J-K: Mainstream political parties to meet at Mehbooba's residence at 6 pm, discuss Kashmir situation
Srinagar: Leaders of the mainstream political parties in Kashmir will hold an all party meeting Sunday evening here to discuss the prevailing situation in the Valley.
Kashmir has been on the edge following the deployment of additional troops and the state administration's order asking the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims and the tourists to leave the Valley owing to security reasons.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said the leaders of various political parties had decided to meet at a hotel here, but the police asked it not to allow any political meeting in its premises
"The political parties here had decided to hold a meeting at a hotel today. But, police has issued an advisory to all hotels not to let political parties hold any meeting in their premises. Now we are holding the meeting at my residence at 6 pm today," she told reporters here.
Mehbooba said she talked to Nation Conference president Farooq Abdullah about the meeting and he committed that party's vice president Omar Abdullah would attend it.
"I talked to Farooq sahab, he is unwell. But he made the commitment that Omar sahib will attend the meeting. I have talked to other leaders. It is very important for J&K that mainstream parties, civil society, trade unions, religious organisations and even separatists come together to fight this scourge," The PDP president said.
She said the Centre was not bothered to speak on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
"We had made an effort to tell the people of this country and the government about the consequences if they toy with Articles 35A and 370 (of the Constitution). We made an appeal too, but no assurance has been given yet from the Centre. They are not bothered to say anything, to say that everything will be alright," Mehbooba said.
Asked about the situation on the Line of Control (LoC), the PDP president said. "We have heard about the situation on the border. The civilian casualties are condemnable, we are hearing that cluster bombs are being used. This is very wrong. This is done by Israel. Our country is the Gandhi's country and if this is happening, then it is very wrong."
The former chief minister accused the Centre of using corruption as a tool against the leaders of the mainstream political parties in the valley.
"They (Centre) did whatever they had to with separatists. Now, they are using many tactics against mainstream political parties. When they got a hint of an all party meet, Farooq (Abdullah) was taken to Chandigarh (for questioning by the ED in cricket association scam).
"They are using corruption as a tool against political parties, crackdowns are being done, workers are being harassed, detained in police stations and their security withdrawn," she alleged.
"They (Centre) are making them (mainstream political leaders) vulnerable so that if anything happens tomorrow and people get angry, they (people) direct it at the mainstream parties rather than the Centre, and, god forbid, they are creating a civil war-like situation. It is a very sinister design that is going on," Mehbooba added.
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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.
