Author: admin@primenews

Ambika Mod was just 13 years old when she first read One Day, the bestselling novel by David Nicholls. But she says her younger self never could’ve imagined that, years later, she would be starring as lead character Emma Morley in the new TV adaptation of the book. “God no, all of this is still mad to me,” the actress tells BBC News. Mod, now 29, was born in Hatfield to Indian immigrant parents. Growing up, she says she didn’t see many people from ethnic minority backgrounds taking on lead roles in western productions. “Even up until my early 20s,…

The Prince of Wales has expressed his gratitude for “the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days”. These were the first public comments from Prince William since the cancer diagnosis for his father, King Charles. “It means a great deal to us all,” said the prince, at a charity fundraiser for London’s Air Ambulance. Hollywood star Tom Cruise was also a guest, with the prince asking him not to “borrow” any of the helicopters. With some irony, Prince William joked about the nature of the event for this return to official duties, after…

After a few weeks of decline, some measures show that flu activity is starting to pick up again and respiratory virus levels remain high overall in the United States. During the week ending January 27, more than 82,000 people who visited an emergency department were diagnosed with influenza, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — an 8% bump, or about 6,000 more than the week before. The test positivity rate for flu also ticked up in the US overall. A second surge of flu activity after the winter holidays is common, but experts say…

The University of Pennsylvania submitted documents Wednesday evening to the Congressional committee investigating antisemitism on campus, beginning what could be a weekslong process of turning over documents. Nick Barley, a spokesperson for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, confirmed to CNN the committee received documents from UPenn and is currently reviewing them. The committee had set a Wednesday deadline for UPenn to respond to its demand for a mountain of documents, including reports on antisemitic activity on campus since early 2021, foreign donations and documents linked to a controversial Palestinian literature festival held on campus last year. It’s not…

Disney has had a rough time even after CEO Bob Iger returned from a brief retirement. But the media veteran said on Wednesday that Disney is finally on the path toward success again. The company surprised investors by announcing it would grow earnings per share by a whopping 20% this year, easily beating Wall Street analysts’ estimates. “Our strong performance this past quarter demonstrates we have turned the corner and entered a new era for our company, focused on fortifying ESPN for the future, building streaming into a profitable growth business, reinvigorating our film studios, and turbocharging growth in our parks and…

China’s consumer prices have slid deeper into deflationary territory, suffering their biggest drop since the height of the global financial crisis in 2009. But analysts say the sharp fall was largely due to a seasonal issue and the downturn may have already bottomed out. The country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a gauge of changes in the prices of goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households, dropped by 0.8% in January from a year ago, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday. It was the steepest fall for the index since September 2009 and marks a…

Sudan has been plunged into an internet blackout with many blaming the paramilitary group fighting the army in the country’s 10-month civil war. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has denied responsibility. NetBlocks, a watchdog that monitors internet freedom, said on X, there had been a “new collapse of internet connectivity” in Sudan. It comes as a Sudanese hacktivist group targeted Uganda for welcoming the RSF leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. NetBlocks said it had found a disruption to the services of internet providers Uganda Telecom and MTN, although a BBC reporter in the capital Kampala said he did not notice any…

The US Supreme Court will wade into uncharted legal waters on Thursday as it considers if Donald Trump should be barred from running for president. The justices will weigh if Colorado can strike Mr Trump off its ballot after finding he engaged in insurrection over the US Capitol riot. Their decision will also determine if similar bids to keep Mr Trump off the ballot in other states are valid. He is the definitive frontrunner to be the Republican party’s candidate. Unless the justices rule against Mr Trump, he looks likely to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in November. It is…

French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation after actress Judith Godrèche filed a complaint against film director Benoît Jacquot accusing him of historical rape. Ms Godrèche, 51, accuses Mr Jacquot, 77, of raping her when she was 14 in 1986 and of subsequent offenses in a relationship lasting into the 1990s. The complaint was lodged on Tuesday, her lawyer told AFP news agency. Mr Jacquot has said he “firmly” denies her “allegations and accusations”. In the early part of her career, Ms Godrèche was known for her roles in two films made by the director, The Beggars (1987) and The…

Countries should secure supplies of oil and gas by sourcing locally, the boss of energy giant Equinor has said. Anders Operdal told the BBC energy security should be top of the agenda after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw supplies disrupted and prices hiked. Equinor is the biggest investor in the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea – the largest new UK oil and gas field development in decades. But critics say new oil fields will not make UK energy supplies more secure. They argue a faster transition away from fossil fuels is a better strategy to ensure more stable…