Heavy rains continue to pound Mumbai & suburbs
Mumbai: Heavy rains continued to lash Mumbai and adjoining suburbs on Saturday, leading to water- logging in several areas, which affected normal life.
Water-logging on tracks disrupted the suburban train services to some extent, as locals were running behind schedule by around 15 minutes.
However, flight operations at the Mumbai airport were not impacted due to rains, an airport official said.
"Overnight heavy rains in Mumbai and its adjoining areas has led to water-logging at some places, which has affected the flow of traffic, especially in parts of Malad, Andheri and Dahisar," a senior official of the said.
Chief spokesperson of the Central Railway, Sunil Udasi, said that due to heavy rains, suburban trains are running with "cautious speed". Spokesperson of the Mumbai airport said, "Flight operations at the airport are normal."
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning of heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Saturday along with a high tide of 4.90 metres at 1.44 pm.
It also said that the weather conditions along the west coast would remain inclement. The IMD also predicted heavy rainfall in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra.
The weather department had on Friday predicted intense heavy rainfall in Mumbai on Saturday and Sunday due to a low- pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.
In view of heavy rain warning and alert issued by the IMD, the BMC has issued a 'beach safety appeal' to citizens, the civic official said.
"We appeal citizens to avoid venturing near sea or walking in water logged areas. In any emergency call us on 1916," the official said.
As per the fire station-wise rainfall recorded by the BMC in the 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday, Dindoshi received 50 mm rainfall, followed by Kandivali (41 mm), Malad (36 mm), Chincholi (34 mm), Goregaon (33 mm), Bhandup (31 mm), Borivali (29 mm), Malwani (26 mm), Mulund (20 mm), Vikhroli (11 mm) and Kurla (9 mm).
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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.
