Author: admin@primenews

The Indian parliament has passed a bill that guarantees a third of seats for women in the lower house of parliament and state assemblies. But the country is a long way away from seeing more women elected to its legislatures soon since it will be implemented only after India completes the next census and an exercise to redraw the boundaries of constituencies – the complicated processes are expected to take several years. On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha, or the lower house of parliament, approved the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (which loosely translates from Hindi to Saluting Women Power Act) almost…

From the beginning of Russia’s full-on invasion, Warsaw has been a firm supporter of Kyiv. It’s often led the way in sending military aid and equipment, and argued passionately that this support is essential to protect Poland itself from Russian aggression. The change of tone from the Polish government on Ukraine is startling. Now suddenly it feels like the political knives are out for Kyiv. There’s talk of how Ukraine should be “grateful” for Polish support. This week came a warning from Poland’s prime minister about ending weapons transfers, although others in his party then scrambled to soften that message. But there…

The family of a US man who drowned after driving off a collapsed bridge are claiming that he died because Google failed to update its maps. Philip Paxson’s family are suing the company over his death, alleging that Google negligently failed to show the bridge had fallen nine years earlier. Mr Paxson died in September 2022 after attempting to drive over the damaged bridge in Hickory, North Carolina. A spokesperson for Google said the company was reviewing the allegations. The case was filed in civil court in Wake County on Tuesday. Mr Paxson, a father of two, was driving home…

Ozzy Osbourne says he has gone under the surgeon’s knife for the last time, to correct spinal damage he incurred in a late-night fall in 2019. “I can’t believe I’ve come to the end of it,” he told Piers Morgan on Talk TV. “It’s been five years of absolute hell for me and the family.” The star’s fall aggravated an injury he sustained in a quad-bike crash in 2003, affecting his ability to walk. However, he said he would reject any further surgical interventions. “It is going to be the final surgery because I can’t do it any more,” he said…

GB News has said it is continuing to “monitor” allegations against presenter Dan Wootton but that they have not been “proved by an independent body”. Wootton presents a self-titled show on the channel from Mondays to Thursdays. In July, he told viewers he had made “errors of judgement” but strongly denied any criminality. The allegations include that he used fake online identities and offered money to media colleagues for sexually explicit material of themselves. On Tuesday, the chair of the House of Commons media committee wrote to GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos to ask “what, if any, investigations or…

British bird lovers will see a very different pattern of species as the climate warms, according to scientists. They say climate change is bad news for birds, but locally we will see “winners and losers”. Migrants seldom seen on British shores, such as black-winged stilts and bee-eaters, are delighting bird watchers. But populations of cuckoos are “in freefall” as UK wildlife struggles to cope with multiple pressures. In nature-depleted Britain, almost half of all bird species are in decline due to a host of pressures – from the loss of meadows, hedgerows and other natural land to climate change and…

The government must “get a grip” on its “haphazard” implementation of environmental rules on housebuilding, a new House of Lords report warns. The Built Environment Committee says there is a “real risk” the government will fail to deliver both its housing targets and environmental ambitions. The criticism comes a day after Rishi Sunak announced a major shift in key green policies. The government said it would consider the committee’s findings. But environmental groups said that housebuilding should never come at the expense of the natural environment. An inquiry by the cross-party Lords committee heard that 45,000 new homes a year…

In a surprise move, UK interest rates have been left unchanged after the Bank of England said price rises were slowing faster than expected. The Bank of England held rates at 5.25%, their highest level since 2008. It comes after figures on Thursday revealed a surprise slowdown in UK price rises in August. “Inflation has fallen a lot in recent months, and we think it will continue to do so,” said Bank governor Andrew Bailey. The Bank had previously raised rates 14 times in a row to tame inflation, leading to increases in mortgage payments but also higher savings rates.…

Ethnic-Armenian forces in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh have accused Azerbaijan’s military of breaking a ceasefire brokered by Russia. Gunfire could be heard in social media footage from the territory’s capital. Azerbaijan dismissed the reports as “completely false”. The two sides held talks to negotiate the enclave’s integration into Azerbaijan after Karabakh forces agreed to surrender following 24 hours of intense fighting. A day after the truce came into effect, local Armenian forces said Azerbaijan was using “a variety of firearms, violating the agreement on the ceasefire”. They said shots could be heard in the centre of the region’s major…

Lionel Messi’s return to the pitch was short-lived after the Argentine superstar was subbed off in the 37th minute of Inter Miami’s match against Toronto FC on Wednesday at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Just a few minutes after teammate Jordi Alba was subbed off with an apparent injury, Messi appeared to be experiencing discomfort. He then took off his captain’s armband and placed it on Deandre Yedlin before exiting the match himself. Messi returned to the bench, where he leaned back in the chair in apparent frustration. He later walked to the locker room with eight minutes of stoppage…