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Turkey: Dozens killed in explosions at Ataturk Airport

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Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says ISIL believed to be behind suicide attacks at Ataturk Airport.

Ambulances rushed to the airport after the attack [Osman Orsal/Reuters]

Ambulances rushed to the airport after the attack [Osman Orsal/Reuters]



by Al Jazeera

At least 36 people have been killed and nearly 150 others wounded following explosions at Istanbul’s main international airport, Turkish officials say.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said three suicide bombers were involved in the attack at Ataturk Airport late on Tuesday evening.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Yildirim said there was indication that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group carried out the bombings.

He said efforts to identify the attackers, who arrived at the airport in taxis, were continuing.

The attackers opened fire at airport guards at the terminal entrance and a shootout erupted before they blew themselves up one by one at around 10pm, authorities said.

Security camera footage circulated on social media appeared to capture two of the blasts. In one clip a huge ball of flame erupts at an entrance to the terminal building, scattering terrified passengers.

Another video shows a black-clad attacker running inside the building before collapsing to the ground – apparently felled by a police bullet – and blowing himself up.

Most of the casualties were Turkish citizens, a senior government official said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a “joint fight” against terror after the attack.

“If states, as all humanity, fail to join forces and wage a joint fight against terrorist organisations, all the possibilities that we dread in our minds will come true one by one,” he said in a statement.

“It is clear that this attack is not aimed at achieving any result but only to create propaganda material against our country using simply the blood and pain of innocent people.”

One of the attackers “randomly opened fire” as he walked through the terminal building, shortly before three explosions, a witness told Reuters.

“We came right to international departures and saw the man randomly shooting. He was just firing at anyone coming in front of him. He was wearing all black. His face was not masked. I was 50 metres away from him,” said Paul Roos, 77, a South African tourist on his way back to Cape Town with his wife.

“We ducked behind a counter but I stood up and watched him. Two explosions went off shortly after one another. By that time he had stopped shooting,” Roos said.

“He turned around and started coming towards us. He was holding his gun inside his jacket. He looked around anxiously to see if anyone was going to stop him and then went down the escalator … We heard some more gunfire and then another explosion, and then it was over.”

Ataturk Airport is one of the busiest ports in the world, serving more than 60 million passengers in 2015.

There has been a string of bombings around Turkey over the past year, some of them blamed on ISIL, others claimed by Kurdish groups.

Earlier in June, at least 11 people were killed in central Istanbul following a bombing attack targeting a police vehicle. The armed group Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, also known by its Kurdish-language acronym TAK, claimed responsibility for that attack.

Karnataka Police records statement of nursing student

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dalit

Kozhikode: A police team from Karnataka has recorded the statement of the Dalit nursing student, a victim of ragging now undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital here, police said today.

Nineteen-year-old Aswathi was allegedly force-fed toilet cleaner by her seniors at the hostel of Al Qamal College of Nursing in Kalaburgi in Karnataka on May 9, seriously damaging her internal organs.

She was admitted to a private college in Kalaburgi after the incident, but as her condition worsened after five days, she was sent back home with another Keralite student.
She was then admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital in Kerala, after which she was referred to KMCH on June 2.

It took several hours for the team, led by Kalaburgi DSP Jhanvi to record her statement yesterday as she experienced breathing problems and vomiting, Sub Inspector of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (KMCH) police station, Habib said.

Doctors at KMCH had suggested a major surgery as the chemicals of the toilet cleaner severely damaged her food pipe following which she had been admitted to the ICU.
Quoting hospital sources, Habib said it would take at least six months for the girl to recover.

Based on her statement, the city police had on June 22 registered an FIR against five of her seniors and a copy it was sent to Kalaburgi Police Commissioner for further investigation.

Cases under various sections of IPC, including 307 (attempt to murder), 36 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 346 (wrongful confinement in secret) and various sections of SC, ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act were registered against the senior students. The case has been transfered to Gulbarga University police station for investigation.

The Karnataka Police had on June 24 arrested three senior students of the nursing college in connection with the incident.

The Kerala Women’s Commission had earlier sent a letter to the Karnataka Women’s Commission, urging it to intervene in the matter and “take right action on the incident in which the girl was brutally harassed in the name of ragging”.

KWC Chairperson Rosa Kutty had also spoke to her Karnataka counterpart.

