Nepal govt scrambles to rush aid to quake victims
Kathmandu (PTI): Nepal's authorities on Sunday scrambled to rush aid to people affected by Friday's earthquake that has killed at least 157 people and left a trail of destruction in the Himalayan nation's remote mountainous region.
The earthquake with an epicentre in Jajarkot district, about 500km west of Kathmandu, was recorded just before midnight on Friday. As the earthquake destroyed hundreds of houses in the mountainous region, several people had to spend Saturday night under the open sky.
Out of a total of 157 people who died in the tragedy, the bodies of 120 have so far been handed over to the family members. About 253 people were injured in the quake, the most devastating in the country since 2015.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' is holding a Cabinet meeting to decide on a special relief package for the survivors of the earthquake.
The government on Saturday said it is not in a hurry to seek foreign help for search and rescue operations and in the management of relief distribution and other logistics in the wake of the devastating earthquake in western Nepal, particularly Jajarkot and West Rukum districts.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Nepal's immediate neighbours, India and China, and the United States have offered support with logistics, and search for the victims by sending rescue teams to the country.
"We are yet to make any decision on accepting foreign aid," Prachanda said on Saturday as he visited the earthquake-affected areas.
"There will be a Cabinet meeting on Sunday morning for those decisions," he said. "We will then speed up relief and rehabilitation operations."
The government on Saturday evening decided to send relief materials like blankets, clothing and food items starting Sunday. The distribution of relief materials donated by the different agencies will also be carried out.
Local government officials say the situation was chaotic on Saturday morning due to inadequate means to deal with the disaster.
Harischandra Sharma, assistant chief district officer in Jajarkot, said the under-resourced and poorly equipped district hospital was struggling.
"The hospital lacks both human resources and equipment to deal with a huge number of victims. We were struggling to cope with things on Saturday morning," he told the Kathmandu Post newspaper.
The situation has largely come under control with more doctors and medical teams arriving from Kathmandu and Surkhet, he said.
"The people have been compelled to live in the cold under the open sky after they lost their houses to the disaster. Supporting them with relief materials should be our major focus. We are working to this effect," Sharma said.
Suresh Sunar, the Chief District Officer of Jajarkot, has confirmed that the rescue operations for earthquake victims have been completed, and relief distribution will commence on Sunday.
He said that rescue efforts had been ongoing since Friday night, but they were successfully concluded by Saturday night, allowing relief distribution to begin on Sunday.
Sunar also said that over 1,000 households have been affected, resulting in millions worth of damage.
He added that preparations have been made to streamline the relief distribution process through a one-door system. Jajarkot suffered the most damage in the earthquake that occurred on Friday night, with 105 casualties reported in Jajarkot alone.
A team of seismological experts at National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center, Lainchaur has reached Jajarkot to carry out further study and research on the earthquake that occurred on Friday night.
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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.
