Colombo (TIP): Sri Lankan authorities have arrested 21 Indian nationals for illegally operating an online marketing centre in the island nation, violating the relaxed tourist visa norms, a media report said on Wednesday.
The 21 Indian men in the age group of 24 to 25, who were in Sri Lanka on tourist visas, were taken into custody on March 13 by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
After a preliminary inquiry, the department raided a rented house in Negombo city, where those arrested were found operating an online marketing centre. The house had been converted into an office space where computers and other devices had been installed, the report said.
Under Sri Lanka’s law, those who visit the island nation on tourist visas are prohibited from engaging in any paid or unpaid work.
The Indian nationals had used the free-of-charge visa condition that Sri Lanka has granted to a set of countries till March 31 as part of an ongoing pilot project to promote tourism in the cash-strapped country.
They had arrived in Sri Lanka in February and March on tourist visas, a senior immigration official told the newspaper. The arrested Indian nationals were transferred to the department’s detention centre in Welisara on the orders of relevant authorities, the report said. (PTI)
Al-Qaida’s Yemen branch says leader Khalid al-Batarfi dead in unclear circumstances
DUBAI (TIP): : The leader of Yemen’s branch of al-Qaida is dead, the militant group announced late March 11, without giving details.
Khalid al-Batarfi had a $5 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government over leading the group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula over years that saw him imprisoned, freed in a jailbreak and governing forces in Yemen amid that country’s grinding war.
Though believed to be weakened in recent years due to infighting and suspected U.S. drone strikes killing its leaders, the group known by the acronym AQAP has long been considered the most dangerous branch of the extremist group still operating after the killing of founder Osama bin Laden.
Al-Qaida released a video showing al-Batarfi wrapped in a white funeral shroud and al-Qaida’s black-and-white flag.
Militants offered no details on the cause of his death and there was no clear sign of trauma visible on his face. Al-Batarfi was believed to be in his early 40s.
The leader of Yemen’s branch of al-Qaida is dead, the militant group announced Sunday, March 10, 2024, without giving details.
An attack by al-Qaida-allied group in northwest Syria kills, wounds dozens of troops, activists say
The group made the announcement on the eve of Ramadan, the Muslim holy fasting month that Yemen will begin Monday.
In the announcement, the group said Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki would take over as its leader. The U.S. has a $6 million bounty on him, saying al-Awlaki “has publicly called for attacks against the United States and its allies.”
“Although in decline, AQAP remains the most effective terrorist group in Yemen with intent to conduct operations in the region and beyond,” a recent United Nations report on al-Qaida said.
Estimates provided to the U.N. put AQAP’s total forces as numbering between 3,000 and 4,000 active fighters and passive members. The group raises money by robbing banks and money exchange shops, as well as smuggling weapons, counterfeiting currencies and ransom operations, according to the U.N.
Al-Batarfi took over as the head of the branch in February 2020. He succeeded leader Qassim al-Rimi, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike ordered by then-President Donald Trump. (AP)