Author: Prima News
Israel carried out heavy airstrikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut overnight after ordering its residents to leave, while the Iran-backed group warned Israelis to leave towns and villages at the frontier. Explosions and flashes lit up the night sky over the Beirut southern suburbs, Reuters footage showed. The Israeli military said it had carried out 26 waves of strikes overnight in the southern suburbs, saying targets included Hezbollah’s command centres and weapons storage facilities. On Thursday, an Israeli military spokesperson told residents of the southern suburbs to move east and north, posting a map showing four large districts of…
Support for New Zealand’s ruling National party has fallen to its lowest level in more than four years and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is no longer voters’ preferred leader, polling showed on Friday. The monthly Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll showed support for the conservative Nationals dropped 2.9 points to 28.4%, the worst showing for the party since late 2021. Luxon, 55, and his coalition government, which has been in power since the 2023 election, have lost popularity over the past year due to a weakening economy and higher unemployment. The decline exposes the centre-right bloc to strong competition from the Labour…
Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), opens new tab, one of the world’s biggest container shipping groups, said on Friday it has temporarily suspended two services linking the Middle East to Asia and Europe as the Iran conflict continues to disrupt global supply chains. The Danish group said in a statement it would halt its FM1 service connecting the Far East to the Middle East and its ME11 service linking the Middle East to Europe “This decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of our personnel and vessels while minimizing operational disruption across our wider network,” Maersk said in an…
Soon after the first Iranian missile and drone attacks on Dubai last week, two Indian entrepreneurs based there tried to move more than $100,000 each from their local bank accounts to Singapore to hedge risk. Technological glitches in the aftermath of the Iranian attacks initially scuppered those plans, the entrepreneurs, who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, disclosed. One of them said he managed to subsequently transfer the sum to his Singapore bank account via another Emirates-based bank. Scores of other wealthy Asians are making enquiries or taking similar steps to move their Dubai-parked…
President Vjosa Osmani on Friday dissolved parliament and called snap elections, the third in just over a year, a day after lawmakers failed to elect a new head of state within the constitutional deadline. The 120-seat parliament had until midnight on Thursday to choose a president, but Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s ruling Vetevendosje party was unable to secure the required quorum or rally opposition lawmakers behind its nominee, Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca. “A parliament that cannot elect a president cannot continue indefinitely to drag out the process as is being attempted.” The opposition parties have asked for a consensual candidate, but Kurti…
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Friday the U.S. and South Korean militaries are discussing the possible redeployment of some U.S. Patriot missile defence systems based in South Korea to be used in the war against Iran. Cho was responding to questions at a parliamentary hearing following media reports on Friday that units of the U.S. mobile missile interceptor system had been moved to the Osan Air Base in South Korea from other locations in the country. Cho said he was unable to comment when asked whether the U.S. plan is to move the Patriot missiles soon to use…
Around 50 French ships are currently blocked in the Persian Gulf and another eight in the Red Sea, France’s Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said on Friday, as Paris seeks support to build a coalition of countries to secure shipping traffic in the region. “There are around fifty ships – 52 to be precise – in the Persian Gulf and eight in the Red Sea, and we are also in permanent contact with the crews, as there are French sailors aboard a number of these vessels,” Tabarot told French broadcaster CNews/Europe 1.
The U.S. Justice Department released FBI records on Thursday that summarize interviews of an unidentified woman in which she made accusations against President Donald Trump related to an alleged sexual encounter. FBI agents interviewed the woman four times in 2019 as part of their investigation into accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department had previously released a log confirming that the interviews took place but released a summary of only one of those four meetings, in which she accused Epstein of molesting her when she was a teenager. The newly disclosed records, opens new tab, which were posted on the…
Lebanon’s Hezbollah warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 5 km (3.11 miles) of the border between the countries in a message posted on its Telegram channel in Hebrew early on Friday. Hezbollah’s message came less than a day after Israel warned residents to leave Beirut’s southern suburbs, prompting an exodus from a swathe of the capital known as Dahiyeh. Lebanon was pulled into the war in the Middle East on Monday, when Hezbollah opened fire, sparking Israeli airstrikes focused on Beirut’s southern suburbs and on southern and eastern Lebanon. “Your military’s aggression against Lebanese sovereignty and safe citizens, the…
The southern Indian state of Karnataka, home to the tech hub of Bengaluru, has banned the use of social media by those under the age of 16, state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday, becoming the first in India to do so. “With the objective of preventing adverse effects of increasing mobile usage on children, usage of social media will be banned for children under the age of 16,” Siddaramaiah, who uses only one name, said in his budget speech.
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