Author: admin@primenews

A top US Treasury official is heading to Hong Kong as the White House continues its quest to ease tensions with Beijing and avoid a destabilizing crisis. Joining a growing list of US officials visiting the region, Assistant US Treasury Secretary Brent Neiman is traveling to Hong Kong on Wednesday as part of an effort to “deepen ties between the world’s two largest economies,” a Treasury official tells CNN. During the trip, Neiman — the highest-ranking Treasury official to visit Hong Kong since 2019 — plans to meet with government officials, private sector economists and executives from the financial and legal sectors.…

McDonald’s is getting rid of one its biggest perks. The fast food chain is eliminating its self-serve soda machines by 2032 at its US restaurants, the company said, explaining that the change is will make the experience consistent for customers and crew across the chain. For decades, McDonald’s let customers fill (and refill) their own drinks at its dining rooms. However, consumer behavior has changed since the pandemic, and the chain has experienced a surge in business through its drive-thru and delivery services, with fewer people choosing to eat in its dining rooms, reducing the need for the machines. McDonald’s…

Markets hate uncertainly, and there’s a lot of it this fall: The United Auto Workers union may strike on Friday, the federal government is heading toward another potential shutdown in October, geopolitical tensions with China remain heightened and oil prices could stay elevated through December. There’s also the looming question about whether the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates again. All this uncertainty has led markets to lack conviction, flip-flopping as conflicting narratives around inflation rates and Fed hikes prevail. But this week’s readings — just a few days ahead of the Fed’s September policy meeting -— could give the markets direction. If investors like what…

A Van Gogh painting stolen from a Dutch museum in March 2020 is back in safe hands after a three-and-a-half-year quest to recover it. Dutch art detective Arthur Brand said he had been handed the 139-year-old painting in a pillow and an Ikea bag by a man who came to his front door. “I did this in complete co-ordination with Dutch police and we knew this guy wasn’t involved in the theft,” he said. In 2021, a career criminal was jailed for eight years over the incident. But by then the painting, worth several million euros, had already changed hands.…

ITV have picked up exclusive UK rights to Hollywood’s Oscars after a 20-year deal between rightsholder Disney and Sky ended last month. ITV said it was a “multi-year” agreement which kicks off with next year’s event on 10 March. The channel will be hoping to improve on a general trend of dwindling viewing figures for awards ceremonies. As a free-to-air channel, this may be easier than it was for Sky, which is pay-per-view. Sky broadcast the Oscars on its free-to-air channels – Sky Arts and Sky News – for the first time earlier this year. But only around 35,000 people…

US rock band Aerosmith have postponed six of their North America farewell tour shows due to singer Steven Tyler having sustained vocal cords damage. The group kicked off their Peace Out tour with several gigs earlier this month and had been been set to perform in Toronto on Tuesday, but that’s now been pushed back until February 2024. The next gig on their revised schedule is now in Tampa, Florida next month. In a statement posted online, frontman Tyler, 74, said he was “heartbroken”. ‘Doctor’s orders’ “I’m heartbroken to say I have received strict doctor’s orders not to sing for the…

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has left India after a technical problem in his aircraft was fixed. Indian minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he was at the airport to thank Mr Trudeau “for his presence at the G20 summit” and “wished him and his entourage a safe trip back home”. Mr Trudeau was set to fly on Sunday, following a tense meeting with Indian PM Narendra Modi at the G20 summit. But he had to stay back for two more days after his plane developed a snag. Earlier in the day, press secretary of the Canadian prime minister Mohammad Hussain told…

The death toll from floods in Libya in one city alone stands at more than 1,000, a senior official who visited the eastern port of Derna has said. “Bodies are lying everywhere,” the minister from the eastern-based government told Reuters news agency. Much of Derna, which has about 100,000 residents, is under water after two dams and four bridges collapsed. Up to 10,000 people are recorded to be missing after the flooding as a result of Storm Daniel, the Red Cross says. The storm, which hit on Sunday, is also affecting the eastern cities of Benghazi, Soussa and Al-Marj. “The…

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un have а lot in common. Neither gets out much. The Kremlin leader hasn’t left Russia this year. In Kim’s case, make that four years. Both Russia and North Korea have been accused of becoming “rogue states”. Both are under heavy international sanctions. Both governments rail against the “hegemony” of the United States. Often a common enemy can bring leaders closer together. And so it is with Putin and Kim. Theirs is a marriage made, if not in heaven, then certainly in the geo-political realities of 2023. A bromance? Not exactly. Unlike former US President…

The UK’s environment watchdog suspects the government and water regulators have broken the law over how they regulate sewage releases. It follows continued high levels of sewage releases in England which topped 825 times a day last year. Campaigners and opposition MPs have called the regulators “complicit” in allowing the pollution. Last week a BBC investigation found potentially hundreds of illegal dry sewage spills in England. In response to the announcement the government said: “The volume of sewage discharged is completely unacceptable. That is why we are the first government in history to take such comprehensive action to tackle it.”…