Author: admin@primenews

HSBC’s head of public affairs has apologised after accusing the British government of being “weak” for complying with US demands to cut back business dealings with China. A spokesperson for the bank said Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles made the comments “at a private roundtable discussion and shared his personal views.” US-China ties have become increasingly tense in recent years. The UK-based firm makes much of its profit in Asia, including China. “I was speaking at a private event under Chatham House Rules and my personal comments do not reflect the views of HSBC or the China British Business Council. I apologise…

England’s wait for a first Netball World Cup title continues after Australia defeated the Roses to win the event for a 12th time. The Roses were gradually overwhelmed by a dominant Australia, who pulled away to win 61-45. England were appearing in their first World Cup final, following a group-stage win over Australia and a semi-final victory against New Zealand. However, they had to settle for leaving Cape Town with silver. A dejected England may have missed out on the trophy, but have equalled the nation’s best result at the tournament – previously achieved in 1975 after a round-robin event.…

India’s space agency has released the first images of the Moon taken by the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, which entered the lunar orbit on Saturday. The images show the craters on the lunar surface getting larger and larger as the spacecraft draws closer. Chandrayaan-3 with an orbiter, lander and a rover is due to land on the Moon’s surface on 23 August. If successful, India will be the first country to land near the Moon’s little-explored south pole. It will also become only the fourth to achieve a soft landing on the Moon after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.…

India’s parliament has restored opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s lawmaker status two days after the Supreme Court suspended his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The Congress leader was disqualified as a lawmaker in March after he was convicted and sentenced to jail. The case was filed over comments he made at a 2019 election rally about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname. Mr Gandhi can also contest the general elections next year. On Monday, the office of the Lok Sabha – the lower house of India’s parliament – said in a statement that Mr Gandhi’s disqualification had ceased to operate “subject to further…

A dangerous fugitive linked the Camorra, a violent Italian criminal organization, has been arrested in Greece after authorities used his love of the Napoli soccer team to catch him. Vincenzo La Porta, 60, was captured on the island of Corfu Friday as he was riding a moped. He was considered one of Italy’s 100 most dangers fugitives before his arrest. La Porta had been on the run for 11 years after being sentence in absentia to 14 years in jail for leading the crime group’s money laundering and tax evasion arm in Naples. Italian police said they have been working…

A Russian “guided air bomb” hit a blood transfusion center in northeast Ukraine Saturday night, killing two people and injuring four, Ukrainian officials said.  “This war crime alone says everything about Russian aggression,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in Telegram post, alongside a picture of a building engulfed in flames. He said that a “guided air bomb” had hit the blood transfusion center in the northeastern city of Kupiansk. In a separate post on his own Telegram channel, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said initial reports suggested two men had died and another four were injured in the “large scale fire.” Houses and farm buildings…

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un tours arms factories, inspects artillery plants and even fires a gun in newly released photographs that appear to offer a rare glimpse into the secretive state’s weapons facilities. North Korean state news agency KCNA, which released the photos on Saturday, said the images showed Kim touring a production plant of a “large-caliber artillery complex” and giving “on site guidance” to workers at a facility for “strategic cruise missiles and unmanned attack aircraft.” It also said Kim gave “important directions” regarding “capacity-building for the serial production of new ammunition.” The visits took place on Thursday,…

Niger’s airspace closed on Sunday, the day imposed as a deadline by a group of African countries for Nigerien military coup leaders to release power and reinstate the country’s democratically-elected president. As that deadline expired, Niger’s airspace closed due to “the threat of intervention from neighboring countries,” according to a video statement by Nigerien coup leader Colonel Major Amadou Abdramane. The statement was played on state television Sunday. The military coup in Niger was launched late July. President Mohamed Bazoum was seized by members of the presidential guard, national institutions were shut down and protesters from both sides eventually took to the streets,…

Nearly half a billion children in South Asia are exposed to extreme high temperatures as life-threatening heat waves caused by the climate crisis become stronger and more frequent, according to the United Nations’ children’s agency. In a news release Monday, UNICEF said its analysis of 2020 data showed an estimated 460 million children in countries including Afghanistan, India and Pakistan were exposed to temperatures where 83 or more days in a year exceeded 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) – making South Asia the hardest-hit region for those under age 18. The analysis showed 76% of children in South Asia were…

While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott places buoys in the Rio Grande to make it harder for migrants to cross into his state, a growing number of migrants have braved record-breaking heat and dangerous terrain to cross into Arizona. Long considered the most dangerous area to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, the Tucson sector is now also its busiest. On average, more than 1,300 migrants cross daily despite temperatures that regularly top 100 degrees, according to Customs and Border Protection data obtained by NBC News. “This is a very rough, rough entrance into the United States,” said Jim Chilton, a rancher in…