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GMA Network
a day ago
- Business
- GMA Network
DITO: 39 foreigners brought to BI are bona fide employees of business partners
In a statement, DITO said it was confident that the BI's records would show that the foreigners had the necessary visas and work permits to legally work in the Philippines. The 39 foreigners who were brought to the Bureau of Immigration for verification after BI officers went to DITO Tecommunity's offices last week are "bona fide employees" of its business partners, the telecommunications company said on Monday. In a statement, DITO said it was confident that the BI's records would show that the foreigners had the necessary visas and work permits to legally work in the Philippines. DITO said immigration officers on May 29 visited its offices, after which 39 foreigers affiliated with its accredited business partners were brought to the bureau for further verification. "DITO Telecommunity remains committed to full compliance with Philippine laws and continues to work closely with all relevant government agencies on this matter," the company said. DITO branded as inaccurate and unfounded the "misleading information circulating in social media and other sources alleging that DITO illegally employs foreign nationals." "These individuals are bona fide employees of our business partners, who are visiting DITO's office to render continuing technical support services to DITO and its Stand Alone 5G network pursuant to valid and existing service agreements with DITO," the company said. "These foreign nationals are not employees of DITO. Their presence was strictly for the purpose of fulfilling contractually agreed technical and support obligations—an ordinary practice in infrastructure projects of this scale," it added. –NB, GMA Integrated News
NDTV
27-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
India Restarts Visa Services For Afghan Nationals
New Delhi: India has restarted the visa service for Afghanistan nationals wishing to visit the country for business, education and medical treatment and they can now apply online. After the Taliban seized power in August 2021, India withdrew officials from its embassy in Kabul and suspended visa services. According to a notice put up on the government of India's official visa portal , the visas will be given in the categories of business, student, medical, medical attendant, entry and UN diplomat. Each applicant will have to upload online the Afghan National Identity Card (Tazkira) containing personal details like name, date of birth, nationality, expiry date etc. The documents required for completing the visa application are indicated against each type of visa. All documents including business cards, invitation letters etc. must be in English language, failing which the application would be liable for rejection, the notice said. Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at the Immigration on arrival in India. Applicants should carry a copy of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) at the time of travel. They should travel only when the ETA status is shown as 'GRANTED' on the official visa portal prior to the commencement of the journey. Applicants can track the status of their application online by clicking visa status. Those travelling to India are also advised to go through instructions available on the website of the government of India's Bureau of Immigration at . The applicant must travel on the passport under which the application filed for a visa. Entry will be allowed into India on the new passport even if ETA has been issued on the old passport. However, in such cases, a traveller must carry the old passport on which ETA was issued. Those who wish to apply for a business visa must mention the purpose of the visit like the establishment of an industrial/business venture, other business activities, sports persons and coaches including those engaged in commercial sports events in India on contract with remuneration. A student visa will be given to those who were awarded Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarships and those seeking admission in government educational institutes. Medical visas will be given to patients and medical attendant visas will be given to attendants of patients. There is a visa category called 'Entry visa' under which the travel document will be given to Afghan nationals intending to visit India to participate in cultural events and activities sponsored by reputed institutions in India for a short duration without remuneration. Minor children accompanying an Afghan parent, who has come for medical treatment on a medical visa, a minor child from previous marriages of an Afghan national who is presently married to an Indian citizen/Person of Indian Origin/OCI cardholder among others will also be given the 'entry visa'. Afghan nationals working as United Natioans diplomats will also be given a visa under the category of UN diplomat. All such persons will have to provide the Afghan National Identity Card (Tazkira) containing personal details like name, date of birth, nationality, expiry date etc. India had withdrawn its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 following concerns over their security. India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. However, India has been pitching for providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. In June 2022, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a "technical team" in its embassy in the Afghan capital. There have been several high-level contacts with Afghanistan since then, including a telephonic conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi on May 15. Jaishankar had also appreciated Muttaqi's condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
Hindustan Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
India resumes select visa services for Afghan nationals after almost 4 years
India has restarted the visa service for Afghanistan nationals wishing to visit the country for business, education and medical treatment and they can now apply online. After the Taliban seized power in August 2021, India withdrew officials from its embassy in Kabul and suspended visa services. According to a notice put up on the government of India's official visa portal , the visas will be given in the categories of business, student, medical, medical attendant, entry and UN diplomat. Each applicant will have to upload online the Afghan National Identity Card (Tazkira) containing personal details like name, date of birth, nationality, expiry date etc. The documents required for completing the visa application are indicated against each type of visa. All documents including business cards, invitation letters etc. must be in English language, failing which the application would be liable for rejection, the notice said. Biometric details of the applicant will be mandatorily captured at the Immigration on arrival in India. Applicants should carry a copy of Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) at the time of travel. They should travel only when the ETA status is shown as 'GRANTED' on the official visa portal prior to the commencement of the journey. Applicants can track the status of their application online by clicking visa status. Those travelling to India are also advised to go through instructions available on the website of the government of India's Bureau of Immigration at . The applicant must travel on the passport under which the application filed for a visa. Entry will be allowed into India on the new passport even if ETA has