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Archives for October 2015

Indian hockey juniors trounce Pakistan 5-1

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India trounced Pakistan 5-1 in their title defence of the 5th Sultan of Johor Cup junior hockey tournament.

hockey

Johor Bahru: India trounced traditional rivals Pakistan 5-1 to make an emphatic start to their title defence of the 5th Sultan of Johor Cup junior hockey tournament here on Sunday.

Ajay Yadav (fifth minute), Sumit Kumar (23rd), Armaan Qureshi (27th), Parvinder Singh (34th) and Santa Singh (45th) scored for the defending champions, who put up a completely dominating show.

The onset of the game saw the Indians going immediately on the attack, not wanting to waste any time and in the fifth minute, India scored their first goal Ajay made the most of a clean pass inside the circle, giving no chance to the Pakistani goalkeeper to react.

With the initial goal, India intensified their attack further, keeping the Pakistan defence busy all through. Mid way into the first half, India were awarded their first penalty corner but the opportunity was missed as the Pakistan goalkeeper cleared the danger.

Pakistan counter attacked and were given a penalty corner, but they were unable to capitalise as the Indian goalkeeper was alert and in control.

In the counter-attack, vice-captain Dipsan Tirkey passed the ball from the left flank to Sumit who was right in front of the goal box and made no mistake in finding the nets in the 23rd minute.

Four minutes later, Harmanpreet Singh hit the ball into the opponents D and Parvinder Singh received it before passing it to Qureshi, who completed the job cleanly, giving India a 3-0 lead.

While Pakistan were trying to get some rhythm back, India had another game plan as they ventured to add another goal right before going into the break. It was in the 34th minute when Parvinder through a brilliant field goal took the scorecard to 4-0.

The second half saw a similar game plan by the young Indian side as they continued putting pressure on the opponents. But Pakistan finally opened their account in the 45th minute as Muhammad Dilber scored a field goal.

Half way into the session, Pakistan had another chance on the goal through a penalty corner but was yet again denied by the Indian defence.

In the very next minute, India were again on the attack when Harmanpreet from the left flank saw an opportunity with Santa standing right in front of the goal post. Harmanpreet passed it to Santa and the later was quick to pounce on the opportunity and make it 5-1.

With five goals in their kitty, India yet again upped the ante as they were seen regularly attacking Pakistan thereafter.

In the 68th minute, Pakistan got another penalty corner to their name but was hit off target, giving India the 5-1 triumph.

The Harendra Singh-coached India face Britain on Monday.

(PTI)

AAP initiates ‘Bribe-Free Karnataka,’ launches helpline to report complaints of bribe

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aap

Bengaluru: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) unit of the state has launched a helpline owing to its ‘Bribe-Free Karnataka’ programme that will begin from October 13.

Freedom Fighter HS Doreswamy who launched the helpline urged the people to call the given number and get their work done without paying any bribe.

The helpline number launched is 9342522223 and people could call on the number for reporting instances of corruption.

Sources say that the helpline would be active on all working days. People from the state can call the number and report the demand of bribe.

At the same time, the AAP workers will also pay visits to government offices and urge officials not to take bribes; apart from this, if any official did not complete the work, the matter would be taken to the seniors in the department.

The AAP has come up with the initiative after the Lokayukta had become headless.

An AAP leader said that the Lokayukta had not returned for work and had also not assigned any duty to the Upalokayukta.

(Agencies)

Mass voting as critical Bihar battle under way

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bihar-polls

Patna: Tens of thousands voted or stood in serpentine queues at polling booths on Monday in the first round of assembly election in Bihar — the country’s biggest popularity test since the BJP was routed in Delhi in February.

Barring stray incidents of violence including the shooting of a LJP candidate who escaped unhurt, the mammoth exercise that began at 7 a.m. was largely peaceful across 49 seats in 10 districts, officials said.

By noon, around 32 percent of the about 13.5 million voters in the first of the five-phase balloting had voted to pick 49 legislators from among 583 candidates.

“We expect the polling figures to go up,” Additional Chief Electoral Officer R. Lakshaman told IANS. He said polling was slow to begin with but picked up later.

According to him, women were voting in large numbers.

Maoists had called for a boycott of the election but it was clear the message had been ignored.

Unidentified men fired at LJP candidate Vijay Kumar Singh in Jamui constituency but he escaped unhurt. Police arrested one of the criminals involved in the attack.

“There are reports of some violence in Banka, Jamui and Bhagalpur districts. Supporters of rival parties attacked each other in Jamui and clashed in Banka,” a senior police official said.

