Prime Minister Modi's plane flies over Pak airspace en route to Italy
Islamabad(PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special VVIP flight, en route to Italy for the G20 Summit, flew over the Pakistani airspace on Friday and the aircraft will use it again on its return journey after getting formal permission from Islamabad, according to a media report here on Sunday.
Prime Minister Modi's plane Boeing 777, 300ER, K7066 entered the Pakistani airspace from Bahawalpur, passed through Turbat and Panjgur and via Iran and Turkey reached Italy, The Express Tribune reported.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) sources, Indian authorities had requested Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for permission to use the airspace for Modi's special flight.
Pakistan accepted the request, allowing the Indian prime minister to fly through its airspace.
The relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated after India announced withdrawing special powers of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the state into two union territories in August, 2019.
India has told Pakistan that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Islamabad in an environment free of terror, hostility and violence.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in Italy on Friday to participate in the G20 Summit where he is joined by other world leaders in discussions on global economic and health recovery from COVID-19, sustainable development and climate change.
The report quoted the CAA spokesperson saying that on its way back to India after the Climate Summit in Glasgow, Prime Minister Modi's plane will use Pakistan's airspace again.
Earlier, an Indian commercial aircraft also used Pakistani airspace after obtaining necessary permission, according to the newspaper.
Last month, Prime Minister Modi's plane en route to the United States flew over the Pakistan airspace after Islamabad gave permission for the aircraft.
In October 2019, Pakistan had denied India's request to use its airspace for Modi's flight to Saudi Arabia. The same year in September also, Pakistan had denied overflight clearance for the prime minister's aircraft.
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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.