(Agencies)

NIA court rejects Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya’s bail plea

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Sadhvi Pragya Thakur

Mumbai: A special NIA court today rejected the bail application of 2008 Malegoan blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who had been given a clean chit by the probe agency last month.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had also not opposed her bail application. Special Judge S D Tekale rejected the bail plea in an in-camera hearing.

In her application, Pragya had contended that there was no evidence against her. Though the motorcycle used in the blast was owned by her, according to one of the witnesses, it was in the possession of Ramchandra Kalsangra, an absconding accused, she had said.

Some of the witnesses, whose statements were used to implicate her, later retracted and filed complaints of torture by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), her plea said.

Earlier, the central agency, in its charge sheet filed on May 13, had dropped all the charges against Pragya and five others, citing lack of evidence.

Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal, who was among those injured in the blast, had filed an intervention application and opposed her plea.

Seven people were killed in the blast at Malegaon, a predominantly Muslim town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. Pragya was charged by the Maharashtra ATS in 2009 saying it was her motorcycle that was used to plant the bomb.

(Agencies)

Peck on cheek leaves Karnataka CM embarrassed

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Siddaramaiah-kiss

Bengaluru: An affectionate peck on his cheek by a local body woman member left Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah visibly embarrassed on Sunday.

Standing next to the chief minister for a group photo at a felicitation function in the Bangalore Palace grounds here, Tarikere taluka panchayat member Girija Srinivas suddenly leapt and kissed the 68-year-old leader, taking him and others by surprise.

“As I got excited standing next to him for a photo, I felt like kissing him out of joy and did so without hesitation, as he is like a father (appaji) for us,” Girjia told reporters when asked about her act, which made even Siddaramaiah blush and wipe his cheek.

Girija was one of the newly-elected zilla and taluka panchayat members whom the chief minister felicitated at the function, organised by the Karnataka Pradesha Kurubara Sangha.

Though Girija belongs to the Kuruba (shepherd) community like Siddaramaiah and hails from Varuna hamlet in Mysuru district, she is a member of the Amruthapura local body in Chikkamagluru district in Malnad region, 250 km from here.

Siddaramaiah represents the Varuna assembly segment, about 170km from Bengaluru.

Clarifying that her act was not pre-meditated but spontaneous, Girija said she was proud of Siddaramaiah, who was a lion of the community and did so much for it.

“I and my family have known him (Siddaramaiah) since my teenage years as I am originally from Varuna but settled in Chikkamagaluru district after marriage,” she said.

Asked about the kiss, a blushing Siddaramaiah said he had known Girija for long and she was like his daughter.

(Agencies)

Sheila Dikhsit refuses to become CM face for 2017 UP elections

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Sheila Dikhsit

New Delhi: Former Delhi chief minister and Congress stalwart Sheila Dikshit has reportedly turned down the offer to become the chief ministerial candidate of the grand old party in the high voltage 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

According to a NDTV report, poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who has been roped by the Congress to boost its fortunes in the Hindi heartland ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, wanted a Brahmin face to be projected as the face of the party.

The speculations about Dikshit being appointed as the CM candidate emerged after the Congress stalwart met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi on July 16.

The chorus for bringing Priyanka Gandhi into active politics to revive Congress’ fortunes in Uttar Pradesh has also been increasing these days.

Recently reports had claimed that around 600 block presidents of the grand old party had urged master strategist Prashant Kishor to bring Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s daughter into the political arena.

Congress, which once used to win almost all the seats in the cow belt state, has been performing very poorly in the last two decades.

Notably, the BJP had won on 71 out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2014. Congress won two, Samajwadi Party five and Mayawati’s Bhaujan Samaj Party wasn’t able to open its account.

Key players in the state – Bharatiya Janata Party led by PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, Samajwadi Party led by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati – are personality driven and have their strong vote bases. Meanwhile, Congress, which has been out of power in the state for nearly three decades, suffers from a leadership crisis.

(Agencies)

Lionel Messi retires from international football after loss in Copa America final

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Messi

East Rutherford: Lionel Messi sensationally announced his retirement from international football on Sunday after Argentina crashed to an upset defeat against Chile in the final of the Copa America.

The heartbroken Barcelona superstar was distraught after missing a spot-kick as Chile snatched victory in a penalty shoot-out — Messi’s fourth straight defeat in a major final while representing Argentina.

“For me the national team is over,” the crestfallen 29-year-old told reporters.

“I’ve done all I can, I’ve been in four finals and it hurts not to be a champion.

