New Delhi (PTI): A low-pressure area over the southeast and the adjoining southwest Arabian Sea has developed into a depression and is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm by October 21 morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.

This would be the second cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea this year. It will be called 'Tej', according to a formula followed for naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean Region.

The cyclonic storm is predicted to further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm on Sunday and move towards the south coasts of Oman and adjoining Yemen, according to the IMD.

However, meteorologists caution that at times, storms may deviate from the predicted track and intensity, as seen in the case of cyclone Biparjoy, which formed in the Arabian Sea in June and initially moved in a north-northwest direction before changing course to make landfall between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan.

The IMD said the low-pressure system lay centered around 900 km east-southeast of Socotra (Yemen), 1,170 km southeast of Salalah Airport (Oman) and 1,260 km east-southeast of Al Ghaidah (Yemen) at 11:30 am on Friday.

Private forecasting agency Skymet Weather said that a majority of models indicate the storm is heading for the Yemen-Oman coast.

However, the Global Forecast System models suggest a recurvature while positioned over the deep central parts of the Arabian Sea, steering the system towards Pakistan and the Gujarat coast, it said.

A cyclonic storm is characterised by a maximum sustained wind speed of 62-88 kmph, while it is termed a severe cyclonic storm if the maximum sustained wind speed reaches 89-117 kmph.

The IMD also said a low-pressure area over the southwest and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal (BOB) is likely to intensify into a depression over the west-central BOB around October 22.

The system is likely to move west-northwestwards until Sunday morning and then recurve north-northeast wards towards the Bangladesh coast, it said.

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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

===================

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.