Author: Starvision News Desk

Islamabad, July 4 (IANS) PTI Chairman Imran Khan has told his party leaders about his possible arrest within the next two weeks. Accordingly, a strategy has been devised for protest in the event of Khan’s arrest, The News reported.However, the party sources said this time the protest will be “really peaceful” and no one would go near any cantonment or military areas, the report said.PTI sources said that for the party leaders, most of whom are still hiding to avert arrest, the direction is to participate in the protest in such a manner that none of them is arrested. It…

London, July 4 (IANS) A 52-year-old man from Kerala, who admitted to killing his Indian wife and two children last year, has been sentenced to life, involving a minimum of 40 years in prison, by a UK court.Saju Chelavalel, who was sentenced at the Northampton Crown Court on Monday, had pleaded guilty to three counts of murder of his wife Anju Asok, 35, a staff nurse at Kettering General Hospital, and her two children Jeeva and Janvi Saju, aged six and four..The three died on December 15, 2022, when emergency services were called to Petherton Court to reports that they…

London, July 4 (IANS) Long Covid, which affects millions of people worldwide, is not caused by an immune inflammatory reaction to Covid-19, according to research. Studies show that around 10-20 per cent of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 may go on to develop symptoms that can be diagnosed as long Covid.In the study, published in the journal eLife, researchers found there was no rapid increase in immune cells targeting SARS-CoV-2 at three months.But T-cells targeting the persistent and dormant Cytomegalovirus (CMV) — a common virus that is usually harmless but can stay in your body for life once infected with it…

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) The World Bank has classified the Philippines as a lower middle-income country with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $3,950.According to a report released by the global lender, the Philippines’ GNI per capita increased by 11.3 per cent to $3,950 dollars in 2022, still within the multilateral lender’s list of lower middle-income economies of $1,136 to $4,465 GNI per capita, reports Xinhua news agency.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to bring the Philippines to “upper-middle income status by 2024”, while National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan set the agenda by 2025.The…

Wellington, July 4 (IANS) New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Brussels on Friday to witness the signing of an Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU).The FTA will deliver immediate tariff savings on New Zealand exports to the EU of about NZ$100 million ($61 million) a year when it enters into force, Hipkins said on Tuesday.Modelling suggests exports to the EU will increase by up to NZ$1.8 billion per annum and add up to NZ$1.4 billion to New Zealand’s GDP per year once fully implemented.”This is an important milestone towards entry into force of this…

Manila, July 4 (IANS) Seismic activities of the erupting Mayon volcano, located some 500 km southeast of Manila, has increased, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned on Tuesday.The institute said that alert level 3 on a scale of 5 remains at the most active volcano in the Southeast Asian country, despite the persistence of “a continuous tremor-like series of weak volcanic earthquakes that steadied and increased in strength”, reports Xinhua news agency.There is an increased tendency towards “a hazardous eruption”, the institute warned, adding it is closely monitoring “the increase in seismic energy release”.The 2,460-metre, cone-shaped volcano in…

Kuala Lumpur, July 4 (IANS) Malaysia will no longer implement the mandatory death penalty for a number of serious offences starting from Tuesday onwards.The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 was gazetted on June 30 and signed by Minister in the Department for Law and Institutional Reform Azalina Othman Said, with the date of implementation set for July 4, according to a statement on the Malaysia Federal Legislation website.According to the Minister, the new laws will affect about 1,340 prisoners currently on death row and over 100 serving natural life sentences, including 840 death row prisoners who have exhausted…

Canberra, July 4 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday kept the cash rate unchanged at 4.1 per cent.But it warned that further tightening policy may be required to ensure inflation returns to the 2-3 per cent target range in a reasonable timeframe, reports Xinhua news agency.Inflation in Australia has passed its peak and the monthly consumer price index (CPI) indicator for May showed a further decline, RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a statement on Tuesday.Inflation is still too high and will remain so for some time yet, he said.The decision to hold interest rates steady this…

Stockholm, July 4 (IANS) Electricity in Sweden could become exceptionally expensive for another winter, the country’s energy agency said.Martin Johansson, an expert at the Swedish Energy Agency, told Swedish Television (SVT) that in the winter of 2023, “we can expect volatile and high electricity prices”, reports Xinhua news agency.Last winter, Swedish households and businesses faced soaring bills, with electricity prices reaching unprecedented levels due to sanctions on Russian gas, though natural gas only accounts for around 3 per cent of energy consumption in the country.Johansson said: “That situation has not been resolved. We still haven’t managed to replace the natural…

Seoul, July 4 (IANS) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will arrive in South Korea on Friday to explain the analysis of the UN watchdog’s safety review of Japan’s planned release of water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, an official said on Tuesday.Grossi will arrive in the country after completing an ongoing four-day trip to Japan aimed at delivering the results of the IAEA’s final report, which is widely expected to approve the discharge of contaminated water into the ocean, reports Yonhap News Agency.Kyodo News reported that the director will release the results on Friday.Park…