2 Indians arrested in Italy for enslaving 33 countrymen
Rome, July 14: Two Indian nationals have been arrested for allegedly enslaving 33 farm labourers, all from India, in Italy’s Verona province, according to a media report, weeks after the country was shocked by the tragic death of a Sikh farm worker who bled to death. Finance police also seized assets worth 475,000 euros from the suspects, who own two agricultural sector companies with no employees on the books and are allegedly total tax evaders, ANSA news agency reported on Saturday. The two alleged gangmasters were arrested on Saturday and are under investigation for crimes, including enslavement and labour exploitation, the Italian news agency said. The issue of modern forms of slavery in Italy recently came to the fore of media attention following the case of 31-year-old Sikh farm labourer Satnam Singh, who bled to death after being abandoned by his employer after a strawberry wrapping machine severed his arm in Lazio, near Rome, last month. Singh, who was an Indian national, died due to “copious bleeding”, the ANSA news agency earlier reported. (PTI)
Indian among 5 dead in Nepal twin bus tragedy
Kathmandu, July 14: Rescuers in Nepal on Sunday found the body of a person who went missing when two buses were swept into a swollen river by a mudslide last week in Chitwan district, police said, taking the death toll to five, including that of an Indian. The rescue team on Sunday found the fifth body at Gaindakot-7 while searching for passengers after two buses carrying 65 passengers, including seven Indians, went missing in the flooded Trishuli River on Friday. The landslide happened in the Simaltal area along the Narayanghat-Mugling road in Chitwan district. Three people swam to safety soon after the incident. So far only five bodies, including that of an Indian, have been recovered during the search operation, My Republica news portal quoted a police official as saying. (PTI)
China, Russia start joint naval drills
Beijing, July 14: China and Russia’s naval forces on Sunday kicked off a joint exercise at a military port in southern China on Sunday, official news agency Xinhua reported, days after NATO allies called Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war in Ukraine. The Chinese defence ministry said in a brief statement forces from both sides recently patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean and that the operation had nothing to do with international and regional situations and didn’t target any third party. The exercise, which began in Guangdong province on Sunday and is expected to last until mid-July, aimed to demonstrate the capabilities of the navies in addressing security threats and preserving peace and stability globally and regionally, state broadcaster CCTV reported Saturday, adding it would include anti-missile exercises, sea strikes and air defence. Xinhua reported the Chinese and Russian naval forces carried out on-map military simulation and tactical coordination exercises. (AP)