Singapore, July 11 (IANS) Singapore’s law enforcement officers seized more than 600 kg of smokeless tobacco in operations conducted through May and June, according to a statement issued by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) Thursday.

HSA and police officers attended the joint operations, and 27 offenders are assisting with investigations for peddling and possession of smokeless tobacco products, Xinhua news agency reported.

Smokeless tobacco, such as chewing tobacco, snuff and snus, is prohibited in the city-state. It contains carcinogens, or chemicals known to cause cancer. Anyone convicted of the import, distribution, or sale of smokeless tobacco is liable to a fine, imprisonment, or both.

Officers found smokeless tobacco hidden under drain covers and stuffed into rubbish bins and electrical boxes at Chander and Veerasamy roads, the authorities said.

–IANS

int/rs/svn

Seoul, July 11 (IANS) South Korean Vice Defence Minister Kim Seon-ho on Thursday vowed to strengthen defence cooperation with Australia, his office said, amid growing arms industry ties between the two countries.

Kim made the remark during a bilateral defence conference in Canberra, which discussed key threats in the Indo-Pacific region and ways to bolster cooperation between the militaries and defence industries of the two countries, Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korean defence companies, including shipbuilders Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, also participated in the conference to feature their products.

“Amid a grave global security environment, (the conference) presented an opportunity to further strengthen relations between South Korea and Australia,” Kim said. “(We) will make further efforts to strengthen bilateral defence and arms industry cooperation.”

The two countries have bolstered defence ties in recent years, with Canberra signing major deals to purchase South Korean weapons systems, including the Redback infantry fighting vehicle and K9 howitzers.

South Korea has sought closer security ties with Australia, with their top diplomats and defence chiefs discussing Seoul’s potential participation in part of the AUKUS security partnership in May.

The United States, Britain and Australia launched a security pact known as AUKUS in 2021 to counter China’s assertiveness.

Seoul has welcomed considerations of its possible inclusion in Pillar 2 of the partnership, which covers cooperation in advanced technologies.

–IANS

int/sd/svn

Seoul, July 11 (IANS) The declaration adopted by the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) at this week’s summit sends a strong message to Russia and North Korea against their growing partnership and illegal military cooperation, an official said on Thursday.

The leaders of NATO member countries “strongly” condemned North Korea’s exports of artillery shells and ballistic missiles to Russia and voiced “great concern” over the two countries’ deepening partnership, Yonhap news agency reported.

“We welcome the adoption of the declaration,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.

“It sends a strong message to Russia and North Korea. We urge the countries to take the international community’s concerns seriously and immediately stop related activities,” Lim said.

The declaration came as the leaders of NATO member countries attended a summit in Washington on Wednesday, just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced an upgrade of their security partnership with a treaty committing to mutual military assistance in case either of them is attacked.

–IANS

int/rs/svn

New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) In what comes as fresh testimony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s global appeal and popularity, a mere reference of him catapulted the traction on social media handles of Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer to newer heights, precisely over 10-30 times in terms of views and likes.

PM Modi visited Austria, the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years, as part of his two-nation tour including Russia.

While both Russian and Austria gave a red carpet welcome to PM Modi, the Indian diaspora in both nations also gave him a rousing reception.

Meanwhile, what has caught the attention of Netizens is the spike in Chancellor Nehammer’s social media engagement, apparently because of reference to PM Modi.

The Austrian Chancellor’s two posts, one about welcoming PM Modi to Vienna and the other about a selfie with the latter received unprecedented likes and views.

The July 10 post by Chancellor Nehammer featuring a selfie with PM Modi received 3,100 reposts, 36,000 likes and 1.3 million plus views.

His other post tagging PM Modi and welcoming him to Austria, dated July 6, garnered 2,600 reposts, 23,000 likes and over 2.5 million views.

Both these posts garnered unprecedented traction.

A brief study of the Austrian Chancellor’s timeline shows his posts gather an average of less than 100 reposts, 300 likes and around 25,000 views.

Notably, PM Modi visited Austria after wrapping his landmark visit to Russia.

This was the first visit by an Indian PM to Austria in over 40 years.

It was late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who first visited the European nation in 1983.

On his visit to Austria, PM Modi was welcomed by Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg at the Vienna airport.

Later, PM Modi was accorded a warm welcome by Chancellor Nehammer as the two met for a private dinner, before the official talks.

Both the leaders hugged each other and the Austrian Chancellor also clicked a selfie with PM Modi in a candid moment.

Sharing the pictures on his X handle, the Austrian Chancellor wrote, “Welcome to Vienna. It’s a pleasure and honour to welcome you to Austria. Austria and India are friends and partners. I look forward to our political and economic discussions during your visit.”

— IANS

mr/rad

Baghdad, July 11 (IANS) Eight people were killed and three injured in two car accidents in north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a police source said.

In one accident, three civilians and an army officer were killed when two civilian cars collided on a road near a village located south of the northern city of Kirkuk, Major Sabah al-Obaidi from Kirkuk police told Xinhua news agency.

The accident resulted in the wounding of another army officer and two civilians, al-Obaidi said, adding that the accident was a result of overtaking.

In a separate accident, four civilians were killed when two cars collided on the main road between Kirkuk and Tikrit, the capital of Salahuddin province, al-Obaidi added, Xinhua news agency reported.

Last month, Abdul-Zahara al-Hindawi, spokesman of the Ministry of Planning, said a ministry report showed that 11,552 traffic accidents occurred in 2023 in Iraq, with 3,019 people killed, mainly due to negligence of traffic rules and deteriorating road conditions.

–IANS

int/sd/svn