Author: admin@primenews

The European Union is launching an investigation into China’s state support for electric carmakers as soaring imports stoke fears for the future of European car manufacturers. Speaking to the European Parliament on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe was open to competition but “not for a race to the bottom.” “Global markets are now flooded with cheaper electric cars and their prices [are] kept artificially low by huge state subsidies,” von der Leyen said. “So I can announce today that the Commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles coming from China.” Europe levies a duty of…

Some of the most influential voices in the tech industry are set to meet with federal lawmakers Wednesday morning as the US Senate prepares to draw up legislation regulating the fast-moving artificial intelligence industry. Among those attending the in-person event will be the CEOs of Anthropic, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Palantir and X, the company formerly known as Twitter. The guest list also includes Bill Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft, and Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, along with leading officials from the entertainment industry, civil rights groups and labor organizations. Wednesday’s meeting and its expected all-star…

The air traffic controller shortage will continue to cause travel disruptions not only next year, but for at least the next five years, airline industry executives said Tuesday. The flight system is “suffering” they said, citing the 3,000-person controller shortage that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg revealed in a CNN interview earlier this year. ”It will take five to seven years [of hiring] to break even if all goes well,” Airlines for America chief Nick Calio said at the Global Aerospace Summit held by the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. “Do we need five to seven years of further disruption on…

Unsure what to pack from your wardrobe for a vacation to Japan? If you’re flying with Japan Airlines, the answer could be nothing at all. Japan’s flag carrier has started a year-long trial of a service that allows travelers to book a set of clothes — covering different sartorial styles and seasons — and receive it at their hotel upon arrival. At the end of the stay the clothes are returned, to be washed and cycled back into the system. Called Any Wear, Anywhere, the service runs through the end of August 2024 and Japan Airlines says it could cut carbon…

When Lariba was growing up in James Town — a coastal neighborhood in Accra, Ghana — they never felt criticized for living the life they wanted to live, they said, even as an LGBTQ person. Of course, there were certain areas in Accra they couldn’t go, like some religious communities that wouldn’t be friendly to presumed LGBTQ people, said Lariba, who is using a pseudonym for safety reasons. But there were also areas where anyone could go and be themselves, they said, neighborhoods where nobody ever questioned why someone may be dressed in a certain way or behaving in a…

A huge bushfire raging for over a week in central Australia has come dangerously close to the popular tourist town of Tennant Creek, as authorities warn that changing wind conditions could pose a risk to residents. Acting Northern Territory Chief Minister Nicole Manison declared an emergency situation for the entire Barkly local government area on Tuesday, and on Wednesday parts of the region, including Tennant Creek, were put under a “watch and act” alert. A “watch and act” alert indicates a “heightened” threat level where conditions are changing and residents should start taking action to protect themselves and their families, according to…

China on Tuesday unveiled a plan to deepen integration between the coastal province of Fujian and self-governing Taiwan, touting the benefits of closer cross-strait cooperation while sending warships around the island in a show of military might. The directive, issued jointly by the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee and the State Council, vows to make Fujian a “demonstration zone” for integrated development with Taiwan, and the “first home” for Taiwanese residents and businesses to settle in China. The document, hailed as a “blueprint” of Taiwan’s future development by Chinese experts cited in state media, comes at a delicate moment in cross-strait relations…

Ukraine launched an extensive assault on a Russian ship repair base in Crimea early Wednesday morning, Russian and Ukrainian officials said, in what appears to be Ukraine’s most ambitious strike on the port since the war began. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian armed forces attacked the Sergo Ordzhonikidze shipyard in Sevastopol, which Russia uses as a repair base for its Black Sea Fleet, with 10 cruise missiles and three unmanned boats. The ministry said its air defense forces shot down seven of the missiles and that the patrol ship Vasily Bykov destroyed all of the boats. But Russian officials confirmed that the attack…

Olivia Rodrigo is a unicorn. With one song, she achieved the sort of overnight success that isn’t supposed to be possible in the modern, fractured music industry. Drivers License, released in January 2021, broke Spotify records in just 24 hours. Then it broke them again. Seven days later, it entered the UK and the US charts at number one. Even her record label was taken by surprise. “I think we’d all be lying if we said we knew the extent of what was coming,” Polydor’s president Ben Mortimer admitted. Drivers License wasn’t a one-off. Rodrigo’s debut album, Sour, sparked a pop-punk…

At least 177 environmental activists were killed across the world last year, a report by the non-governmental organisation Global Witness suggests. Sixty of the killings took place in Colombia, making it the deadliest country for environmental defenders. Global Witness says very few of the perpetrators of the killings are ever brought to justice. The pressure group argues that impunity the murderers enjoy is fuelling further violence. The number of deadly attacks on environmental defenders in Colombia almost doubled in 2022. The group said in its report that the total number of those killed in the country since it began recording data on…