Author: admin@primenews

China’s central bank has cut one of its key interest rates for the second time in three months as the world’s second-largest economy struggles to bounce back from the pandemic. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) lowered its one-year loan prime rate to 3.45% from 3.55%. The country’s post-Covid recovery has been hit by a property crisis, falling exports and weak consumer spending. In contrast, other major economies have raised rates to tackle high inflation. The PBOC last cut its one-year rate – on which most of China’s household and business loans are based – in June. Jun Bei Liu…

Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi denied approving two controversial bills which further enhance the military’s powers. In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday, he said he returned the bills unsigned but his staff “undermined my will”. The two laws make it an offence to reveal the identities of military intelligence officers and also propose jail terms for defaming the army. Mr Alvi’s statement could call the legality of the two laws into question. However, Pakistan’s interim law minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam told reporters that under the constitution, the president had the option of either giving assent to the…

India’s space agency has released images of the far side of the Moon as its third lunar mission attempts to locate a safe landing spot on the little-explored south pole. The pictures have been taken by Vikram, Chandrayaan-3’s lander, which began the last phase of its mission on Thursday. Vikram, which carries a rover in its belly, is due to land on 23 August. The photos come a day after Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control. The craft – Russia’s first Moon mission in nearly 50 years – was due to be the first…

Three people have died and three others have been hospitalized after drinking milkshakes contaminated with Listeria bacteria from a restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, health officials say. Investigators found the outbreak was linked to ice cream machines that were not cleaned properly at a Frugals restaurant in Tacoma, according to a release from the Washington State Department of Health. Listeria can affect people up to 70 days after consumption and the machines were used through August 7, the release said. CNN has reached out to Frugals but has not immediately heard back. The six individuals were hospitalized between February 27 and July 22…

About 30,000 households have been ordered to evacuate in Canada’s British Columbia province, where nearly 400 wildfires are raging. Two huge fires in the Shuswap region merged overnight, destroying blocks of houses and other buildings. To the south, travel to the waterside city of Kelowna has been restricted, and smoke from nearby fires hangs over Lake Okanagan. Fires have charred homes in West Kelowna, a nearby city of 36,000. The travel restriction around Kelowna is designed to ensure enough accommodation for evacuees and emergency workers. It also applies to the towns of Kamloops, Oliver, Penticton and Vernon and Osoyoos. Hundreds…

Chinese leader Xi Jinping heads to South Africa Monday on a trip intended to bolster Beijing’s influence among developing and emerging nations, as ties with the United States remain deeply strained and economic troubles bubble up at home. The three-day state visit, which also includes a summit with leaders of the BRICS emerging economies, is only Xi’s second international trip this year – a sharp contrast to his globe-trotting days of diplomacy before the coronavirus pandemic. The Chinese leader last left the country in March to meet his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where the two authoritarian strongmen reaffirmed their strategic alignment against the US and…

Saudi border guards are accused of the mass killing of migrants along the Yemeni border in a new report by Human Rights Watch. The report says hundreds of people, many of them Ethiopians who cross war-torn Yemen to reach Saudi Arabia, have been shot dead. Migrants have told the BBC they had limbs severed by gunfire and saw bodies left on the trails. Saudi Arabia has previously rejected allegations of systematic killings. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, titled They Fired On Us Like Rain, contains graphic testimony from migrants who say they were shot at and sometimes targeted with…

Russia’s unmanned Luna-25 spacecraft has crashed into the Moon after spinning out of control, officials say. It was Russia’s first Moon mission in almost 50 years. The craft was due to be the first ever to land on the Moon’s south pole, but failed after encountering problems as it moved into its pre-landing orbit. It was set to explore a part of the Moon which scientists think could hold frozen water and precious elements. Roscosmos, Russia’s state space corporation, said on Sunday morning that it had lost contact with the Luna-25 shortly after 14:57pm (11:57 GMT) on Saturday. Preliminary findings…

Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not take part in Republican presidential debates with his rivals in the race for the White House. The ex-president said one latest poll showed he had “legendary” numbers ahead of other hopefuls to be the party’s nominee for the 2024 election. “The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Mr Trump, 77, wrote in a post on social media. The first Republican presidential primary debate will be on 23 August. The second debate can possibly follow the next day. At least two more debates are expected in the…

Joey King has been among the many familiar faces on picket lines in the SAG-AFTRA strike. The union representing about 160,000 actors has been on strike since July, bringing most film and television productions to a halt. Among other contract points, actors are asking an increase in minimum pay and residuals, which have diminished amid the rise of streaming services. King spoke with CNN about the strike in a recent interview. “I think all of us really, we all want to work,” she said. “We want this deal to get worked out. We want a fair contract.” “It’s interesting because when you go picketing,…