Author: admin@primenews

Collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX says it has billions of dollars more than it needs to repay customers. The firm says that once it has sold off its remaining assets it will have as much as $16.3bn (£13bn) to cover the debts, which stand at around $11bn. The company’s new reorganisation plan says almost all of its customers will get at least the total amount they lost when FTX collapsed in November 2022. In March this year, FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding customers and investors of the now-bankrupt firm. “We are pleased to…

Microsoft is shutting four studios, including Tango Gameworks, the developers of Bafta award-winning Hi-Fi Rush. The Tokyo studio is being closed alongside Texas-based Arkane Austin and Canadian developer Alpha Dog Studios. Wisconsin-based Roundhouse Games will be absorbed into Elder Scrolls Online developer ZeniMax Online Studios. Microsoft has not said how many jobs will be cut as a result of the closures, which are all being made at subsidiary Bethesda – which the tech giant bought for $7.5bn (then £5.85bn) in 2020. “I just want to say that I love all the people at Arkane Austin so much,” said studio head…

Facebook users whose accounts were hacked and hijacked to sell fake Taylor Swift tickets have criticised the platform for not doing more to stop the scammers. Some said friends had lost hundreds of pounds after responding to scam posts offering tickets to Swift’s UK tour dates, and that Facebook did not respond to multiple attempts to report the hacks. Kerry Plant, from Worcester, said: “Had they reacted to this a little bit sooner, then we could have prevented quite a bit of this.” Facebook said it takes “the safety and security of our community seriously” and is “continually investing in…

The red flags start at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport and run all the way along the motorway into the centre of Serbia’s capital. This is Serbia’s way of showing that it is proud of its “ironclad friendship” with China – and welcoming Xi Jinping to Belgrade. At the Western City Gate, more commonly known as the Genex Tower, one entire tower is draped in China’s national colours. Just for good measure, there is a billboard for Hisense, the Chinese home appliances manufacturer which opened a refrigerator factory in Valjevo, western Serbia, last year. In some parts of Europe, the Chinese…

After months of stalemate, the search for peace in Gaza has reached a critical stage. UN chief Antonio Guterres says it is a “decisive moment for the Palestinian and Israeli people and for the fate of the entire region”. There seems to be common ground between most sides about the principles: a ceasefire should take place alongside the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Various draft agreements have been drawn up, setting out a complex process of how it would all work. There is some disagreement over the detail of what should happen to whom and when and in…

Xi Jinping has hailed “new vistas” in China’s relationship with France on his first trip to Europe in five years – one that feels much like a charm offensive. Mr Xi will be looking to avert the trade war that is looming with Brussels, driven by fears of cheap Chinese electric vehicles entering the European market. The West also accuses China of helping Vladimir Putin wage war in Ukraine by supplying technology and equipment for the Russian military. Both issues echo Washington’s words of warning to him in recent weeks, but it is not what Mr Xi wants his own…

When Karan Shah, 32, goes to vote in the western state of Gujarat, he and his 59-year-old mother will be armed with water bottles and fruit to beat the heat. To escape long queues, they plan to reach the polling station early in the morning. Mr Shah and his mother are among millions of Indians who will cast their ballots in the third phase of the general election on Tuesday, when 94 constituencies across 12 states go to the polls. India’s general election is usually held every five years in April and May, and voters and polling officials are used…

The US has opened a new inquiry into troubled jet firm Boeing, after the company told air safety regulators that it might not have properly inspected its 787 Dreamliner planes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would look into whether staff had falsified records. It said Boeing was reinspecting all 787 jets still on the manufacturing line. Boeing will be forced to develop an “action plan” to address concerns about planes already in service, it added. Boeing did not comment. Internally, it told staff last week that the “misconduct” had not created an “immediate safety of flight issue”, according…

Walking has earned a reputation as a great form of exercise that’s easy and accessible for many people, and scores of studies show the popular activity has numerous health benefits, too. Getting at least 2,300 steps per day reduces your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to one study published in a 2023 edition of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. In addition, weight-bearing exercises such as walking help prevent osteoporosis, according to another study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports. Yet some experts in the health and fitness fields assert that while walking is certainly good for your health and fitness, it’s…

Retailers are feeling jittery. Consumers aren’t shopping like they used to. In a game of chicken between stores and shoppers, it’s the stores that appear to be yielding first, by dropping prices on thousands of products. The markdowns come as inflation has pushed prices higher for the past two years, squeezing Americans and forcing them to choose between wants and needs. That’s a problem not just for individual shoppers or even big retail chains but for the whole American economy, of which about two-thirds comes from consumer spending. A slew of retailers in recent weeks have announced price cuts as…