“It’s a hard moment for me and the team, and it’s difficult to say, but it’s over with the Argentina team.”

Messi’s dramatic announcement followed Argentina’s third loss in a major final since 2014.

They were beaten 1-0 by Germany in the final of the World Cup in 2014 and lost on penalties, also to Chile, in the final of the 2015 Copa America.

Messi also tasted defeat with Argentina in the final of the 2007 Copa America.

Despite a glittering career that has seen him be named FIFA World Player of the Year on no fewer than five occasions, Messi has often faced baffling criticism from Argentina fans.

Although universally regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever, he has regularly been criticised for his failure to land a major title in the colours of Argentina.

Messi’s failure to match the achievements in the Argentina jersey of Diego Maradona, who single-handedly carried the team to victory in the 1986 World Cup, has often been held against him.

Maradona himself has often taken potshots at Messi, criticizing him on the eve of the tournament for a perceived “lack of personality.”

“He’s a really good person, but he has no personality,” Maradona said in Paris shortly before the start of Euro 2016.

“He lacks the character to be a leader.”

Messi’s bombshell decision comes after a gruelling season which was disrupted by injury last year.

He recovered to help Barcelona win the Spanish title once more and was relishing the prospect of leading Argentina to glory in the Copa America Centenario.

His commitment to playing for Argentina was reflected in his decision to fly from Spain to Argentina for a low-key friendly against Honduras shortly before the tournament, where he suffered a back injury.

He then returned to Spain to give evidence at his trial for tax fraud before jetting off to the United States to join up with his Argentina team-mates.

Although he was injured for his team’s opening group game against Chile, he came on as a substitute in a 5-0 hammering of Panama to score a hat-trick in 19 minutes.

He then equalled Argentina’s international goalscoring record of 54, held by Gabriel Batistuta, in the quarter-finals before setting a new mark with his 55th international goal in the semi-final win over the United States.

(Agencies)

Report: Islamophobia is a multimillion-dollar industry

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More than $200m spent on promoting fear and hatred of Muslims in US by various groups between 2008 and 2013.

More than half of Muslims in the US say they have faced some discrimination [EPA]

More than half of Muslims in the US say they have faced some discrimination [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

More than $200m was spent towards promoting “fear and hatred” of Muslims in the United States by various organisations between 2008 and 2013, according to a fresh joint report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the University of California, Berkeley.

Released on Monday, the report identifies 74 groups, including feminist, Christian, Zionist and prominent news organisations, which either funded or fostered Islamophobia.

“It is an entire industry of itself. There are people making millions of dollars per year from promoting Islamophobia. They often present themselves as experts on Islamic affairs when they are not,” Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for CAIR, told Al Jazeera.

“They have fuelled an environment of distrust among the American public by claiming that Muslims do not belong to the American community and that they could never be loyal citizens.”

Ruiz said that Islamophobia has posed two main dangers: a rise in hate crimes and anti-Islamic legislation.

“For example, in the last year alone in Florida, there has been a 500 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims. Mosques have been vandalised and there have been a number of bomb threats towards Islamic groups.

“And Florida’s government is even trying to ban school books from making any references to Islam in history.”

Since 2013, the country has seen a rise in the number of bills or amendments – about 81 – designed to “vilify Islamic religious practices”, 80 of which were introduced to state legislatures by Republicans, the report notes.

It cited Florida Senator Alan Hayes as once distributing literature that said: “Our religious, political, and peaceful way of life is under attack by Islam and Sharia Law. Save my generation from this ideology that is invading our country and masquerading as a ‘religion’. It’s sedition: They are determined to overthrow our State and our Country.”

Meira Neggaz, the executive director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) – a US-based think-tank, told Al Jazeera a poll published in March showed that one out of every five American Muslims had experienced discrimination on a regular basis, while more than half of them had faced some discrimination.

“The other faith group you would think would suffer from some discrimination are Jews. They do, but far lower – only about 5 percent,” she said.

She also noted that the rise in anti-Islamic sentiment was more tied to political rhetoric than terrorist events.

“2008 and 2012 – the years of election campaigns – saw spikes in Islamophobia that had nothing to do with terror. And we are now seeing similar trends in this election cycle.

“It is part of a broader backlash against minorities. Lawmakers who are legislating against Muslims are also against other minority groups.

“At least 32 states have introduced and debated anti-sharia or anti-foreign law bills. And, according to our research, 80 percent of legislators who sponsor this type of legislation also sponsor bills restricting the rights of other minorities and vulnerable groups.”

