Author: Starvision News Desk

London, July 29 (IANS) A 38-year-old Asian-origin man has been found guilty of being part of an organised crime group linked to the prolific smuggling of migrants, including minors, to the UK.Najib Khan, 38, from Ilford was identified as being part of the network by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), following the arrest of his co-conspirator Waqas Ikram, 40, in March 2021.Ikram, who was caught red-handed attempting to break into a heavy goods vehicle to put migrants inside, worked for a people smuggling organised crime group headed by Mokter Hossain. An iPhone belonging to Ikram, seized following his arrest,…

Paris, July 29 (IANS) The year-on-year consumer price index (CPI) in France was 4.3 per cent in July, thus continuing a slow but steady downward trend in inflation, according to a preliminary report released by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE).In June, the year-on-year CPI stood at 4.5 per cent, making it the first time that the country’s inflation stayed below the 5 per cent benchmark since April 2022, reports Xinhua news agency.The INSEE contributes the downward trend in inflation to lower energy prices and a slower increase in the prices of food products (for the fourth…

Ottawa, July 29 (IANS) Over 1,000 wildfires are still burning more than 100,000 square km of land in Canada, more than 600 of them out of control and growing rapidly, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC).The burnt area is equivalent to the size of Iceland or South Korea, Xinhua news agency quoted the CIFFC as saying.This exceeds the record of some 76,000 square km set in 1989 and is four times of average Canadian wildfire burning area, which should be around 25,000 square km per year.According to local media, more Canadians have been evacuated from their homes…

London, July 28 (IANS) A 27-year-old Indian-origin man has been convicted for killing a former friend and dumping his partially-burnt body rolled in a carpet in a shallow grave in west London in 2019, police said. After a four-year-long investigation, Amraj Poonia from Horley was found guilty of murdering Mohammed Shah Subhani, 27, following a trial at the Old Bailey on Thursday. Poonia’s accomplices in the murder, his brother Raneel Poonia, Mohanad Riad and Mahamud Ismail were found found guilty of perverting the course of justice. All four of them will be sentenced at the same court at a later…

Seoul, July 28 (IANS) The South Korean government on Friday said multiple warnings went unheeded ahead of the deadly underpass flooding that claimed the lives of 14 people earlier this month.The underground roadway in the central city of Cheongju, 112 km southeast of Seoul, was flooded on July 15 after an embankment was brought down by the rising water level amid torrential downpours, submerging several vehicles, including a bus, reports Yonhap News Agency.The Office for Government Policy Coordination, under the Prime Minister’s Office, conducted an inspection to determine the causes behind the tragic flooding and detected criminal suspicions involving a…

Manila, July 28 (IANS) The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday said the death toll due to the capsize of an overcrowded passenger boat on Laguna de Bay off Rizal province has increased to 26.The PCG said the boat, which has a maximum capacity of 42, was carrying up to 70 people when the accident occurred on Thursday, reports Xinhua news agency. The passengers were not wearing life vests.As search and retrieval operations continued on Friday, the PCG has accounted for 66 passengers, including 26 deaths and 40 survivors.The boat was traveling to Talim island in Laguna de Bay, the…

Islamabad, July 28 (IANS) A report compiled by a UN Security Council (UNSC) monitoring committee has shed light on the resurgence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group and regrouping inside Pakistan, specifically after the Taliban’s return to power in AfghanistanThe report highlighted that the TTP has gained considerable momentum in its efforts to regain control on the tribal areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan as it has gained encouragement by the fall of Kabul and the “under the umbrella” support it has been able to get on its cross-border coordination.“Member states assess that the TTP is gaining momentum in its…

Washington, July 28 (IANS) In a move that could benefit Indians, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will hold a second random lottery selection from the previously submitted H-1B visas for fiscal 2024.In March this year, the USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. Only those petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2024 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions. The initial filing period for those with selected registrations for FY 2024 was from April 1,…

Singapore, July 28 (IANS) For the first time in 20 years, Singapore on Friday executed a woman convict who was found guilty of trafficking 30 grams of heroin in 2018.Singaporean national Saridewi Djamani, 45, is the second drug convict to be executed this week, after fellow Singaporean Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, and the 15th since March 2022, reports the BBC.Under Singapore’s anti-drug laws, which are some of the world’s toughest, death penalty is imposed on anyone caught trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or 15 grams of heroin.In a statement, Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said that Saridewi, who…

Athens, July 28 (IANS) Wildfires raging across Greece has forced the evacuation of an Air Force base at the seaside town of Nea Anchialos, as well as 12 settlements in the area, state media reported.According to the Greek national news agency AMNA, the relocation of Hellenic Air Force aircraft became necessary on Thursday after a wildfire triggered a series of massive explosions overnight at an ammunition depot, breaking windows and damaging buildings in the vicinity.The wildfires in the greater Volos area have posed the toughest challenge for firefighters for the past two days, Xinhua news agency quoted the Fire Brigade…