Author: admin@primenews

“I removed the last rock and saw them. Then I went to the other side. They hugged us, lifted us. And thanked us for taking them out,” Munna Qureshi told reporters on Tuesday evening after coming out of a Himalayan tunnel in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. He was among a dozen or so workers who cleared the last stretch of debris by hand to help free 41 workers who had been trapped in the under-construction 4.5km (3-mile) Silkyara tunnel for more than 16 days. A landslide had caused a portion of the tunnel – part of the $1.5bn…

You are going to be hearing a lot about COP28 over the next two weeks. The world’s most important climate meeting, beginning on Thursday, is being hosted in Dubai by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – one of the world’s top ten oil producers. COP28 will be the biggest gathering of world leaders of the year. King Charles III and Rishi Sunak will be there, along with dozens of other world leaders and some 70,000 other attendees. Hosting a climate conference in a petrostate was already controversial – but the BBC’s evidence that the UAE team planned to use climate talks…

North Korea has declared it’s got the White House in its sights thanks to its new spy satellite – which the regime says is up and running, although the West has its doubts. Still, leader Kim Jong Un has been crowing over his new surveillance toy; and he’s been happily sharing the alleged results. Reports put out by state media on Tuesday trumpeted a list of targets the North says it’s seen: the White House, the Pentagon and air force bases along the US north-east coast and in its Pacific territory of Guam. Closer to home, Pyongyang also listed South…

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a class action lawsuit in the US over his promotion of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The plaintiffs claim his endorsement led them to make loss-making investments. They are seeking damages of “a sum exceeding” $1bn (£790m). The BBC has contacted both Ronaldo’s management company and Binance for comment. In November 2022, Binance announced its first “CR7” collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with Ronaldo, which the footballer said would reward fans “for all the years of support”. NFTs are virtual assets that can be bought and sold, but which have no real-world…

A major Dutch political party has said it will not enter talks with anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders about forming a coalition cabinet for now. The New Social Contract party said Mr Wilders’s election manifesto risked breaching the Dutch constitution. Mr Wilders’s Freedom party (PVV) last week shocked critics by winning a dramatic general election victory but failed to secure a majority. To become prime minister, he needs the backing of other parties. The Netherlands, a founding member of what is now the EU, has the bloc’s fifth-largest economy. The New Social Contract (NSC) party’s leader, Pieter Omtzigt, said he had…

Premier League clubs have continued to play two footballers, and kept a boss in post, while knowing they are under police investigation for sexual or domestic violence. Alleged victims told the BBC that the Football Association (FA) and Premier League prioritise commercial interests over the safety of women. They describe a culture of fear associated with speaking out. The football bodies say they take sexual misconduct very seriously. Seven out of 20 Premier League clubs have had players or bosses investigated by the police for sexual offences since 2020, the BBC investigation found. The celebrity status of top footballers has…

At least one person was killed Wednesday after a US military Osprey aircraft crashed off the coast of Japan’s Yakushima Island in southern Kagoshima prefecture, according to a spokesperson from the Japan Coast Guard. Six people were on board the aircraft, the Coast Guard said. Previously, officials said eight people had been on board. The spokesperson added that no further information was available on the other individuals on board and the reason behind the crash. The Coast Guard received information about the crash around 2:47 p.m. local time (12:47 a.m. ET), said the spokesperson, adding the 10th Regional Coast Guard…

Kenya’s parliament has banned the wearing of a suit, named after the late Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, within the building. Speaker of Parliament Moses Wetangula said Kaunda suits, as well as traditional African clothes, were not welcome. Kenyan President William Ruto often wears them on official occasions. This has made the Kaunda suit – a safari jacket with matching trousers – popular with the political class. The suit is named after the late Zambian president who loved wearing them and made them popular among political leaders across sub-Saharan Africa. The suit, which is also referred to as the Mao Zedong…

Beyoncé’s mum has called out “sad little haters” who suggested the star lightened her skin for the premiere of her Renaissance film. The singer went for a platinum blonde hair look and wore a silver dress at the red carpet event on Saturday. Some criticised Beyoncé on social media for changing her appearance and said she “looks so white”. In a long Instagram post, Tina Knowles defended her daughter and said the comments were racist. She also said people accusing Beyoncé of lightening her skin were “stupid”, “ignorant” and “self-hating”. “She does a film, called the Renaissance, where the whole…

French hotelier Michel Chertouh arrived in Hong Kong during an unusual time: it was 2021 and the city was in the thick of pandemic lockdowns. Even the taxi driver picking him up from his quarantine hotel was curious. “Welcome to Hong Kong. What brings you to town?” he asked. “I’m working on a project to bring the Regent back to Hong Kong,” Chertouh replied. “Regent? That’s super luxury!” said the elated taxi driver, who then proceeded to share a series of tales about the famed city hotel and its place in the history of modern Hong Kong. Chertouh is now…