Author: admin@primenews

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta had a bad day in Washington this week. But on Wall Street, it took a victory lap. The social media firm updated investors with a slew of good news: quarterly profits that tripled year-on-year to more than $14bn (£11bn), a surge in users, lower costs and higher ad sales. Even its much ridiculed, money-losing virtual reality unit hit a milestone, generating $1bn in revenue. Lest anyone doubt its confidence, the company declared a first-ever dividend. That is a payout to shareholders – in this case of 50 cents per share. The company, owner of Facebook, Instagram and…

A former CIA officer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking a trove of classified hacking tools to whistle-blowing platform Wikileaks. Joshua Schulte was also found guilty of possessing child abuse images. Prosecutors have accused him of leaking the CIA’s “Vault 7” tools, which allow intelligence officers to hack smartphones and use them as listening devices. They said the leak is one of the most “brazen” in US history. Schulte, 35, shared some 8,761 documents to Wikileaks in 2017, amounting to the largest data breach in the history of the CIA, the US justice department said. He…

Seven workers seized at a Proctor & Gamble (P&G) plant outside the Turkish city of Istanbul were rescued after a nine-hour ordeal, officials say. Police in Gebza moved in after the suspect, who was apparently protesting at the war in Gaza, went to the toilet. Local governor Seddar Yavuz said the hostages had suffered no injuries. Images online showed the suspect, his face hidden by a Palestinian scarf, wearing what appeared to be an explosives vest and carrying a gun. He was detained unharmed after the “meticulous” rescue operation, Mr Yavuz added. The hostage-taker entered the plant at about 15:00…

In July, over two dozen Indian opposition parties formed a coalition to challenge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi in the upcoming general election. Made up of the main opposition Congress and smaller, regional parties, the coalition cleverly named itself INDIA, an acronym for a rather florid Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. The alliance’s success hinged on the allies’ ability to stick together and agree to a strategic seat-sharing arrangement, ensuring a unified front against the BJP with a single primary candidate in each constituency. In India’s “first past the post” multiparty system where the winner takes…

US President Joe Biden has approved sanctions on four Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Mr Biden signed a broad executive order, saying violence in the West Bank had reached “intolerable levels”. The sanctions block the individuals from accessing all US property, assets and the American financial system. Violence in the West Bank has spiked since Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October. Some 370 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then, according to the UN. The majority of those have been killed by Israeli forces but at least eight of…

The US has approved plans for a series of strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq, officials have told the BBC’s US partner CBS News. The strikes will take place over a number of days, officials said, and weather conditions will likely dictate when they are launched. It comes after a drone attack killed three US soldiers in Jordan, close to the Syrian border, on Sunday. The US blamed an Iranian-backed militia group for that attack. That group, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, is believed to contain multiple militias that have been armed, funded and trained by Iran’s Revolutionary…

A huge gas blast in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has killed at least two people and injured hundreds. Gas cylinders were being refilled at a plant in Embakasi district when the blast happened just before midnight (21:00 GMT), the government said. Video showed a huge fire raging close to blocks of flats. The Kenyan Red Cross said 271 people had been taken to “health facilities” across the capital, and a further 27 people were assessed at the scene. The cause of the blast is still being established. Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said the explosion had occurred at the Kentainers Company…

Guitars and amplifiers belonging to Dire Straits star Mark Knopfler have sold for more than £8m at auction – much higher than had been estimated. Knopfler sold more than more than 120 of his guitars and amps, with 25% of the proceeds going to charity. The sale was led by Knopfler’s 1959 Vintage Gibson Les Paul Standard, which sold for £693,000, setting a new world auction record for the model. The musician said the auction had been “an incredible journey” “I am so pleased that these much-loved instruments will find new players and new songs as well as raising money…

Deutsche Bank is cutting 3,500 jobs as it pushes ahead with a plan to reduce costs by €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion) by 2025. Germany’s biggest lender said Thursday that it had made progress towards the target but still had to find savings of €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion), some of which would be driven by “simplified workflows and automation.” Most of the jobs will be lost in back office functions, it added in a statement. Deutsche Bank also reported that 2023 profit before tax rose 2% on the previous year to €5.7 billion ($6.1 billion) — its highest level in 16 years. But net…

A US judge has sided with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in his fight with Disney, rejecting a lawsuit that had accused the Republican of organising a campaign of “government retaliation”. Judge Allen Winsor said the actions that Disney opposed were legal and it lacked standing to sue the governor. Florida moved to tighten its oversight of Disney’s amusement park last year. The change came after the company criticised a state law that restricted the teaching of sexuality in schools. In his ruling, Judge Winsor said the changes were clearly detrimental to Disney, which had enjoyed unusual power over the special…