Venezuela bans six major airlines amid US tensions
VANEZUELA, Nov 27: After failing to fulfill a 48-hour deadline to begin flights there, six major foreign airlines were prohibited from landing in Venezuela. Following the US’s warning of “heightened military activity” in the region, the airlines momentarily halted their flights into Caracas, the country’s capital. This infuriated the Venezuelan government, which sent the airlines an ultimatum that ended on Wednesday. Thousands of travelers have been impacted, even though some smaller airlines still operate flights to Venezuela. The US has sent a sizable force to the waters around Venezuela, claiming to be fighting drug trafficking, but the country’s leader has condemned this as an effort to topple him. Venezuela revokes landing and takeoff rights for six airlines, including Iberia, TAP, Gol, Latam, Avianca, Turkish. (Agencies)
UK jails Indian-origin man for heroin trafficking conspiracy
LONDON, Nov 27: A 57-year-old Indian-origin man, Rajesh Bakshi, was sentenced to 10 years in the UK for conspiring to smuggle heroin, while his co-conspirator Jon-Paul Clark, 44, received nine years after a trial in south-eastern England. The case followed a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation, which linked Bakshi’s fingerprints to a £4 million consignment of Class A heroin intercepted at Dover in June 2022. Clark denied involvement, claiming his DNA appeared on the drugs because he wore Bakshi’s sweater, but the jury rejected his defense. Evidence included phone records showing travel in the Netherlands and Belgium before the seizure, photos of the two together, and texts requesting cash. Bakshi also had prior drug convictions. NCA officials emphasized both men disregarded the harm caused by Class A drugs and vowed to continue combating drug trafficking in the UK and abroad. (PTI)
11 killed, two injured in train accident in China
BEIJING, Nov 27: A test train hit a group of maintenance workers on the track early Thursday in China’s southwestern city of Kunming, killing 11 people and injuring two others, local railway authorities said. The accident occurred at the Luoyangzhen station in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, according to the China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. The cause of the accident is under investigation, and the railway station has resumed operations, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. (AP)
Myanmar releases political prisoners in mass amnesty
BANGKOK, Nov 27: Myanmar’s military granted a mass amnesty, freeing over 3,000 political prisoners and dropping charges against 5,500 others ahead of December elections. Released inmates included NLD members and journalists, while Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed. Families celebrated outside Insein Prison, but critics warn the elections will not be free or fair, citing continued military control and arrests of opposition leaders. (AP)
