Author: Starvision News Desk

Chandigarh, July 6 (IANS) Confirming that he is alive and in New York, India’s designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Thursday issued a fresh threat to Indian diplomats in Canada, the US, Australia and the UK.Pannun, who founded Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), released a video message from UN Headquarters saying, “Yes, we will hold Sandhu-Verma-Doraiswami-Malhotra-Vohra, the Indian diplomats in US, Canada, UK, Italy and Australia responsible for assassination of Nijjar.”Declaring the third phase of Khalistan referendum in Canada, Pannun said Toronto will vote on July 16 and September 10 voting in Vancouver will be dedicated to Nijjar.Canada-based pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep…

Sydney, July 6 (IANS) Homophobic name-calling among teenagers, whether friendly teasing or traumatic bullying, can have damaging impact on mental health, according to a study.Dr Kai Lin, a sociologist and criminologist from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), said there was a belief that homophobic name-calling, particularly “teasing” among friends, was relatively harmless, however the study findings show that is not the case.“Those who experienced homophobic name-calling, regardless of intention, reported a range of negative psychological and behavioural outcomes,” Dr Lin said. “These included depressive symptoms and a decreased sense of belonging at school.”More than 44 per cent of teenagers…

Wellington, July 6 (IANS) The New Zealand government on Thursday announced another round of support to Afghanistan, providing a further NZ$11 million ($6 million) in funding to support the UN’s response to the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.More than two-thirds of the Afghan population now requiring assistance, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said.Vulnerable communities in Afghanistan are experiencing record levels of food insecurity and are in desperate need of health services, clean water, and education, Xinhua news agency quoted Mahuta as saying.The funding will support UN agencies to provide essential assistance to the Afghan people, taking New Zealand’s support for Afghanistan since…

Colombo, July 6 (IANS) Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves is estimated at around $3.5 billion by the end of June 2023 as the country is trying to overcome its worst economic crisis, a statement from its central bank said on Thursday.The central bank said the trade deficit decreased notably during the five months ending in May with a significant decrease in merchandise imports, despite some setbacks in merchandise exports, reflecting the moderation of global demand, reports Xinhua news agency.According to the statement, the liquidity conditions in the domestic foreign exchange market continued to improve in recent months supported by increased…

Minsk, July 6 (IANS) Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko on Thursday said that Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Russian Wagner mercenary group that staged a short-lived rebellion last month, is in Russia.Since the rebellion on June 24, the whereabouts of Prigozhin remains unknown, the BBC reported.Under the deal to end the stand-off brokered by Lukashenko, charges against the Wagner chief were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus.But on Thursday, the President said: “As for Prigozhin, he’s in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus.”His announcement came just over a week ago when he said that…

Sydney, July 6 (IANS) The health authority in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Thursday warned of rising influenza rates and hospitalizations among children and teenagers, urging parents to have their kids aged five to 16 years vaccinated.NSW Health Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said in a statement that the latest NSW data is concerning, with a 37 per cent increase in emergency department (ED) presentations with influenza-like illness and a 30 per cent increase in admissions to hospital in the week to Sunday compared to the previous week, reports Xinhua news agency.According to the statement, children…

Jerusalem, July 6 (IANS) The number of foreign tourists visiting Israel from January to June nearly doubled that of the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Tourism Ministry.From January to June, 1.97 million foreign tourists arrived in Israel, compared to 1.01 million in the first half of 2022, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.Tourism revenues in Israel reached 11.7 billion shekels ($3.16 billion) in the first half of 2023, more than double the 5.4 billion shekels recorded in January-June last year, it added.–IANSksk

Kathmandu, July 6 (IANS) Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is being criticised for his remarks that “India makes the Prime Minister” in the Himalayan nation.Addressing a function to launch a book written by Kiran Deep Sandhu on Sardar Pritam Singh on Monday, Prachanda, as the Prime Minister is popularly known, said that Pritampal once went to India to lobby for him to make him the premier. After leaving India many years ago, Pritam’s familyis now settled in Kathmandu and has good connections with political leaders of Nepal, including Prachanda. Pritam’s daughter wrote the book ‘Roads to the Valley: The…

Istanbul, July 6 (IANS) Authorities in Istanbul, Turkey’s most populous city, announced that smoking hookahs in public spaces will be banned until further notice.The Istanbul Governorate said in a written notice that the ban was issued to mitigate the risks of forest fires and other potential hazards, reports Xinhua news agency.”Smoking shisha will be strictly prohibited in various locations, including beaches, forests, recreational areas, and parks throughout Istanbul,” Governor Davut Gul said on his Twitter account.”However, it is important to note that licensed shisha lounges operating outside of these designated areas are not affected by this ban,” he added.According to…

Colombo, July 6 (IANS) The Sri Lankan central bank on Thursday said that its monetary board has decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate and the Standing Lending Facility Rate by 200 basis points to 11.00 per cent and 12.00 per cent, respectively.The central bank said it took this decision at the monetary board meeting conducted on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.The board arrived at this decision following a careful analysis of the current and expected developments, including the faster-than-envisaged disinflation process and benign inflation expectations in the domestic economy, with the aim of enabling the economy to reach…