Author: admin@primenews

Kosovo and Serbia have traded accusations over a deadly stand-off between ethnic Serb gunmen and police in northern Kosovo. One policeman and three of the gunmen were killed during a siege of a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Banjska village on Sunday. Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti accused Serbia of supporting the armed group. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Kosovo officials bore ultimate responsibility for the deaths. He said the three gunmen killed were Kosovo Serbs. Sunday’s clash marks one of the gravest escalations in Kosovo for years, and follows months of mounting tension between the two sides. Kosovo declared independence in…

Amazon is set to introduce adverts to its Prime Video streaming service in 2024 as it seeks to put more cash into creating TV shows and films. UK Prime customers, along with those in the US, Germany and Canada, will see ads early next year unless they subscribe for an “ad-free” option at an additional cost. In a statement, Amazon said Prime Video still offered “very compelling value”. It follows similar moves by rivals including Disney+ and Netflix. Amazon said that the ads would be introduced across France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Australia later in 2024. It will roll out…

The South Korean star Suga, a member of the phenomenally successful boy band BTS, has begun his mandatory military service, he confirmed on social media. The singer, whose real name is Min Yoon-gi, is the third member of the band to enlist, after Jin and J-Hope. “I will faithfully complete my duty and come back,” he posted online. As South Korea is still technically at war with North Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the army by the time they turn 28. For a long time, it was rumoured that the government might allow the members of…

When Rupert Murdoch started his career, he was young, hungry and desperate to claw back his family’s stake in Australia’s news business. Known as “the boy publisher” – the 22-year-old had inherited a paper in the small city of Adelaide from his father, and a plan to take on the international media. The 92-year-old is arguably Australia’s most successful businessman internationally, and his unashamed quest for influence has underpinned his success. “His genius has been to discover different ways in which his two passions – a desire for money and a thirst for power – can be combined,” is how…

A leading activist in China’s MeToo movement has gone on trial for subversion, according to campaigners. Journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin appeared in court in the southern city of Guangzhou on Friday with her co-accused, labour campaigner Wang Jianbing. The two were detained in 2021 as part of China’s wide crackdown on activists. Rights groups have raised concern over their condition while in detention. Ms Huang, 35, had been sleep deprived and malnourished, a friend told news website Radio Free Asia. Friday’s hearing proceeded under heavy guard, with authorities surrounding the court house with a fence, said the spokesperson of a…

A massive teachers’ strike in Nepal has entered its third day, disrupting classes for millions of students across all public schools. About 110,000 teachers are protesting an education reform bill in parliament. They are against proposals to give local governments oversight of schools and a ban on teachers joining groups with political affiliations. On Thursday, scores of protesters marched towards the parliament building in the capital, Kathmandu. Anti-riot police armed with sticks pushed pack as the protesters tried to push past a steel barricade. Students and parents are calling for an end to the unrest so that classes can resume.…

Parents across the US are beginning to face the struggles of a second winter without enough amoxicillin, the most prescribed antibiotic in the country. Liquid formulations of the drug — first-line treatments for children with strep throat, chest and sinus infections, and earaches — are still in short supply, according to the US Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database. And there’s no relief in sight. “It is a problem. Respiratory illness season is coming up, and that’s going to be a huge issue,” said David Margraf, a pharmaceutical research scientist with the University of Minnesota’s Resilient Drug Supply Project. Amoxicillin capsules and…

Warner Bros. Discovery has announced plans for a major expansion of the UK studios where “Barbie” — its biggest movie of all time — was filmed. The expansion will increase the production capacity at the studios in the Leavesden area, on the outskirts of London, by more than 50%. The investment is expected to create 4,000 “direct and indirect” jobs across the United Kingdom, the company said Friday. The site will become the main production hub for the DC Studios franchise once the expansion is completed in 2027, it said in a statement. “Barbie” is Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing US release, a title…

Corporate America’s leaders are mentally preparing for an especially long and chaotic government shutdown. Executives worry a protracted government shutdown will only add uncertainty to an already confusing business environment. In an era of persistent inflation, labor strikes and rising borrowing costs, they argue it would be another headache – and a self-inflicted one at that. “We are deeply concerned,” Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the US Chamber of Commerce, told CNN in a phone interview. “The concern is growing – almost by the day – because once we are in a shutdown there doesn’t seem to be a clear path out.” That…

For nearly nine months, tens of thousands of Israelis have protested every week against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary, concerned that it risks severely curtailing the powers of the Supreme Court, the only body that provides a check on the executive and legislative branches of government. Meanwhile, watching and worrying from the sidelines, many Palestinians fear a weakened Supreme Court could lead to the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and the eventual annexation of the territory they want for a future state. Most Israelis have cited the erosion of democracy and human rights in protesting the overhaul,…