Author: admin@primenews

Madonna will “vigorously defend” legal action brought by fans after she was more than two hours late for a show, her representatives have said. The singer is being sued by two fans who attended her concert last month in New York. The case says the pair “would not have paid for tickets” had they know it would finish so late. The US singer’s representatives and promoter Live Nation said a technical issue caused the delay. The joint statement read: “The shows opened in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn as planned, with the exception of a technical issue December 13th during…

Tens of thousands of children who became overweight or obese during the pandemic could face “lifelong health consequences”, researchers say. Obesity rates rose sharply among 10 and 11-year-olds in England and have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Measures aimed at children under five are now needed to tackle childhood obesity, the researchers warn. The government said it was taking “strong action” to encourage healthier food choices. A prolonged absence from school, a lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating habits have been blamed for rising obesity levels in children during periods of Covid restrictions. Between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, the proportion of…

Promises of tax cuts during general election campaigns may have to be rolled back as the UK economy faces some of its worst problems since the 1950s, a leading think tank has said. “Tax cuts today add to the risk of tax rises or spending cuts tomorrow,” the Institute for Fiscal Studies said. Politicians need to be honest about tough economic trade-offs, it added. But the Treasury said the economy was turning a corner, and that growth would mean more funding for public services. IFS director Paul Johnson said that if political parties looking to form the next government “are…

Police in Thailand have arrested a woman whose pet lion was pictured going on a joyride in the streets of Pattaya. A video that has now gone viral shows the chained lion cub seated in the back of a white, open-top Bentley. The lion was being driven about by a Sri Lankan man who has since left the country, and is believed to be a friend of the woman Sawangjit Kosoongnern. While it is not illegal to own a lion in Thailand, it needs to be officially registered. Authorities in Thailand said Sawangjit claimed to have bought the animal from…

The controversy over South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee allegedly accepting a luxury bag gift has thrown its ruling People Power Party (PPP) into disarray. Spy camera footage released late last year appeared to show a pastor presenting a Christian Dior bag to her. Some analysts say the scandal threatens the prospects of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s party in April’s elections. Voters want an explanation from Mr Yoon, polls show, while the opposition has used the issue to attack him. The video, published by left-wing YouTube channel Voice of Seoul, is reported to have been secretly filmed by the…

Tech firm Hewlett Packard Enterprise says its cloud-based email systems were breached by the same Russian hacking group that compromised some Microsoft email accounts earlier this month. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, also known as HPE, revealed the breach in a securities filing last week. The incident took place on December 12, 2023, and affected “a small percentage of HPE mailboxes belonging to individuals in our cybersecurity, go-to-market, business segments, and other functions,” the company said. “The Company, with assistance from external cybersecurity experts, immediately activated our response process to investigate, contain, and remediate the incident, eradicating the activity,” HPE said in the filing. HPE said…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of “playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners”, after a deadly plane crash in western Russia. He demanded an international inquiry after Wednesday’s crash in the Belgorod region near Ukraine’s border. Russia said there were no survivors after Kyiv had downed the Il-76 plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, six Russian crew and three escorts. Moscow claimed the Ukrainians were being flown for a prisoner exchange. Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR) said it had not been told to ensure safe airspace, as on previous occasions. The GUR comments have been seen as a…

Japan’s Moon lander ended up on its nose when it made its historic touchdown on the lunar surface. The first picture of the stricken Slim spacecraft shows it rotated 90 degrees from how it should have come to rest. This will go some way to explaining the difficulties it has had in generating the electricity needed to operate. The image was captured by the small baseball-sized robot called Sora-Q that was ejected from Slim moments before touchdown last Friday. “An abnormality in the main engine affected the landing attitude of the spacecraft,” the Japanese space agency Jaxa said. To get…

At least 12 people were killed and 75 injured when a UN facility sheltering civilians was struck in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency says. UNRWA said two shells hit its Khan Younis Training Centre during fighting in the city’s western outskirts. Its commissioner condemned the “blatant disregard of basic rules of war”. Israel’s military said it had ruled out that the incident was the result of an air or artillery strike by its forces. It added that it was reviewing Israeli operations nearby and examining the possibility that it was “Hamas fire”. Israeli troops have…

Streaming site Twitch has announced plans to share more of its revenue with creators as part of a shake-up. Streamers make money through fans subscribing to their channel, which starts at £3.99 per month in the UK. This is then split 50/50 between Twitch and the creator, after fees are paid. Sweetheart deals have previously been given to the most famous streamers, but the new system means anyone with more than 100 paid subscribers will now receive 60% of the money fans pledge. The news comes two weeks after parent firm Amazon announced it would axe more than 500 Twitch employees -…