Nanny human trafficking case - B.C. man sentenced ...

NRI Law Group Canada: Nanny human trafficking case - B.C. man sentenced ...: VANCOUVER — A British Columbia man convicted of human trafficking for forcing the family nanny to work long hours for little or no pay, ha...

Plane crash in Laos leaves 49 dead, including 1 Canadian

44 passengers, 5 crew killed after Lao Airlines flight crashes

BANGKOK, Thailand — One Canadian was among 49 people aboard a Laos Airlines domestic flight that crashed Wednesday in Laos and authorities in the Southeast Asian country say they fear there are no survivors,  the Lao government said.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport, which operates the airline as a state enterprise, said 44 passengers and five crew members were aboard flight QV301 from the Lao capital, Vientiane, to Pakse in the country's south. Earlier reports had said there were 39 passengers on board.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said the flight crashed about 8 kilometres short of the international airport at Pakse.

"Upon preparing to land at Pakse Airport the aircraft ran into extreme bad weather conditions and was reportedly crashed into the Mekong River," the ministry said in a statement. It said there was no word of survivors. The airline flies an ATR-72 twin-engine turboprop plane on the 467-kilometre route.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee said his country's embassy in Vientiane was informed that the plane crashed between seven and eight kilometres from the airport at Pakse.

A passenger manifest faxed by the airline listed 44 people: 17 Lao, seven French, five Australians, five Thais, three Koreans, two Vietnamese and one person each from Canada, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and the United States. Korean, French and Thai officials confirmed the totals for their nationalities.

The Lao government said the airline "is taking all necessary steps to co-ordinate and dispatch all rescue units to the accident site in the hope of finding survivors."

It said the crash is being investigated and the airline hoped to announce its findings on Thursday. A Laos Airlines employee contacted by phone at Vientiane's Wattay airport said a news conference would be held Thursday.

Ganga canal closed for cleaning, repairing ghats

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ਲੰਡਨ 'ਚ ਲੁਟੇਰਿਆਂ ਹੱਥੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਪਾਰੀ ਦਾ ਕਤਲ

NRI Sabha Canada: ਲੰਡਨ 'ਚ ਲੁਟੇਰਿਆਂ ਹੱਥੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਪਾਰੀ ਦਾ ਕਤਲ: ਲੰਡਨ, 15 ਅਕਤੂਬਰ (ਮਨਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਬੱਧਨੀ ਕਲਾਂ)-ਇਕ 40 ਸਾਲਾ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਵਪਾਰੀ ਸ਼ੰਮੀ ਅਟਵਾਲ ਦਾ ਲੰਡਨ ਦੇ ਇਲਾਕੇ ਬਾਰਕਿੰਗ ਵਿਖੇ ਲੁਟੇਰਿਆਂ ਹੱਥੋਂ ਕਤਲ ਹੋ ਗਿਆ | ਦੋ ...

Switzerland to share tax info with India, others

REINING IN BLACK MONEY FLOW  The development will virtually pull down the famed secrecy wall surrounding Swiss banks and will lead to Switzerland providing all forms of mutual assistance; Switzerland has been facing intense global pressure to cooperate with overseas authorities to share information about accounts in its Swiss banks;  Switzerland on Tuesday signed OECD's (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

Geneva/New Delhi, October 15
In a major boost for India and other countries seeking details on suspected black money stashed in Swiss banks, Switzerland today agreed to automatic exchange of information and mutual administrative assistance in tax matters with overseas authorities.

The development, which virtually pulls down the famed secrecy wall surrounding Swiss banks, would lead to Switzerland providing all forms of mutual assistance-exchange on request, spontaneous information sharing, tax examinations abroad, and assistance in tax collection.

Switzerland has been facing intense global pressure to cooperate with overseas authorities to share information about accounts in its Swiss banks, which have long been known to be misused by entities from across the world, including from India, for evading taxes in their local jurisdictions.

Buckling under the international pressure, Switzerland today signed OECD's Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

The convention, which has now been signed by 58 countries, including India, provides for sharing of information and mutual cooperation among all its signatories.

Paris-based OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), is an international policy-advisory body that has formulates global tax standards to fight tax evasion and concealment of illicit funds.

According to latest official figures released by Swiss National Bank, total funds held by Indians in Swiss banks fell to a record low level of about Rs 9,000 crore (1.42 billion Swiss francs) at the end of 2012, from about Rs 14,000 crore (2.18 billion Swiss francs) a year ago.

The overall funds held in Swiss banks by entities from across the world also fell from $1.65 trillion to $1.5 trillion during 2012.

The signing comes after the Swiss Federal Council, the highest policy making authority of the country, approved this convention on October 9.