been issued on the old passport. However, in such cases, a traveller must carry the old passport on which ETA was issued. Those who wish to apply for a business visa must mention the purpose of the visit like the establishment of an industrial/business venture, other business activities, sports persons and coaches including those engaged in commercial sports events in India on contract with remuneration. A student visa will be given to those who were awarded Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarships and those seeking admission in government educational institutes. Medical visas will be given to patients and medical attendant visas will be given to attendants of patients. There is a visa category called 'Entry visa' under which the travel document will be given to Afghan nationals intending to visit India to participate in cultural events and activities sponsored by reputed institutions in India for a short duration without remuneration. Minor children accompanying an Afghan parent, who has come for medical treatment on a medical visa, a minor child from previous marriages of an Afghan national who is presently married to an Indian citizen/Person of Indian Origin/OCI cardholder among others will also be given the 'entry visa'. Afghan nationals working as United Natioans diplomats will also be given a visa under the category of UN diplomat. All such persons will have to provide the Afghan National Identity Card (Tazkira) containing personal details like name, date of birth, nationality, expiry date etc. India had withdrawn its officials from the embassy after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 following concerns over their security. India has not yet recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. However, India has been pitching for providing humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. In June 2022, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Kabul by deploying a "technical team" in its embassy in the Afghan capital. There have been several high-level contacts with Afghanistan since then, including a telephonic conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi on May 15. Jaishankar had also appreciated Muttaqi's condemnation of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
Female colleague's suicide: Kerala high court junks IB officer's pre-arrest bail plea
Kochi: The high court on Monday dismissed the pre-arrest bail petition filed the Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer who is the sole accused in a case related to the death of a fellow female IB officer. The bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, while rejecting the plea, observed that prima facie, the petitioner was in a position of control or dominance over the deceased and had repeatedly prompted her to end her life so that he could marry another woman. The accused had even coerced the deceased to fix a date for her death and subjected her to continuous abuse, as revealed from chat history retrieved from a deleted account on a phone seized during the investigation. The court further noted that it cannot be concluded, at this early stage, that such conduct was not an 'instigation' as per section 45 of BNS (Abetment). The 24-year-old lady officer, who was employed with the Bureau of Immigration at Trivandrum International Airport, was found dead near the railway tracks at Chakka Railway Bridge, Thiruvananthapuram, on March 24. Her family alleged that the accused had sexually assaulted her and defrauded her of approximately Rs 3.5 lakh. The accused, however, claimed that she may have died by suicide due to pressure from her parents, who had allegedly forced her to accept another marriage proposal. Upon perusing the case diary and related materials, the court found that the petitioner had been involved in simultaneous relationships with more than two women and had maintained physical intimacy with them. The deceased, over whom he wielded considerable influence, had been transferring her entire salary to him every month since Oct 2024. It was also noted that she had become pregnant by the petitioner, and the pregnancy was subsequently medically terminated. The WhatsApp chats retrieved from the deleted account indicated persistent mental harassment and coercive control by the petitioner. These chats, along with witness statements, pointed to the petitioner's sustained efforts to mentally break down the deceased and compel her to end her life, even urging her to set a date for her death. The bench observed that the materials collected thus far may be only the tip of the iceberg, and the circumstances suggest that the petitioner's relationship with the deceased played a significant role in her taking the extreme step. The court concluded that granting anticipatory bail at this stage could impede the investigation and obstruct the discovery of crucial evidence. Accordingly, the petition was dismissed. Additionally, the court expressed its displeasure over the leakage of WhatsApp chat details from the case diary to the media and orally directed that an inquiry be conducted into the same.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Time of India
Man held for trafficking 2 youths to Laos for crypto frauds
Mumbai: With the arrest of a 29-year-old Surat-based man, the Bureau of Immigration and the Sahar Police busted a human trafficking case at the Mumbai International Airport recently. The accused, PK Chauhan, was allegedly involved in trafficking two men in their early twenties to Laos for committing cryptocurrency frauds. Chauhan was remanded to judicial custody by a local court on Monday. Sahar police are probing whether he has any local accomplices. Around 11 pm on May 25, Chauhan approached an immigration counter with his boarding pass for verification. He was followed by a 21-year-old man, also from Surat. Both men were to fly to Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam from Mumbai. Then, they were to board another flight from Vietnam to Laos. Their flight to Vietnam was scheduled at 12.40 am on Monday. The immigration officer at the counter quizzed them about their purpose for visiting Laos. Chauhan replied it was for work. But the officer was not satisfied. It appeared to him that Chauhan was guiding the younger man and taking him along. The immigration officer alerted his superior. Meanwhile, there was another 20-year-old man also headed to Laos for work waiting at another immigration counter. All three men were taken aside and quizzed. The FIR, lodged subsequently on the basis of an immigration officer's statement, says that Chauhan was previously in Laos from Dec 2022 to Feb 2023 through a Dubai-based agent and was involved in a cryptocurrency chatting scam. As part of the scam, he allegedly spoke to people living in the US, Canada and Australia through Facebook chat and convinced them to invest in cryptocurrency. But they never received any returns. Further, he was in the Golden Triangle (region in South East Asia where borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet) between Dec 2024 and March 2025 where he was again involved in a chatting scam. According to the FIR, Chauhan was headed to Laos on Monday in connection with another chatting scam and was taking the two younger men along for the same purpose. The two younger men held a BCA (Bachelors in Computer Applications) degree and were promised a job in "computers" with a monthly pay packet of Rs 60000 to Rs 70000 each. They were in touch with Chauhan for a few days before the flight. Chauhan was handed over to the Sahar Police and placed under arrest.