The staggered Bihar election, which will end on November 5, is the biggest popularity test in the country since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worsted the BJP in the Delhi assembly election in February.

The BJP-led NDA alliance, also including three other parties including the LJP, is trying to dislodge the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), which has the RJD and the Congress as its allies.

Some voters turned up at polling booths even before they opened at 7 a.m.

Voters in most polling booths said they would vote for Bihar’s development.

“It is the only agenda that has attracted me,” said Suman Kumar, a voter in Bhagalpur district.

Another voter, Giridhari Yadav in Khagaria, said he will vote for the Grand Alliance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

“Why should I vote for the BJP when we have tested Nitish Kumar? He has constructed roads, provided electricity, and set up schools and hospitals in rural areas,” he said.

Bihar police chief P.K. Thakur told the media here that polling was peaceful, barring minor clashes.

Samastipur, Begusarai, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nawada and Jamui districts are voting in the first phase.

The second round of polling for the 243-seat assembly will be held on October 16. The vote count will take place on November 8.

Poverty-stricken Jamui, Banka and Bhagalpur are among the 10 districts which are known for high rates of migration outside the state in search of livelihood.

Officials said that voters in over a dozen villages in Samastipur, Bhagalpur, Jamui and Banka boycotted the polls and shouted slogans against what they said was lack of development.

In areas of Maoist influence, the voting will end at 3 p.m.

Some 1.20 lakh security officials have been deployed in the 13,212 polling booths, officials said.

The Election Commission is also webcasting polling from 561 booths.

The heavyweights in the fray on Monday include state LJP president Pashupati Kumar Paras, BJP ally HAM state president Shakuni Choudhary and Congress leader and former Speaker Sadanand Singh.

(IANS)

India will support Palestine cause, engage with Israel: Pranab Mukherjee

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India Palestine Israel

Amman: India will continue to extend unwavering support for separate statehood for Palestine while also engaging with Israel to forge an independent and long-standing bilateral relationship, President Pranab Mukherjee said here on Sunday.

The president also lauded Jordan’s humanitarian support in sheltering 1.4 million Syrians, called for a concerted global action for a peaceful resolution of conflict in the troubled country, while also pushing its own case in forging a UN treaty on countering terrorism.

These were the gist of the visiting president’s messages during his meetings with the Jordanian leadership on the second day of his visit here, and at a speech he delivered at the University of Jordan, which conferred a doctorate on him in political science.

“India supports a negotiated solution resulting in a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognized borders,” the president said at the university.

“Our bilateral relations with Israel are independent of our relations with Palestine,” he said.

“India has played a proactive role in garnering support for this cause in all multilateral fora. We have called upon both sides to exercise restraint and work towards a comprehensive resolution of the Palestinian issue.”

Jordan is the only country in the Arab world, besides Egypt, which has a peace agreement with Israel.

The president also quoted Mahatma Gandhi, as drawn from a book written by Queen Noor: “‘Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English and France to the French’.”

The Jordanian side was equally candid and said it saw Israel resorting to “state terrorism” against the people of Palestine, as clashes between the two sides continued unabated. This was also the text of a resolution that was passed by the Jordanian Parliament on Saturday, accusing Israelis of “sapping the rights” of Palestinians.

President Mukherjee, who earlier in the day opened a street, named after Mahatma Gandhi here, continued his engagements with the Jordanian leadership, during which he also took up the issue of ending conflict in Syria, while supporting Amman’s endeavours.

Jordan has a population of 6.5 million and another 1.5 million — or 25 percent — have taken shelter in the country.

The Indian side said it strongly endorsed the June 2012 resolution of the Action Group for Syria that met at the UN office in Switzerland — called the Geneva-I Communique — that not only wanted an end to further military conflict, but also rapid steps for a credible political agreement, involving the people.

About the increasing Russian involvement in Syria, Anil Wadhwa, secretary, east in India’s foreign ministry said there was major distinction and Moscow was primarily seeking to curtail the advancement of the extremist group Islamic State in Syria.

Since September 30, Russia has been carrying out airstrikes against certain positions of Islamic State which has been criticised by the US as being directed at anti-government rebels.

The talks between the Jordanian and Indian sides also veered around terrorism — of which the South Asian country has been a victim.

India pushed for a total compliance of United Nations Security Council Resolution number 1,353 of 2011 and the UN Global Counter Terrorism Strategy adopted in 2006, as also for the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, that has been pending for over a decade.

