Author: admin@primenews

Take a close look at a video of Sunday’s “collision” between a Philippine coastguard ship and a Chinese maritime militia vessel in the South China Sea. As the stern of one bumps the deck of the other, right in the middle of the frame is a Filipino television crew scrambling to get what in the business is called an “action piece to camera”. The confrontation between Manila and Beijing over submerged shoals in the South China Sea has been going on for decades. But in recent months something has changed. The spats at sea are now unfolding in the full glare…

She’s recorded three James Bond theme songs and boasts a career spanning seven decades, but Dame Shirley Bassey’s huge fame means other black Welsh singers are “forgotten about”, say some in the industry. “Recognition for black Welsh musicians hasn’t been helped by the fact that there’s one very famous singer who overshadows everybody,” rapper Lemfreck said. “They pull out Shirley Bassey every time they need to pull out a black icon,” said musician Dionne Bennett. The comments were made in new documentary, Black Music Wales. Fronted by Newport rapper Lemfreck, the programme explores the history of Welsh black music, from…

Days after the United States’ shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, which culminated in President Joe Biden’s historic wartime visit to Israel, China has started its own diplomatic hustling in a region teetering on the brink of a wider conflict. Zhai Jun, Beijing’s special envoy to the Middle East, has embarked on a whirlwind tour of the region aimed at promoting peace talks between Israel and Hamas – even though Beijing still refuses to condemn or even name the Palestinian militant group in any of its statements. Zhai has traveled to Qatar and attended a peace summit in Egypt, calling for a ceasefire, humanitarian access to Gaza and reiterating China’s support for a two-state…

Three top Chinese pharmaceutical companies, which are backed by top global banks, are using endangered animal parts in their medicines, according to an investigation by an environmental protection group. In a Monday report, the Environmental Investigation Agency UK (EIA) said it had found 72 companies licensed by China’s drug regulator to be using body parts of leopards and pangolins, two species that face the threat of extinction. Among them are three publicly listed traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) giants: Beijing Tong Ren Tang, Tianjin Pharmaceutical and Jilin Aodong Medicine. The EIA said it had found at least nine “products stated to contain…

The bodies of three children lie on a steel tray inside what appears to be a Gaza hospital morgue, one leg of their trousers pushed up to reveal writing in black ink on their skin. “We received some cases where the parents wrote the names of their children on the legs and abdomen,” Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Masri, the head of the emergency department Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told CNN. He said parents were worried that “anything could happen,” and no one would be able to identify their children. “This means that they feel they are targeted at any moment and…

Former London gangster-turned-actor Dave Courtney has died aged 64. Mr Courtney, who claimed to be an associate of the notorious Kray twins, was found dead at his home on Chestnut Rise, Plumstead, in the early hours of Sunday. A post announcing his death on his Instagram account said Mr Courtney “took his own life”. It said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Dave Courtney at the age of 64.” Mr Courtney was rumoured to be the inspiration behind Vinnie Jones’s character in Guy Ritchie’s gangster film Lock, Stock, And Two Smoking Barrels. He swapped his life of…

The mountain chicken frog was once so abundant in Dominica, with thousands found across the island, that it became a national delicacy, supposedly tasting of chicken. Now, a new survey has found only 21 left in the Caribbean island nation. The species’ population has declined over 99% since 2002 when Chytridiomycosis struck, according to the Zoological Society of London, or ZSL. Chytridiomycosis is a fungal infectious disease that affects more than 500 frog species across the world. The species once lived across seven Caribbean islands, but researchers believe that Dominica is the last place on Earth where the frogs can be found in the…

A teenage Iranian girl who fell into a coma after she was allegedly assaulted by the country’s morality police for not wearing a headscarf is “brain dead,” state-aligned media said. Armita Geravand, 16, was hospitalized with head injuries following the alleged assault at a Tehran metro station earlier this month, according to activists, just weeks after Iran passed draconian legislation imposing much harsher penalties on women who breach the country’s already strict hijab rules. “Follow-ups on the latest health condition of Armita Geravand indicate that her condition of being brain dead seems certain despite the efforts of the medical staff,” the state-aligned…

A second convoy of desperately needed aid entered Gaza on Sunday as Israel widened its offensive against Hamas and its regional enemies, intensifying airstrikes on the besieged enclave, targeting the occupied West Bank and striking Hezbollah cells in Lebanon. Overnight strikes on Sunday appeared to be the most sustained bombardment of northern Gaza in the past two weeks, according to a CNN team on the ground in southern Israel, and come as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) prepares for a potential large ground operation, with huge numbers of troops and tanks amassed at the border. At least 26 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the Jabalia refugee…

In a surprise to absolutely nobody, Taylor Swift was back in Kansas City on Sunday to support Travis Kelce at his football game. Wearing a red Kansas City Chiefs t-shirt and a black cheerleader-inspired miniskirt, Swift appeared on CBS’s broadcast at Arrowhead Stadium watching the team play the Los Angeles Chargers. She was seen embracing Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, after Kelce made a big play on the field. The singer was also seen hanging out with former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar before the game, according to a photo he posted on social media. Sunday marked the fourth time…