Malayalam actor, film crew stranded in Himachal village
Thiruvananthapuram: A 30-member film crew from Kerala, including award-winning actress Manju Warrier, has been stranded in a remote village in Himachal Pradesh, which has been witnessing heavy rains and floods for the past few days.
The plight of the crew came to light after the 'How Old Are You' actress contacted her family in Kerala through a satellite phone on Monday night.
As the actress said there was food for only two days in reserve and there was no communication facility, her family sought the help of the authorities on Tuesday for their safe evacuation.
The crew has been camping for two weeks at Chatra, a scenic hamlet in the Himalayan valley and located over 80 km away from Manali, for the shooting of Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's upcoming movie, Manju Warrier's actor-brother Madhu Warrier told television channels.
Besides the cinema crew and Sasidharan, nearly 200 people were stranded at the place due to inclement weather and there was a lack of transport and communication facilities, he said. "She made the call on a satellite phone. She said there is food for only two days in their reserve and she could speak only for some time."
Madhu Warrier appealed to the authorities to take urgent steps for the safe evacuation of those stranded and ensure that they were provided food.
He said the family had contacted Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan for the intervention of the Centre and the Himachal Pradesh government in this regard.
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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.
