Author: admin@primenews

South African Airways – once a giant of African aviation – is back in the intercontinental market, but there are still doubts about its financial viability. It had disappeared from our skies altogether in September 2020, having fallen victim not just to Covid but also another disease that has plagued some other state-run carriers – corruption and mismanagement. It may be on the verge of a sale that would see a private consortium take a majority share in the business. However, its handling of finances has recently come in for severe criticism by the country’s public spending watchdog. In a…

Working with Zayn Malik on a single in Urdu was “a dream come true,” the Pakistani band Aur have told the BBC. “Previously we only had a Pakistani audience, now we have people from the UK, Brazil, China… so it feels very good,” said bandmate Raffey Anwar. A remake of Aur’s breakout hit Tu Hai Kahan features the ex-One Direction singer with vocals in Urdu. The original song has more than 100m views, but the remake is fast catching up, with more than eight million views. The collaboration came about following discussions between Malik’s and Aur’s management, the band said.…

There is nothing subtle about the world’s largest cruise ship. Royal Caribbean’s new, nearly 1,200-foot-long and 250,800 gross ton Icon of the Seas – which set sail from the Port of Miami on its maiden cruise just before sunset on Saturday – towers like a multilayered birthday cake. The frosting on top is in the form of seven swimming pools, a whimsical striped carousel, groves of tropical greenery and twisting waterslides in green, pink, blue and orange. When the $2 billion ship sailed into Miami with music blasting on January 10, after crossing the Atlantic – with a pitstop on Puerto Rico – from…

China’s top securities regulator has limited short-selling, in its latest effort to stem a protracted $6 trillion-dollar stock market rout that began in 2021. The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced Sunday it would “fully” suspend the lending of restricted shares on bourses in mainland China. The curbs, which came into effect on Monday, will impact shares that are held by company employees or strategic investors and are prohibited from being traded in the stock market for a certain period, but can still be lent to others for short-selling. Short sellers borrow shares from a broker, then quickly sell them with the hopes of…

The world’s largest cruise ship has set sail from Miami, Florida, on its maiden voyage, but there are concerns about the vessel’s methane emissions. The 365m-long (1,197 ft) Icon of the Seas has 20 decks and can house a maximum of 7,600 passengers. It is owned by Royal Caribbean Group. The vessel is going on a seven-day island-hopping voyage in the Caribbean. Environmentalists warn the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ship will leak harmful methane into the air. Built at a shipyard in Turku, Finland, the Bahamas-registered ship has seven swimming pools and six water slides. It cost $2bn (£1.6bn) to…

Playing a musical instrument or singing could help keep the brain healthy in older age, UK researchers suggest. Practising and reading music may help sustain good memory and the ability to solve complex tasks, their study says. In their report, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, they say music should be considered as part of a lifestyle approach to maintain the brain. More than 1,100 people aged over 40, with a mean age of 68, were studied. Scientists at the University of Exeter observed their brain function data as part of a wider study that has been finding out how brains age,…

Social media platform X has blocked searches for Taylor Swift after explicit AI-generated images of the singer began circulating on the site. In a statement to the BBC, X’s head of business operations Joe Benarroch said it was a “temporary action” to prioritise safety. When searching for Swift on the site, a message appears that says: “Something went wrong. Try reloading.” Fake graphic images of the singer appeared on the site earlier this week. Some went viral and were viewed millions of times, prompting alarm from US officials and fans of the singer. Posts and accounts sharing the fake images…

Animal rights activists have protested against the return of bullfighting to Mexico City after almost two years. The city held its first bullfight since 2022 on Sunday. A judge had ordered the indefinite suspension of the practice – which dates back to the 16th Century in Mexico – agreeing with animal rights activists who had filed a suit. The Supreme Court revoked the decision last month, but a legal battle between supporters and opponents is likely. Local media reported that the judges ruled only on technical aspects and have yet to decide on the case’s merits. “Torture is not art,…

England produced one of their best ever away wins, stunning India with a 28-run victory in a heart-stopping finish to the first Test in Hyderabad. Inspired by one of the all-time great innings by Ollie Pope and a beguiling 7-62 from debutant spinner Tom Hartley, England set India 231 to win, then hustled the hosts out for 202 in the extra half-hour at the end of the fourth day. Beating a team that had lost only three of their previous 46 home Tests is remarkable in itself, but England did it with a vastly inexperienced attack and with senior spinner…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken to gloating about Russia’s resistance to international sanctions and its supposed economic resilience, despite the best efforts of the United States and its G7 partners to choke off Moscow’s oil revenues and starve it of military technology. Scoffing at Europe’s economies, Putin said at a recent event: “We have growth, and they have decline… They all have problems through the roof, not even comparable to our problems.” It’s true that, as the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches, the Russian state is earning billions from oil and diamond exports, its military factories are working flat out, and many…