations with the Soviet Union and China. His shuttle diplomacy helped end the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict; and the negotiation of the Paris Peace Accords pulled America out of its long nightmare in Vietnam. But what his supporters described as “Realpolitik”, his critics condemned…

In a profanity-laced outburst, Elon Musk has slammed advertisers that have left X, warning they will kill the social media platform. At an event in New York, he accused companies that have joined an ad boycott of the site formerly known as Twitter of trying to blackmail him. “Go [expletive] yourself,” the billionaire said in an interview. Some firms have paused advertising on X amid concerns over antisemitism, including a post from Mr Musk himself. The Tesla and SpaceX boss apologised on Wednesday for that post, saying it might be the “dumbest” thing he has ever shared online. But it…