President Mukherjee himself pushed for this convention strongly and said it will serve to put a curb against state-sponsored terrorism in the most effective manner, by getting countries to take steps that will not only suppress such acts, but also punish its perpetrators, abettors, financiers, facilitators and collaborators.

During his engagements here, the Indian side and the Jordanian sides signed a number of pacts, ranging from cooperation in maritime transport to information technology, besides some 10 in the field of education between the Jawaharlal University, Jamia Millia Islamiyya, University of Delhi and IIT-Kharagpur, with their Jordanian counterparts.

(IANS)

Nasheman.in interviews Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

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aishwarya rai jazbaa

5 years is a long time for a most beautiful & extremely talented actress like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to remain in oblivion. To miss the glamour oriented glory is not a small thing but once again when I met her recently on the eve of the release of her comeback film ‘Jazbaa’ released this Friday, she sounded as cheerful as ever. As if she was never away from B – Town arena.

Welcome Back to B – Town. Now tell us did you really, really missed the Bollywood Fraternity in the interim phase?

Honestly & frankly speaking no, I did not miss them at all. Moreover you can say that Bollywood is omnipresent in my house in the form of my Paa (Amitabh Bachchan), my Maa (Jaya Bachchan), my darling hubby (Abhishek Bachachan) & not to forget my adorable daughter (Aradhya Bachchan) as being born in a total film family ambience she can also be counted as one of the future member of the Bollywoodian film fraternity as who knows one day she might opt for the same filmy profession like the whole Bachchan clan.

So unlike the other Hindi film actresses even the Aishwarya Rai Bachchan could not resist the temptation of making a grand comeback to the celluloid silver screen with ‘Jazbaa’. How come?

Oh! Come on. Your sarcastic comment is totally uncalled for. But you are forgetting one basic thing that “Once an actress, always an actress”. Besides haven’t you heard that all actors have this thinking that they would like to keep on wearing their acting shoes till the last breath of their life.

So what took you so long to restart your cinematic journey with ‘Jazbaa’?

You can say that I was enjoying my blissful married life. I think I could not get enough love that my maa, my paa & my hubby were showering on me. And then my darling daughter Aradhya was born and I got busy in taking care of her and showering all my love on her.

Maybe it was the lack of proper offer that delayed your comeback in the Bollywoodian arena. Am I right?

No you are totally wrong on that score. As you see during my family oriented marital break I did not think about Bollywood at all. And when I was just about to think on these lines, director Sanjay Gupta along with Nitin Keni of Essel Vision offered me this beautiful script of ‘Jazbaa’ with a tailor made role for me namely that of lawyer Anuradha Verma, a defence counsellor who only takes up the cases of hardcore criminals to defend them in the court of law. And her success ratio in this regard is 100%. Until…….and therein lies the catch.

Do you think it was a mistake to take up such a matured & deglam role as your comeback venture?

No I don’t think so. In fact the character of Defence Counsellor Anuradha Verma comes with a bonus of many colourful shades attached to it. No I don’t think it is a deglam role, it’s not that I am walking around in the movie sans make up. Yes I do agree that it is a very powerful & overtly matured role of a scarred single mother of a 10 year old daughter who is kidnapped one fine day. And then Anuradha becomes like an angry tigress venting out her anger against all concerned. The film ‘Jazbaa’ also raises a pertinent question on the teenage rape issue, besides throwing light on varied other issue’s like the broken homes & the broken nay a constantly disintegrating relationships.

How was the experience of working in ‘Jazbaa’?

It was an out of the world albeit a thrilling experience while working for this crime thriller ‘Jazba’. I was very excited while working for ‘Jazbaa’. In fact I would like to add that working for ‘Jazbaa’ was also like a fun oriented crazy experience, besides I also got a chance to do some of the most daring stunts & action sequences without the help of using a duplicate. The film ‘Jazbaa’ was not only close to my heart but to everyone connected with it. The subject of ‘Jazbaa’ was so powerful that we all related to it. I think even the fans will relate to it. In ‘Jazbaa’ I pass through a certain incident in my life, which I had to deal with both on a personal as well as on a professional level. Initially, I had no plans to do ‘Jazbaa’, but certain reasons, the extreme liking of the script was one of them, compelled me to do it. And I am most happy that finally I ended up doing ‘Jazbaa’.

You made a comeback on the celluloid silver screen after a gap of 5 years. Did you feel any specific pressure?

