PM Modi responds to Israel's 'ye dosti hum nahi todenge'! wish on Friendship Day
New Delhi, Aug 4: Israel greeted India on friendship day with a Twitter message that featured popular Bollywood song "yeh dosti" from the movie Sholay, drawing an equally warm response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who asserted that the bond between the two countries is "strong and eternal".
"Happy #FriendshipDay2019 India! May our ever strengthening friendship & growing partnership touch greater heights," the Israeli embassy here tweeted on Sunday.
It had a short montage on various meetings between Modi and his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu with the music of the song on friendship from the 1975 hit movie "Sholay", starring Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Hema Malini, playing in the background.
The message had lyrics of the song ‘yeh dosti hum nahi todenge’ in Hindi and emoticons conveying that Israel loves India.
Modi responded with a tweet in Hebrew saying, India and Israel have proved their friendship over time.
"Thank you and wishing a Happy Friendship Day to Israel's wonderful citizens and my good friend (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."
"India and Israel are time tested friends. Our bond is strong and eternal! May the friendship between our nations grow and prosper even more in the times to come!" he said.
Both Modi and Netanyahu are know to share a great chemistry which is visible in bilateral meetings.
Netanyahu, who failed to form a coalition after the April polls, plans to visit India ahead of the repeat elections in September.
Modi visited Israel in July 2017, the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 70 years.
During the historic visit, the warmth between Modi and Netanyahu, also known as Bibi, was apparent.
Happy #FriendshipDay2019 India!
— Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) August 4, 2019
May our ever strengthening friendship & #growingpartnership touch greater heights.
??? ये दोस्ती हम नहीं तोड़ेंगे..... ??❤?? pic.twitter.com/BQDv8QnFVj
תודה לך
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 4, 2019
מאחל יום חברות שמח לאזרחי ישראל הנהדרים ולידידי הטוב @netanyahu
הודו וישראל הוכיחו את ידידותם לאורך הזמן. הקשר שלנו הוא חזק ונצחי. מאחל שהידידות בין המדינות שלנו תצמח ותפרח אף יותר בעתיד https://t.co/PsZTgMoXMU
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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.
