Author: admin@primenews

The first transatlantic flight powered only by sustainable fuels is due to take off on Tuesday morning. Operated by Virgin Atlantic, it will fly from London’s Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport at 11:30 GMT. Airlines see the flight, which is supported by government funding, as demonstrating that a greener way of flying is possible. But a lack of supply remains a challenge, while other technology will be needed to hit emissions targets. So-called sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) can be made from a variety of sources, including crops, household waste and cooking oils. For this flight, a Boeing 787 will…

Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January, in an effort to curb nicotine addiction in children. New laws to stop single-use vapes from being made, advertised, and supplied in the country will also be introduced. It comes amid a broader push to phase out recreational vaping completely. Vaping has been marketed as a way to quit smoking, but Australia’s health minister says it has created a “new generation of nicotine dependency”. Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are lithium battery-powered devices that have cartridges filled with liquids containing nicotine, artificial flavourings, and a range of other chemicals. It has been illegal…

Israel’s president has told Elon Musk he has “an important role” in preventing antisemitism, which both he and his social media platform X have been accused of promoting. Addressing the entrepreneur, Isaac Herzog said social media “including some you lead – harbor so much of the age-old disease of antisemitism”. On Monday Mr Musk visited a kibbutz Hamas targeted in its deadly attack. He toured the Kfar Aza with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Musk was shown footage of the 7 October attacks on Israel by Hamas, in which 1,200 people died and 240 were taken hostage, including brutal…

Six teenagers have gone on trial in Paris for their alleged roles in the murder of a teacher, Samuel Paty. The children are accused of slander and pointing out Mr Paty to his killer, a Chechen refugee, at the school. They were aged between 13 and 15 at the time of the killing in 2020, with the trial happening behind closed doors. Local media report that the suspects, who face up to 2.5 years in prison, hid their identities as they arrived at the juvenile court on Monday. Mr Paty was stabbed and beheaded on 16 October 2020 after reportedly…

As Arnold Dix says, this ranks as the “toughest” tunnel rescue operation he’s ever encountered. Mr Dix, an Australian underground expert summoned as a consultant by the Indian government, has been spending days and nights outside an under-construction road tunnel in Uttarakhand, where 41 workers have been trapped for more than a fortnight now. The Silkyara tunnel is part of a $1.5bn (£1.19bn), 890km-long flagship Char Dham project connecting key Hindu pilgrim sites through two-lane paved roads in the Himalayan state. Efforts to clear the 60m blockage and create an exit passage for trapped workers using crawl-out pipes, have faced numerous…

Toxic pollutants released during gas flaring are endangering millions more people than previously feared, a BBC investigation suggests. Flaring – the burning of waste gas during oil drilling – is taking place across the Gulf, including by COP28 hosts the United Arab Emirates. New research suggests pollution is spreading hundreds of miles, worsening air quality across the entire region. It comes as the UAE hosts the UN’s COP28 climate summit on Thursday. The UAE banned flaring 20 years ago, but images show it is continuing, despite the potential health consequences for its inhabitants and those in neighbouring countries. Analysis for…

ByteDance has confirmed that it will significantly downsize its gaming business after reports of job cuts. The Beijing-based company, which also owns popular social network TikTok, entered the gaming market in 2019 to compete with industry leader Tencent. But it has failed to grab market share. The BBC understands that games with active players, such as Crystal of Atlan and Earth: Revival will continue. Titles which have not yet launched will be shut down in December. The decision will likely impact hundreds of employees. A spokesperson from ByteDance told the BBC the company regularly reviews its business and it has…

West Midlands Police is not carrying out its investigations effectively or managing the risk to the public by sex offenders, inspectors have said. The force was also not managing the risk posed by online child abusers properly or effectively keeping domestic abuse victims safe. The government will now monitor the force closely and insist it meets with its inspectors regularly. The PCC and chief constable said they completely disagreed with the decision. The police force’s monitoring level has been escalated to “Engage”, an enhanced form of monitoring, as it is “not effectively addressing the inspectorate’s concerns”, inspectors said. It added…

If you’re struggling to start or maintain a regular exercise regimen, the answer may be sitting faithfully at your feet. Walking your dog is a fantastic way to get in shape, and it benefits both you and your pooch. Some 69 million US households are home to at least one dog. Yet many dog owners never take their pets on a walk, or do so infrequently. Additionally, while 61% of dog owners walked their pup at least 10 minutes at a time, according to a 2011 survey in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, only 27% walked their dog 150 minutes per…

Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, withdrew from the race to become Taiwan’s next president on Friday, just hours before the deadline to formally register as a candidate. “I have never yielded in the battlefield of international business,” Gou said in a statement, without providing a specific reason for the retreat. “For the future of the Republic of China, choosing to yield is all the love I can give to my homeland,” Gou added, referencing Taiwan’s official name. In a separate Facebook post on Friday, Gou’s running mate Tammy Lai also confirmed that the pair would “not…