Author: admin@primenews

At least 100 people have died and 150 others injured after a fire broke out at a wedding in northern Iraq. Hundreds of people were celebrating in Al-Hamdaniya in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province when fire tore through the venue late on Tuesday evening. It is not yet known what caused the blaze, but early reports say it broke out after fireworks were lit. It was not clear if the bride and the groom were among the dead or injured. Initial reports in Iraqi media said they had died in the blaze, with news agency Nina later reporting that they were…

Although Nigeria has vast energy reserves, more than 92 million people in the country live without access to electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. Those who are connected to the electricity grid have to contend with frequent power cuts, which cost the country $28 billion a year – almost 2% of its GDP. As a result, many Nigerians rely on petrol and diesel to fuel the generators that power their homes and businesses. But generators are noisy, expensive, and pollute the air. Fuel shortages were a key issue in Nigeria’s recent presidential election and have made it increasingly difficult to run generators. Entrepreneur…

Actor Idris Elba is no stranger to the world of video games, but says he has a new-found appreciation for the art form following his latest role. Elba stars as Solomon Reed in the latest spy-thriller adventure expansion for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Asked if he sees video games becoming a growing medium of work for actors, Elba calls it “a sign of the times”. “Games and actors have always worked together but we’re seeing more notable film actors being moved into gaming.” In recent years the games industry has seen a growing number of A-list actors and celebrities taking…

Pressed against the borders of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the southern Kazakh city of Turkistan (or Turkestan) is an ancient archaeological gem perched on the Eurasian Steppe. Fragments of Kazakhstani history are obscured within grand minarets and beneath sandy ruins. The mausoleums of 12th-century Sufi mystics soar into the sky, and colourful bazaars spread acres wide, dotting the rich downtown core with Kazakh art and cuisine. Literally meaning “land of the Turks”, Turkistan was first settled as early as the 6th Century by former Turkic nomads who used it as a caravan stop along the Silk Road. The city once known…

Police across South America are searching for the leader of a Venezuelan gang who escaped from the luxurious prison which he controlled, shortly before it was raided. When 11,000 soldiers and police entered the inmate-run Tocorón jail in Venezuela on Wednesday, Héctor Guerrero Flores was nowhere to be found. Under Guerrero Flores’s rule, Tocorón came to resemble a luxury resort. The jail boasted a small zoo, a nightclub and a swimming pool. The 39-year-old from Aragua state in Venezuela has been in and out of Tocorón prison for more than a decade. In 2012, the leader of the Tren de Aragua…

The captain of a cruise ship which collided with a small tour boat on the River Danube in Budapest, killing 28 people, has been jailed for five years. During a rainstorm in May 2019, the Mermaid, carrying South Korean tourists, sank within seconds of the crash. The Ukrainian captain of the Vikyn Sigyn cruise ship, Yuri Chaplinsky, denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of gross negligence. Chaplinsky is expected to appeal. The disaster was the worst in 30 years on the Danube, Europe’s second-longest river. Hungarian prosecutors told a court on in March 2020 that Chaplinsky had failed to pay…

Britpop trailblazers Pulp have been announced as the headline act for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations. Led by frontman Jarvis Cocker, the Sheffield band will bring in the bells against a backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. It follows a hugely successful reunion and a summer tour which included an unforgettable set at TRNSMT in Glasgow. Cocker said: “When your grandkids ask ‘Do you remember the first time Pulp played Edinburgh’s Hogmanay?’ What will your answer be?” He added: “Come along and start 2024 in the very best way possible. Oh yes.” The band’s set at the Concert in the Gardens in West Princes…

Five people accused of being part of a Russian spy ring operating in the UK have appeared in court. Bulgarian nationals Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Ivan Stoyanov, and Vanya Gaberova allegedly conspired to gather information which would be useful to an enemy. The allegations cover the period between August 2020 and February 2023. They did not enter pleas at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and were remanded in custody. The five suspects appeared in court on Tuesday via video link from four different prisons, and remained silent other than confirming their names and dates of birth. Met Police counter-terrorism officers…

Water companies have been ordered to pay back £114m to customers through lower bills after missing key targets. Ofwat, the industry regulator, said that firms are “falling short” on performance measures around leakages, supply and reducing pollution. It said that following a review, millions of pounds would be returned to households by cutting bills. Ofwat said in its assessment that not one company reached the highest measure of performance. Dŵr Cymru, Southern, Thames, Anglian, Bristol, South East and Yorkshire Water fell into the lowest category of “lagging” and the remaining 10 were rated “average”. None were considered “leading”. The regulator…

Global demand for oil, natural gas and coal is likely to peak by 2030 — an “encouraging” development but “not nearly enough” to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday. Planet-heating pollution from the energy sector is also set to peak this decade, the IEA said in an update to its landmark “Net Zero Roadmap” report. But “keeping alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius requires the world to come together quickly,” said Fatih Birol, the agency’s executive director. Scientists consider warming of 1.5 degrees a threshold beyond which…