No, none whatsoever. In fact not at all. You see, since childhood I have always believed in multitasking. Even when I grew up I never felt any pressure both on the home & on the career front too. I can manage everything on my own and of course with the cooperation of all my near & dear ones. That apart I am very thankfully indebted to all my fans & well wishers that they have not forgotten me, gave me the warmest welcome back and still like me a lot.

And what was your families reaction towards your comeback to the celluloid silver screen that too after 5 long years?

Oh! Needless to say that they are all happy for me and feel very proud of me in the moment of my comeback glory.

What preparation did you make for the role of a defence counsellor in ‘Jazbaa’?

I think for that all the credit should go to Sanjay Gupta, the director of ‘Jazbaa’, who has a good knowledge of law and he has taken great care to depict the finer & intrinsic points of a lawyer in lieu with all their nuances. My role of a defence counsellor has been depicted by him from the point of view of today’s generation.

What is your opinion about your co – star Irrfan Khan?

Well! Irrfan Khan no doubt was an integral part of ‘Jazbaa’. Even during the shooting of ‘Jazbaa’ he had extended his fullest cooperation. On the sets of ‘Jazbaa’ I found him to be a thorough professional, which by now, I think has become his 2nd attitudinal nature.

Your opinion about Sanjay Gupta, the director of your comeback film ‘Jazbaa’?

Oh! What can I say about him. He is a par excellence director. He is too good & knows his craft too well. That apart he is a chilled out guy on the sets. What more can I say. I really, loved working with him for ‘Jazbaa’. I will cherish this experience for a long time to come.

You still look trim & fit. Have you tucked up any secret up your sleeve in this regard?

No. No secret formula. It’s just that I am extremely thankful & extremely grateful to God – The Almighty that he has always helped me to maintain my figure. I only wish that I had done some workout before the shoot. Anyways my present look matches perfectly with that of the look of the charater of Anuradha Verma.

The film industry has changed a lot since you were away. So what difference did you notice since your comeback?

In my absence too I had noticed a rapid growth in the film industry. Even the commercial cinema has been progressing beyond imagination. A lot of difference can be noted in the vision & thinking of today’s generation. As far as technology is concerned we have moved far, far ahead of its time. Besides there has been a lot of change in the marketing strategies too.

Has motherhood brought any change in you?

A lot! Which I may not be able to describe in detail but suffice it to say that I am totally enjoying every bit of it. Being a mother has enriched my experiences a lot. Every day I am learning something new from my sweetest daughter Aradhya.

As a parting shot tell us if you are ready to spring any more surprises on your fans & well wishers?

Oh! Nothing of the sort. Let them first enjoy ‘Jazbaa’ to their heart’s content. Right now the whole Bachchan family is enjoying the golden moments of life and I most happy getting back to my normal life once again.

6 more authors return Sahitya Akademi awards

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Noted Kashmiri writer and poet Ghulam Nabi Khayal. Photo: Facebook

Noted Kashmiri writer and poet Ghulam Nabi Khayal. Photo: Facebook

New Delhi: Six more authors including Kashmiri writer Ghulam Nabi Khayal, Kannada writer-translator Srinath D N and Rajesh Joshi have decided to return their Sahitya Akademi awards under the spiralling protest by litterateurs against “communal” atmosphere and “rising intolerance” following rationalist M M Kalburgi’s killing.

Hindi writers Mangalesh Dabral and Rajesh Joshi along with Srinath today said they will return their prestigious Sahitya Akademi awards while Waryam Sandhu and G N Ranganatha Rao intimated the Akademi of their decision. Khayal also joined the bandwagon of authors, saying the minorities in the country today feel “unsafe and threatened”.

“In the place of the pen, there are now bullets being fired. Author Kalburgi was murdered and both the Centre and the state should quickly act against the offenders so that such an incident is not repeated in the future,” Srinath said.

Srinath had won the 2009 Sahitya Akademi for translating short stories in Hindi written by Bheesham Sahani into Kannada.

In their joint statement protesting the “silence” of the Akademi over the Kalburgi murder, writers Dabral and Joshi said, “For the past one year or so basic values of democracy freeedom of expression, freedom to live our lives according to our wishes are under attack by the forces of Hindutva, which is not acceptable.

“The Sahitya Akademi remains silent about the Kalburgi murder so many dangers our democracy is facing, the very fabric of democracy is under threat.”

They said the Akademi should have opposed the killing of Kalburgi openly. “It was the duty of the Akademi to condemn the atmosphere in the country,” he said.

When contacted Akademi officials said they were yet to recieve intimations of the writers returning the awards.

