35 TN fishermen arrested in British overseas territorial waters handed over to Indian Coast Guard
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 20: Around 35 fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were arrested more than a month ago from near the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) in the Indian Ocean, and tried and fined 25,000 Pounds Sterling, were on Monday handed over to the Indian Coast Guard, a defence statement said.
The fishermen had ventured to fishing areas in the deep sea, around 230 nautical miles near the BIOT -- an archipelago of 58 islands covering some 640,000 sq km of ocean.
The area is a British Overseas Territory, located approximately halfway between East Africa and Indonesia, and administered from London, the statement said.
The fishermen were arrested on September 29, tried at BIOT and fined 25,000 British Pounds, it said.
One boat has been seized as the fine was not paid, while another boat and its 35 crew members were released, it said.
They were brought off Vizhinjam on BIOT patrol vessel 'Grampien Endurance' and on their own fishing boat. They were handed over at sea to Indian Coast Guard ships 'Anagh' and 'C 441', the statement said.
The fishermen are expected to arrive at Vizhinjam around 7:30 pm where they will be medically examined and interrogated by agencies concerned.
Subsequently, they will be handed over to the Fisheries Department for safe passage to Thengapattinam in Tamil Nadu, the statement added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
