2 militants killed in encounter with security forces in J&K
Srinagar: Two militants were on Saturday killed in separate encounters with security forces in Baramulla and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
While an unidentified militant was killed in Sopore township of Baramulla district of north Kashmir, another was killed in Shopian district of south Kashmir in an operation which began on Friday, a police officer said.
Acting on specific information about the presence of militants in Warpora area of Sopore in Baramulla, security forces launched a cordon and search operation there on Saturday morning, he said.
As the forces was searching the area, the militants fired upon them. The forces retaliated, ensuing a gunfight in which one militant was killed, the officer said.
The identity and group affiliation of the slain ultra was being ascertained, he added.
In another operation which began in Pandushan area of Shopian on Friday, the officer said security forces killed a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant Manzoor Bhat.
On Friday, another JeM militant Zeenat ul Islam Naikoo, a resident of Memandar area of Shopian, was killed in the gunfight, the officer said.
He said both the militants were involved in a series of terror crimes and other civilian atrocities.
"Naikoo has a long history of terror crime records and several terror crime cases were registered against him including relating to attack on police station Shopian, abduction of a civilian Shakoor Ahmad, killing of four policemen in Shopian, abduction and killing of a civilian Tanveer Ahmad among others," he said.
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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.