“Apart from writers Uday Prakash, GN Devy, Aman Sethi, Waryam Sandhu and translator G N Ranganatha Rao, we have not got any intimations about the writers returning their awards,” an official said.

Joshi told PTI over phone from Mumbai, “Manglesh Dabral and I made the decision last night and have written to the Akademi chair our decision to return the award.”

Joshi said they had sent a joint statement to the Akademi President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari and will soon be returning their prize money too.

“We thought that it is high time that we returned the award. The climate in the country is such that writers are being killed, the freedom of expression is under threat…,” Joshi said.

“Besides, the way country’s atmosphere is being communalised is not good for the tradition of tolerance for which the nation is known and also for its democracy,” he said.

The writer, poet and playwright who recieved the Akademi award in 2002 for his ‘Do Panktiyon Ke Beech’ (Between Two Lines) said it was unprecedented to have so many writers return their awards.

“Right now the Akademi’s executive council has to deliberate on the issue to come up with a provision on what to do with the award money,” Joshi said.

Six authors, including Gujarat-based writer Ganesh Devy, announced they were returning their awards, joining ranks with authors Uday Prakash, Nayantara Sahgal, Ashok Vajpayei who had earlier given up the honour to protest against the Kalburgi killing and Dadri lynching incident wher a man was kileld by a mob over rumour of beef eating

At least 16 authors have announced their decision to return their Sahitya Akademi awards.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai, Urdu novelist Rahman Abbas today returned the Maharashtra State Urdu Sahitya Academy Award as a mark of protest against the Dadri lynching incident.

“I was to return the award on Saturday. However, officials of the Academy informed me that the office was closed that day. Therefore, I returned the award today,” Abbas told PTI, after returning the award at the Academy office in south Mumbai.

“After the Dadri lynching, the Urdu writing community has been quite unhappy. Therefore, I decided to return the award. There are some other Urdu writers who also want to join the protest. It is high time we stood up to the injustice surrounding us,” he said.

Abbas had in 2011 won the award for his third novel ‘Khuda Ke Saaye Mein Aankh Micholi’ (Hide and Seek in the Shadow of God).

Earlier, noted writers Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi had returned their literary honours to protest what they termed as an “assault on right to freedom of both life and expression”.

A 50-year-old man was on September 28 lynched by a mob in Dadri’s Bishada village near Delhi over rumours of eating beef, triggering a nationwide outrage.

 

Syria: 300 anti-Assad fighters killed in 24 hours

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Russia killed militants in 60 separate attacks in 24 hours. Image used for illustrative purposes. (Al Bawaba/File)

Russia killed militants in 60 separate attacks in 24 hours. Image used for illustrative purposes. (Al Bawaba/File)

by Andolu Ajansi

Russian airstrikes killed 300 suspected militants in 60 separate attacks in northern Syria within the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday.

According to state-owned Russia Today, Russia’s Deputy Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Igor Makushev addressed a briefing in Moscow during which he revealed that Russian air forces carried out 67 sorties that also killed two suspected senior Daesh field commanders.

“A precision hit destroyed the headquarters of Liwa al-Haqq, an Islamist group, which has been fighting the government of Bashar Assad since 2012. Russia said that a radio intercept confirmed the deaths of 200 fighters, and two commanders, who Makushev said belonged to Islamic State [Daesh],” Russia Today said.

Another 100 suspected militants were killed in an airstrike near Aleppo, it added.

The targets were mainly hit in Syrian provinces of Raqqa, Latakia, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.

Russia began its air campaign in Syria on Sept. 30.

Nobel Peace Prize for Tunisian democracy group

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National Dialogue Quartet made “decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia”, jury says.

Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet

by Al Jazeera

The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet – a democracy group – has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for “its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced.

The group of four organisations established “an alternative, peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war,” the Committee said on Friday, referring to the period following Tunisia’s 2011 revolution.

The National Dialogue Quartet is made up of four key organisations in Tunisian civil society: the Tunisian General Labour Union; the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts; the Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.

The jury cited the group for “its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011”.

“The Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 is awarded to this Quartet, not to the four individual organisations as such,” the committee said.

The laureates will receive their prizes at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of prize creator Alfred Nobel, a Swedish philanthropist and scientist.

Reaction

A Tunisian union leader who played a key role in democracy-building that won the Nobel Peace Prize says he was “overwhelmed” by the gesture.

Houcine Abassi, secretary general of the UGTT union, told the AP news agency on Friday: “It’s a prize that crowns more than two years of efforts deployed by the quartet when the country was in danger on all fronts.”

