Seoul, Aug 8 (IANS) The Labour Ministry of South Korea announced Friday it will step up labour inspections to address concerns about human rights violations against migrant workers, including a three-week special reporting period for rights violations involving migrant workers. The latest move comes following public outrage over a video showing a Sri Lankan migrant worker being lifted while bound to a forklift at a brick factory in Naju, about 280 kilometres south of Seoul.From August 11 to 29, …

Brasilia/New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) A day after United States imposed additional 25% tariff on imports from India, bringing it at par with Brazil, a leading scholar reflected on its likely impact on global economic order and how the two nations – members of BRICs can come togther to cushion the impact.In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Emilio Diaz, researcher from the University of Sao Paulo offered deep insights into the consequences of 50% tariffs, imposed by Trump administration on both n…

Beijing, Aug 8 (IANS) China on Friday said that it welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit that is scheduled to take place at Tianjin, later this month. “China welcomes Prime Minister Modi to China for the SCO Tianjin Summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality developmen…

Kochi, Aug 8 (IANS) The carcasses of five wild elephants, including a calf and a pregnant female, have been recovered from three forest divisions in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, following days of intense rainfall and flooding in the region.Two tuskers were found dead on Thursday in the Kuttampuzha forest range, which falls under the Malayattoor division, about 50 km from Kochi. Their bodies were spotted in the Pooyamkutty River near Kuttampuzha panchayat.According to forest officials, both ele…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Income Tax Bill, 2025, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 13 to replace the existing Income Tax Act, 1961, has been formally withdrawn, sources said on Friday.A new version of the Income Tax Bill, incorporating most of the recommendations made by the Select Committee chaired by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, will be introduced in Parliament on Monday, according to people in the know.To avoid confusion by multiple versions of the Bill and to provide a clear…

Thrissur, Aug 8 (IANS) The Congress party in Kerala is considering initiating legal proceedings over the BJP’s victory in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 general elections following the revelations made by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi regarding large-scale electoral fraud.The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, V.D. Satheesan, told the media on Friday that Gandhi has called for a thorough investigation into alleged election malpractices.“Nu…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday intervened in the matter of a north Delhi restaurant denying entry to a guest in traditional Indian wear on the grounds of not following the outlet’s ‘western dress’ code.As the news of Pitampura-based eatery’s action reached Assembly premises, BJP’s Jangpura legislator Tarvinder Singh Marwah sought action against those who disrespected Indian ethnic clothes.Marwah told IANS, “Whoever has done this must be punished acco…

Jaipur, Aug 8 (IANS) In a significant move aimed at promoting ease of doing business in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma has approved a relaxation under Section 4 of the Rajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958. With this decision, institutions employing between 0 to 10 workers will now be exempt from the provisions of mandatory registration under the Act.This change is expected to bring major relief to small shop owners and commercial establishments, reducing procedural…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved Rs 30,000 crore compensation to three public sector Oil Marketing Companies (IOCL, BPCL and HPCL) for the under-recoveries incurred on the sale of domestic LPG.The distribution of the compensation within the OMCs will be done by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The compensation will be paid in 12 tranches, a Cabinet communique said.According to the government, this significant step al…

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) As part of the ongoing celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry of Textiles has reaffirmed its commitment to empowering women handloom weavers through various central sector schemes. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita shared that over 14,000 women weavers have been trained under the SAMARTH scheme across the country in the past three financial years (2022-23 to 2024-25).The Ministry is implementi…