Author: admin@primenews

At least 11 people have been killed after heavy rain and winds hit South Africa’s Western Cape province, including Cape Town, over the weekend leaving a trail of destruction. Authorities warn that the death toll may rise as the floodwater subsides. The destructive weather flooded homes, tore off roofs, destroyed crops and damaged roads and other infrastructure. Rescue teams are still searching for people who are feared trapped in their partially submerged homes. Eight of the 11 people who died were electrocuted in an informal settlement when waters swamped illegal connections to the power lines. Seventy-two primary school pupils and…

Germany has banned the far-right sect Artgemeinschaft for spreading Nazi ideology to children and young people. The country’s interior minister called the group “deeply racist and antisemitic” and said it was trying “to raise new enemies of the constitution”. Artgemeinschaft used Nazi-era literature and cultural events to spread its ideology. Police have raided dozens of homes and offices linked to the group in 12 German states. “This is another hard blow against right-wing extremism and against the intellectual arsonists who continue to spread Nazi ideologies to this day,” German interior minister Nancy Faeser said. Artgemeinschaft roughly translates to “racial community”…

An Australian man has been ordered to pay compensation to the police after he faked his own kidnapping. Paul Iera, from Wollongong in New South Wales (NSW), came up with the plot in order to spend New Year’s Eve with another woman instead of his partner. A court ordered the 35-year-old to pay A$16,218 (£8,506; $10,334) to NSW police for their investigation work. The Wollongong magistrate said Iera was “motivated by the least compelling reason he has ever come across”. On 31 December 2022, Iera sent a text message to his partner claiming to be from his kidnappers. The text…

Activists in Australia are trying to stop oil and gas company Woodside Energy from conducting seismic blasting off the country’s western coast, which they say could deafen and ultimately kill endangered migratory whales. The court challenge is part of a long-running campaign by Indigenous and environmental activists to frustrate Woodside’s plans for “Scarborough,” a massive fossil fuel project set to pump out carbon emissions for decades even as Australia attempts to meet tougher climate targets. Earlier this month, Marthudunera woman Raelene Cooper sought an injunction to delay the blasting, but that order is due to expire on Thursday, allowing Woodside to resume…

The message that vaping is 95% safer than smoking has backfired, encouraging some children to vape, says a top health expert. Dr Mike McKean treats children with lung conditions and is vice-president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He says the 2015 public messaging should have been clearer – vapes are only for adults addicted to cigarettes. Evidence on the possible health risks of vaping is still being gathered. In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Dr McKean said: “Vaping is not for children and young people. In fact it could be very bad for you,” although…

GB News has suspended host Laurence Fox after he denigrated a journalist and asked what “self-respecting man” would “climb into bed” with her. His comments were made in a live discussion after PoliticsJOE reporter Ava Evans said on the BBC that calls for a minister for men “feed into the culture war”. Evans said Fox’s remarks made her feel “physically sick”. GB News said it would formally apologise to Evans. The broadcaster distanced itself from Fox’s comments shortly after they were aired, with a statement describing the remarks as “totally unacceptable”. In a later statement issued on Wednesday morning, a…

The controversial Rosebank offshore development off Shetland has been granted consent by regulators. Located 80 miles west of Shetland, Rosebank is the UK’s largest untapped oil field and is estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil. Development and production approval has been given to owners Equinor and Ithaca Energy, following reassurances over environmental concerns. The plan has faced widespread criticism due to its impact on climate change. Supporters of the project say it is vital for the energy security as it will reduce reliance on imports. And Gilad Myerson, the executive chairman of Ithaca Energy, told BBC Radio 4’s Today…

North Korea has decided “to expel” US Army Private Travis King, who had crossed into the North from South Korea during a tour of the joint security area in July, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. “The relevant organ of the DPRK decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Army who illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK, under the law of the Republic,” KCNA said. The report said the investigation into King “has been finished.” North Korea claimed that King has “confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harbored…

The inauguration of two new electricity-generating units in Zimbabwe’s Hwange power station last month was not an unfamiliar scene when it comes to major infrastructure projects in Africa. There, in a rural corner of the southern African nation, government officials and the Chinese ambassador gathered to ribbon-cut and laud the expansion of the coal-fired plant meant to reduce power cuts in the country – and Beijing’s role in funding it. The project, backed by roughly $1 billion in Chinese loans years before Beijing stopped funding new coal-powered projects overseas, is one of the continent’s numerous big-ticket projects bankrolled by Chinese lenders under leader Xi Jinping’s…

Evergrande Group has just missed another bond payment, casting further doubt over the future of the embattled property developer at the epicenter of China’s real estate crisis. Hengda Real Estate, Evergrande’s flagship unit in mainland China, missed principal and interest payments on Monday on an onshore 4 billion yuan ($547 million) bond, the company said in a filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Evergrande, which had total liabilities of $328 billion at the end of June, first defaulted on its debt in 2021, sparking a crisis that continues to weigh on China’s vast property sector. News that it had missed another payment rattled investors,…