Author: admin@primenews

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Shia Islamist group Hezbollah, is expected to address his followers on Friday, his first public comments since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. The speech is likely to indicate the group’s next moves, as its fighters and the Israeli army are engaged in intense attacks on the Lebanon-Israel border. This has raised fears the area could become another front in the conflict. So far, however, the violence has largely been contained. Since Hamas carried out the 7 October attacks on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people, Lebanon has been on edge, closely watching Hezbollah.…

An Australian woman accused of murdering her former in-laws and another woman with poisonous mushrooms has faced a court for the first time. Erin Patterson, 49, was charged with three counts of murder and five of attempted murder on Thursday. The murder charges relate to a family lunch she hosted in July at her home in Leongatha, Victoria. Three of the five attempted murder charges concern incidents between 2021-22. Ms Patterson maintains her innocence. She appeared briefly in court on Friday, where her case was adjourned until 3 May to give prosecutors time to analyse computer equipment seized from her…

Authorities in the Indian capital, Delhi, have shut all primary schools for two days amid worsening levels of air pollution. Air quality in the city dropped to severe levels for the first time this season on Thursday. It is expected deteriorate further in the next two weeks, scientists say. Delhi’s environment minister has called an emergency meeting to review the situation. The capital is one of the world’s most polluted cities. Delhi’s air turns especially toxic in winter due to various factors, including burning of crop remains by farmers, low wind speeds and bursting of firecrackers during festivals. The city’s…

Sam Bankman-Fried, who once ran one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, has been found guilty of fraud and money laundering at the end of a month-long trial in New York. The jury delivered its verdict after just four hours of deliberations. It concludes a stunning fall from grace for the 31-year-old former billionaire and one of the most public faces of the crypto industry. Bankman-Fried was arrested last year after his firm, FTX, went bankrupt. He now faces decades in prison. His sentencing has been set for 28 March 2024. “Sam Bankman-Fried perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds…

Comedian Taylor Tomlinson is set to host a new show on the CBS network, making her the only female late-night host in the US. After Midnight will air next year after The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, filling a gap left by the exit of James Corden. Tomlinson, 29, has gained prominence from two Netflix stand-up specials – Quarter Life Crisis and Look at You. The comic will become the youngest late-night host by more than 20 years. She joins the likes of NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Kimmel at ABC on the late-night circuit and fills…

An award-winning poet found dead after he went missing at a music festival will receive a posthumous degree, his family has revealed. Gboyega Odubanjo, 27, was last seen at the Shambala Festival in Northamptonshire on 26 August. He was due to perform the next day but did not arrive for his set, and was discovered dead five days later. Gboyega had been studying for a PhD in creative writing at the University of Hertfordshire at the time of his death. His brother Yomi and sister Rose say they will be attending his graduation in February, where he will be awarded…

M&S has apologised after being accused of posting an Instagram photo of Christmas party hats in the colours of the Palestinian flag on fire. The image, an out-take from one of the company’s TV adverts, showed red, green and silver hats burning in a fireplace. M&S said the intent was to “playfully show that some people don’t enjoy wearing paper Christmas hats”. The company removed the photo and said the advert was filmed in August, before the latest Israel-Gaza conflict began. It said the hats were “traditional, festive coloured red, green and silver Christmas paper hats”. “We have removed the…

Schitt’s Creek actress Emily Hampshire has apologised for dressing up as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard with a friend for Halloween. Hampshire, 42, told her Instagram followers she was “sorry and ashamed”. In a now-deleted post, Hampshire was seen styled as Depp, with drawn-on facial hair and tattoos, while her friend screwed up her face in mock distress as the actor’s ex-wife. Former couple Depp and Heard both accused each other of domestic abuse. Hampshire, who played Stevie Budd in sitcom Schitt’s Creek, described the costume as “one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things” she had ever done.…

Popular Punjabi rapper Shubhneet Singh has asked people to stop spreading “hate and negativity” after a controversy broke out over a hoodie he held up at a concert in London. Some Indian social media users claimed the hoodie had imagery supporting the Sikh separatist movement. The Canada-based singer said a fan threw it at him and he did not see what was on it before displaying it. The issue of Sikh separatism is a sensitive topic in India. The rapper – known to fans as Shubh – has previously been in controversies over the issue. In September, his India tour was…

Thousands of rideshare drivers in New York may be eligible to receive significant back pay from Uber and Lyft as part of a settlement announced by the state attorney general on Thursday. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced two settlement funds totaling $328 million with rideshare companies Uber and Lyft for allegedly “cheating drivers out of hundreds of millions of dollars” in earnings, according to a statement from her office. The settlements come as the result of multi-year investigations from the state attorney general’s office into Uber and Lyft, which found the companies’ policies withheld certain pay from drivers…