Sr. Journalist Umapathy to be honoured with Vaddarse Raghuram Shetty social justice journalism award
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Government has selected Senior Journalist D. Umapathy for the Vaddarse Raghuram Shetty social justice journalism award. The award, started this year by the Department of Information and Public Relations, was announced by Department Commissioner Hemanth M. Nimbalkar.
Nimbalkar highlighted that the award aims to recognize and honor journalistic contributions focused on social justice. It was announced in the 2024 state budget by the Chief Minister Siddarmaiah in memory of senior journalist Vaddarse Raghuramshetty.
The selection committee, chaired by Justice Ashok Hinchigeri, unanimously chose D. Umapathy for the prestigious award. The honor includes a cash prize of ₹2 lakh and a memento.
D. Umapathy was Born in Chitradurga district on March 18, 1959, and holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature and Journalism from Maharaja's College, Mysuru, and a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Mysore, where he secured second rank.
With a career spanning 27 years, Umapathy gained prominence for his work as the Delhi correspondent for Kannada Newspaper ‘Kannada Prabha’ a publication under the New Indian Express group.
He covered a range of topics, including parliamentary proceedings, election analyses, Supreme Court river water tribunal cases, national political developments, and foreign affairs. He also has extensive experience in diplomatic reporting, often accompanying ministers on international visits.
Additionally, Umapathy, who is based in Delhi, has contributed as a columnist for several prominent Kannada newspapers, including Andolana, Raitha Chalavali, Vijaya Karnataka, Prajavani, Samyukta Karnataka, and Vartha Bharati.
Currently, he serves as a guest editor for the web journals ‘Nyayapatha’ (Gauri Media) and ‘Eedina.’
He is also an accomplished author, with two notable works, Delhi Nota and Padakusiye Nelavilla.
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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.