Neggaz emphasised that Islamophobia is a threat to US democracy and affects all of the country’s residents.

“Religious discrimination is illegal. There has to be legal procedures that can address that.”

Giving the coach’s interview was nerve wracking: Kumble

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anil_kumble

Kolkata: Former leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who was appointed the India cricket team’s head coach, said it was a nerve wracking experience giving the interview for the job before his former team-mates.

Kumble was interviewed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cricket advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly at a five-star hotel here on Tuesday.

“Sachin was on teleconference, but of course there was Dada (Ganguly) and Laxman on the other side of the table, so it was nerve-racking but it was great to present a plan,” Kumble was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

Speaking about his appointment, the 45-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2008, said, “It will be wonderful to get into the Indian dressing room as the coach. I am really looking forward to the challenge and the huge responsibility. I know there will be a lot of expectations and that is something which I am looking forward to.”

Kumble also said that he will work behind the scenes, much like former India coaches John Wright and Gary Kirsten, who helped Indian cricket scale new heights.

“I played a lot under John Wright, he’s been a great influence on how I’ll go about the job, in terms of being in the background. When I became a mentor for Mumbai Indians, I brought John in because he understood a lot about Indian culture and then the way coaches work,” he said.

“I was involved with Gary Kirsten only for the Test matches, a very short period. He was, again, someone who worked in the background and didn’t make himself visible. Exactly how I’d like to work as well. Not in the front, but behind the scenes.”

The former tweaker, who once bowled with a broken jaw, also said he would try and build leaders from the present team and try to share the burden of the captain.

“Important as a coach to take some burden off the captain,” he said. “Captain has a lot of things on his head, all cricketing decisions and non-cricketing as well.

“Having been with the Indian team for such a long time and having had various experiences of not just conditions, but outside the cricket field, when you’re a coach, you’re not just coach on the field but also off it. You’re trying to build personalities, trying to build leaders. That’s how I’d like to look at this team,” he remarked.

Kumble also said that he has talked to Test captain Virat Kohli and will look to iron out their strategies just before the Test tour to the West Indies.

“We have the West Indies Test series coming up, so that’s something our focus will be on,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to Virat (Kohli) and MS (Dhoni), must be on the flight back from Zimbabwe. It’s nice to have a camp here in Bengaluru before we go into the tour. We’ll sit down and iron out and get ready for the West Indies tour.

“Bowling, getting 20 wickets in Test cricket will win you matches. That’s the focus and we’ll take it from there. Batting, we have some great talent there. I believe this team has the potential. It’s a young team and driven by young leaders,” he added.

“Looking forward to working with Virat and MS. Long-term, we have lots of Tests coming up in India, that’ll be our focus.”

The 45-year-old added that he will aim to be an enabler and not an imposer.

“They are already playing a good brand of cricket,” he said.

“I will bring my characteristics as well but won’t impose them on the players. My job is to convince players to buy into what I believe in and what they believe in. At the end of it, they need to own it. If the team doesn’t own what we agree on, then it’s not going to work. I’m only an enabler. I work as an enabler to make sure things happen,” Kumble added.

(IANS)

Woman techie found murdered at railway station in Chennai

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Crime-against-Women

Chennai: A 24-year-old woman employee of an IT firm was today found murdered at a city railway station. S Swathi, employed with software giant Infosys, was found dead with cut injuries on her face and neck around 6.30 am on a platform in Nungambakkam railway station, police said.

The incident is believed to have taken place when Swathi, a resident of Choolaimedu near the station, was waiting to board a suburban train to reach her office as per her routine, they said.

It caused a flutter in the neighbourhood and the station, which usually gets busy around 7 am.

The body had been retrieved and sent for postmortem, police said, adding various angles were being probed to find out the assailant and also ascertain the motive behind the killing.

Infosys described the incident as “unfortunate” and said it was cooperating with investigating officials.

“We are saddened by the unfortunate incident that has led to the demise of our employee in Chennai. We are working with the local authorities as they investigate the matter and will continue to provide our co-operation and support,” it said in a statement.

“Our deepest sympathies and prayers are with the family of the deceased. Infosys will provide all the necessary support to the family in their hour of grief,” it further said.

The victim was employed with Infosys’ branch at Mahindra World City at Singaperumalkoil on the city outskirts.

(PTI)

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