“I am happy,” he said, adding that the quartet members were not expecting the prize.

He described how the UGTT, a human rights group, a trade group and a lawyers group joined together to try to “bring the country out of crisis.”

Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri, reporting from Tunisia, said: “[It’s] very symbolic for many Tunisians who see this as really a symbol of hope for the country which is going through another crisis.”

Tunisia’s young and still shaky democracy suffered two attacks this year that killed 60 people and devastated the tourism industry.

“More than anything, the prize is intended as an encouragement to the Tunisian people, who despite major challenges have laid the groundwork for a national fraternity which the committee hopes will serve as an example to be followed by other countries,” the committee said.

The committee said the prize was also intended as an encouragement to other countries to follow in Tunisia’s footsteps.

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee hopes that this year’s prize will contribute towards safeguarding democracy in Tunisia and be an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of the world,” it said.

Tunisian Tourism Minister:

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy:

The United Nations:

Deadly explosions hit Ankara peace rally

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Twin blasts in the centre of the Turkish capital kill at least 30, injure more than 120, interior ministry says.

An online video showed the moment one of the blasts at the peace rally in Ankara [Via @dokuz8haber]

An online video showed the moment one of the blasts at the peace rally in Ankara [Via @dokuz8haber]

by Al Jazeera

Two explosions have rocked a road junction in the centre of the Turkish capital Ankara, killing at least 30 people and injuring dozens of others, the interior ministry said.

The blasts took place several minutes apart, with the first going off at around 10:00am (0700 GMT), local media reported.

A video on social media showed the moment of one explosion: young people were dancing and waving banners as a massive fireball erupts.

The explosions occurred near a train station where people were gathering for a peace march to protest against the conflict between the state and Kurdish fighters in southeast Turkey.

Video footage on social media showed several bodies lying on the ground, as survivors tried to attend to the wounded.

Emergency crews were at the scene, responding to the injuries, with ambulances rushing off to several local hospitals. There were reports of shortages of blood and calls for donations.

‘Barbaric attack’

“We heard one huge blast and then one smaller explosion and then there was a a great movement and panic. Then we saw corpses around the station,” said Ahmet Onen, 52.

“A demonstration that was to promote peace has turned into a massacre, I don’t understand this,” he said, in floods of tears.

Demonstrators angered by the attack on their fellow activists shouted “police murderers!” at the scene of the blasts but were then dispersed as the security forces intervened.

The rally was organised by several leftist groups, including the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

“We are faced with a huge massacre. A barbaric attack has been committed,” said the HDP’s leader Selahattin Demirtas.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan strongly denounced the attack.

“I strongly condemn this heinous attack on our unity and our country’s peace,” Erdogan said in a statement posted on the presidency’s website.

“No matter what its origin, aim or name, we are against any form of terrorist act or terrorist organisation. We are obliged to be against it together,” Erdogan said.

The attack came with Turkey on edge ahead of November 1 polls and a wave of unrest over the past few months.

An attack in the predominantly Kurdish town of Suruc on July 20 targeting pro-HDP activists and blamed on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters killed 32 people and wounded a hundred others.

The armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) accused Ankara of collaborating with ISIL and resumed attacks on the Turkish security forces after observing a two-year ceasefire.

Over 140 members of the security forces have since been killed while Ankara claims to have killed over 1,700 Kurdish fighters in weeks of bombardments of PKK targets in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.

PPK ceasefire

Hours after the blasts in Ankara, the PKK called for a unilateral ceasefire in its fight against the Turkish state “unless they or the Kurdish people are attacked”, according to a statement carried by Kurdish news agencies.

The statement was released by the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) and did not reference Saturday’s attack in Ankara.

The move was widely expected as analysts said the PKK hoped it would boost the HDP’s score in the upcoming election.

The HDP performed strongly in the last vote on June 7, winning 80 seats to deprive President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of an outright majority for the first time since it came to power in 2002.

The AKP then failed to form a coalition in months of talks, prompting Erdogan – who had been hoping for a large majority to push through reforms to boost his powers – to call another election on November 1.

Initial reports on Saturday’s blasts spoke of a single explosion but Turkish media said later there had been two separate blasts in short sequence.

The authorities were exploring the possibility that the blasts could have been caused by a suicide bomber, the official Anatolia news agency said.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had been briefed over the blast by Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu, Anatolia said.

“We are investigating the explosion and will share our findings with the public as soon as possible,” a Turkish official said, without giving further details.

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