Operation Ajay: First batch of Indians return home from Israel
New Delhi (PTI): The first batch of around 200 Indians, including students, returned to the country from Israel onboard a chartered flight in the early hours of Friday.
India has launched Operation Ajay to facilitate the return of those who wish to come back home as a series of brazen attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas over the weekend triggered fresh tension in the region.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar welcomed the passengers at the Delhi airport as they streamed into the lounge area from the tarmac side. He greeted them with folded hands and also shook hands with many of them saying, "Welcome home".
Shashwat Singh, a post-doctoral researcher, who has been living in Israel since 2019, reached Delhi along with his wife.
"We woke up to sounds of air raids' sirens. We stay in central Israel. I don't know what shape this conflict will take... I am doing postdoc in agriculture there," he told PTI.
The evacuation of Indians is a "praiseworthy step", Singh said soon after the flight landed. "We hope peace will be restored and we will return to work... The Indian government got in touch with us via email. We are thankful to Prime Minister Modi and the Indian Embassy in Israel."
MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said around 18,000 Indians are currently residing in Israel while about a dozen people are in the West Bank and three to four are in Gaza.
The multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas fighters from Gaza since Saturday and the subsequent Israeli retaliation have left around 2,600 people dead. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive in Gaza to avenge the attacks by Hamas.
Suparno Ghosh, a West Bengal native and a first-year PhD student of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev at Beersheba in Israel, was among the group of Indians who reached Delhi on the special flight.
"We were in shelters... the Israeli government has made shelters everywhere, so we were safe," he said.
Deepak, a student, said, "We heard sirens on Saturday. As the attack happened, we could hear the sound. Israeli authorities were instructing us (to take safety measures). It was a continuous attack. I am happy to return home, but sad also, as our friends are there (in Israel)," he said.
But, the evacuation process was very smooth, the student told reporters.
Duti Banerjee, another West Bengal native who was also among the first batch of Indians evacuated from Israel, said the situation there was "pretty messy and unsettled".
"Normal life has been paused. People are scared and angry. Even when I was leaving, I heard sirens and had to go to a shelter," she 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.
