Author: admin@primenews

Fast food giant McDonald’s is to buy back all its Israeli restaurants following a boycott of the brand in response to the Israel-Hamas war. The company said it had reached an agreement with franchisee Alonyal for the return of 225 outlets across the country employing 5,000 people. McDonald’s was criticised after Alonyal started giving away thousands of free meals to Israeli soldiers. Sales in the region have slumped since the conflict began in October. On Thursday, McDonald’s said a deal had been signed with Alonyal which has been running the chain of Golden Arches in Israel for more than 30…

Chang Hsin had just woken up in the Taiwanese city of Hualien on Tuesday when her entire block started shaking. “The walls were crumbling. Shortly after, another quake hit, causing the entire house to tilt,” the 59-year-old told the BBC. Ms Chang was in her third floor apartment when the 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit, which killed nine people and left more than 1,000 injured in Taiwan’s worst earthquake in 25 years. Images of Ms Chang’s Uranus Building apartment block have been shared across the world. The building is tilted over and rescue workers are attempting to shore up the 10-storey…

Samsung Electronics says it expects its profits for the first three months of 2024 to jump by more than 10-fold compared to a year earlier. It comes as prices of chips have recovered from a post-pandemic slump and demand for artificial intelligence (AI) related products booms. South Korea-based Samsung is the world’s largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions. The company is scheduled to release a detailed financial report on 30 April. The technology giant estimated that its operating profit rose to 6.6 trillion won ($4.9bn; £3.9bn) in the January-March quarter, 931% higher than the same period in 2023. That…

Jacob Flickinger was a “loyal and devoted” aid worker and family man who was “chased down” and killed by Israel while trying to help those in need, his parents have told the BBC. Mr Flickinger, 33, a US-Canadian, was one of seven people killed in a strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy. Israel’s military apologised and called the attack a tragic mistake. It has promised a full investigation. His parents however said that his death was a “crime” and rejected the apology. John Flickinger and Sylvia Labrecque said there was a “hole in their hearts”, and that Jacob’s wife…

The release of actress Rebel Wilson’s autobiography has been pushed back in the UK and Australia. Rebel Rising was published in the US on Tuesday, and was due out in Australia on Wednesday and the UK on Thursday. It will now reach the UK on 25 April. Publisher HarperCollins said its release “has been moved to coincide with Rebel Wilson’s press tours”. The book includes allegations against Sacha Baron Cohen, who is understood to have threatened legal action. The British comedian has vehemently denied any impropriety, saying her description of shooting his 2016 film Grimsby is “demonstrably false”. The Australian…

A company says it has reached a “major milestone” in its quest to design a power plant capable of producing energy from nuclear fusion. First Light Fusion, in Yarnton, Oxfordshire, has increased the distance a projectile is fired into the fuel by more than ten times. The company says the development is crucial to its design for a commercial power plant. Mila Fitzgerald, a scientist at the company, called it an “exciting step”. Nuclear fusion works by heating and forcing tiny particles together to make a heavier one which releases useful energy. First Light is pursuing a new form of…

South African footballer Luke Fleurs has been shot dead in a car hijacking, police say. The shooting took place at a petrol station on Wednesday night in the Johannesburg suburb of Florida. The 24-year-old Kaizer Chiefs star was waiting to be attended to when he was approached by unknown gunmen, who ordered him to get out of the vehicle. One of the suspects is reported to have fled the scene with Fleurs’ car after the shooting. “The suspects pointed [at] him with a firearm and took him out of his vehicle, then shot him once on the upper body,” Gauteng…

A group of six Latino immigrant workers fell to their deaths while working on Baltimore’s doomed Francis Scott Key Bridge last week. When construction begins to rebuild it, more Latino immigrants will almost certainly join the effort to reopen the crucial transportation artery. Latino workers make up about a third of America’s construction industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a huge overrepresentation considering they make up just 19% of the overall American population and 17.6% of its workforce. More than two-thirds of Hispanic construction workers in America are foreign born. For the millions of recent Latino immigrants in the US, construction jobs have low barriers to entry…

Stocks began the second quarter on a sour note after turning in their best start to the year since 2019. The S&P 500 tumbled the first two trading days of the new quarter and is down 0.8% for the week after paring back some of its losses on Wednesday. The 10-year US Treasury yield leapt to its highest level since last November. Gold and oil prices are rising. What’s going on? Here are three things giving investors the jitters. Stubborn inflation. The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.5% for the 12 months that ended in February. While that was…

Buying a home is likely one of the most complex and expensive transactions you’ll ever make. If you think you’ll want to make that leap in the next year or two, you can save yourself real money and avoid unpleasant surprises if you use the next several months to prepare your finances and explore your options. “Time is a gift,” said Avi Adler, a Realtor at Long & Foster Real Estate. Here are five steps to get you started. 1. Do a financial checkup Before hunting for your dream home, take stock of your income, savings, expenses and debt. Figure out…