Chinese national detained; was visiting J-K, Ladakh without permission: Officials
Srinagar (PTI): An unusual chatter on the Internet intercepted by the army alerted security agencies in the Kashmir valley, leading to the detention of a Chinese national who had entered Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir without permission, officials said on Sunday.
Hu Congtai, 29, arrived in Delhi on November 19 on a tourist visa, which permitted him to visit Buddhist religious places in Varanasi, Agra, New Delhi, Jaipur, Sarnath, Gaya and Kushi Nagar.
However, leveraging his resemblance to locals, he boarded a flight to Leh on November 20 and did not register at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office counter located at the Leh airport.
During his stay, he toured the Zanskar region for three days and visited places of importance in the Himalayan town before landing in Srinagar on December 1, the officials said.
A search of his phone history showed that he was looking for the deployment of CRPF in the valley, the officials said, adding he was being questioned by various agencies.
According to the officials, he had arranged for an Indian SIM card from the open market.
While in Srinagar, where he stayed in an unregistered guest house, the Chinese national went to a Buddhist religious place at Harwan, a place where an encounter had left one Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist dead last year.
According to the officials and data extracted from his phone, he had also visited Awantipur ruins in South Kashmir, which is located near Victor Force headquarters of the army in South Kashmir.
During his stay, he had also visited different areas of Srinagar, including Shankracharya hills, Hazratbal, and Mughal Garden along the Dal Lake.
His phone history showed searches related to CRPF deployments and Article 370 of the Constitution which was abrogated in August 2019 to end the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the officials said.
Hu has completed his graduation in Physics from Boston University and has claimed that he likes to travel. His passport shows that he has visited various countries, including the US, New Zealand, Brazil and Fiji, and Hong Kong.
The officials said that he had violated the visa regulations and, at best, they could deport him back to his country.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
