Author: admin@primenews

US inflation may have remained elevated in July, but consumers just wanted to have some fun. New Commerce Department data released Thursday showed that consumer spending jumped 0.8% last month as shoppers shelled out for restaurants, live shows, toys, games and recreational equipment. It’s the strongest monthly spending gain since January; however, underlying data indicates this type of activity may be on borrowed time. The Personal Income and Outlays report for July also showed that the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge remained high but grew at a monthly rate that’s more in line with the central bank’s 2% target. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index…

India’s economy grew at its quickest pace in a year in the April-June quarter, buoyed by strong services activity and robust demand, but a drier than normal monsoon season could restrain future growth. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.8% on an annual basis in the quarter, accelerating from 6.1% growth recorded in the three months to the end of March. It was the highest reading since the June quarter of 2022, when growth stood at 13.1%. India remains one of the fastest growing major economies, especially as China’s post-pandemic recovery has slowed. India’s Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran maintained his…

Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution will boost their joint investment in a Georgia battery manufacturing plant by $2 billion and add 400 additional jobs, the companies and the state said Thursday. The facility, a joint venture between the two companies, now includes a total investment of $4.3 billion and eventually will be able to produce about 300,000 electric vehicle batteries annually, the companies said. Hyundai, the world’s third-largest automaker by vehicle sales, said the two companies now plan to spend a total of $7.59 billion and create 8,500 new jobs over eight years in Bryan County, Georgia. That…

Singaporeans have headed to the polls to vote in their first contested presidential election in over a decade. The president has a mainly ceremonial role in the city-state with few powers and little say in public affairs. However, the result on Friday could be a marker of public sentiment on the long-term ruling party following a string of MP scandals. Leading candidate Tharman Shanmugaratnam was a veteran minister of Singapore’s ruling PAP party. A former deputy prime minister and finance minister, the 66-year-old economist resigned from the People’s Action Party in June to contest the presidential election. Prime Minister Lee…

“We’re scared of China,” fisherman Benjo Atay says as wind and rain batter his small bamboo boat on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. He shouts orders at his young crew, most of them family, as they haul on ropes to navigate out of the port. They are already bathed in salt water and sweat – but it is not the weather that frightens them. “The Chinese ships circle us and shadow us,” he says. “When we are anchored… they would force us to leave. They would get rid of us.” The Philippines is at the centre of a…

Cricket’s World Cup and Asia Cup seem to exist merely to allow India and Pakistan to play each other. They don’t meet in either country, and there is always a huge television audience. Tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours have always impacted their cricketing ties. The two sides have not played a bilateral series since 2012. But Pakistan need India to survive as a cricketing nation – something their neighbours don’t shy away from reminding them – while India need Pakistan to complete themselves as a successful team. They are the best of enemies who exemplify for each other one…

More than 170 global figures have called on Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina to stop the “persecution” of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. Prof Yunus – known internationally as the “banker to the poor” – has been slapped with swathes of lawsuits, with several more filed in recent weeks. The open letter said these represented an assault on democracy. Ms Hasina responded harshly, accusing the 83-year-old of “begging” for an international statement. She added that she welcomed international experts to assess the ongoing legal proceedings against Prof Yunus. While much of the Western world lauds Prof Yunus for his pioneering use of microloans,…

The Algerian coastguard have reportedly shot dead two tourists holidaying in Morocco who strayed into Algerian waters on their jet skis. They were among four French-Moroccan dual nationals who had set off by jet ski from the Moroccan resort of Saidia. A third member of the group was arrested by the coastguard which patrol the two states’ closed border. The shooting sparked anger in Morocco after a fisherman posted video of a lifeless body floating in the sea. The border between Algeria and Morocco was closed in 1994, with Algiers severing ties two years ago. It accused Morocco of hostile…

Two men stood opposite each other holding wooden sticks shaped like a katana, the legendary Japanese sword, at arm’s length. The tips of the sticks crossed each other as the men’s gazes locked in a solemn stare. They raised the sticks above their heads, lowering them firmly – though not violently – to meet their opponent’s. This motion, combined with twists of the body and arms, was repeated several times in a sequence so fast that I could only really catch the moment when the wooden implements clashed, producing a sharp thud. One of the men lunged more decisively, his imitation…

A leader of the far-right Proud Boys has been sentenced to 17 years in prison, one of the longest terms yet handed out over the US Capitol riot. US Army veteran Joe Biggs, 38, was an “instigator” of the storming of Congress on 6 January 2021, prosecutors said. The former Infowars correspondent was convicted of seditious conspiracy and other charges in May. In court, Biggs pleaded for leniency and expressed remorse for his actions. The sentence, handed down by US District Judge Timothy Kelly, is below both federal sentencing guidelines and the 33 years sought by prosecutors. Another Proud Boys…