Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe blast happened at the morning rush hour in central IstanbulImage copyrightSNSImage captionThe explosion also damaged nearby buildings
Visiting some of the wounded in hospital, Mr Erdogan said: "These (attacks) are being carried out against people whose duty it is to ensure the security of our people.
"These cannot be pardoned or forgiven. We shall continue our fight against terrorists tirelessly until the end."
“This is just the beginning of my loss,” says Thaslik KY, a sales professional based out of Paravaur in Ernakulam. During the past few days, Thaslik’s picture has been doing the rounds on social media and messaging platforms with people alleging that he resembled the man suspected of killing law student Jisha in Perumbavoor.
Thaslik, according to many bore similarities with the sketch of the key suspect and the comparison has now almost cost him a job.
Thaslik KY who acts in cameo roles in movies was asked to leave the project he was currently part of, he wrote on Facebook. Following his Facebook post that garnered him a lot of support, he was however asked to join the movie back.
“This is the beginning of my loss. My goal is to become an actor. I had to do other jobs to feed my family. Now I have been thrown out of my current project. I thank all those who expressed their social responsibility by spreading the post on me,” he wrote.
The court turned down his plea for a selection trial with Narsingh Yadav for the Rio Games.
Olympic medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar on Monday lost a legal battle in the Delhi High Court which dismissed his plea for selection trial for Rio games observing it may "jeopardise" the chances of selected candidate Narsingh Pancham Yadav and the country would be the "loser".
Justice Manmohan acknowledged Sushil's feats in the international arena and termed him a "legendary wrestler" in 66 kg weight category but did not allow him to have a chance to compete for the Olympic berth in the 74 kg category.The court said that Sushil's petition seeking a direction to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to hold a selection trial to decide who will represent India in 74 kg freestyle category at the Rio Olympics was "untenable in law as well as contrary to facts".
"In international arena of sports, medals are won not only by 'brawn' but also by 'brain'. The last minute challenge to selection can disturb the mental preparation of the selected. "Consequently, a sportsperson innocently asking for 'just a trial' may be jeopardising the chances of the selected candidate to win, having disastrous consequences for national interest. In the duel asked for, the country will be the loser," the court said.
"Keeping in view the conclusions reached above, the petitioner's (Sushil) prayer for a trial is untenable in law as well as contrary to facts. Accordingly, present writ petition and applications are dismissed," it said.
In its 37-page judgement, the court observed that the WFI has adopted a "reasonable, transparent and fair procedure" in selecting Yadav as India's representative to Rio Olympics in the 74 kg category.
"The system suggested by the petitioner (Sushil) of having trials after the qualification event cannot be accepted as the sole method for selection as it implies that the country would not send its best athlete to secure a place for itself in Olympics," it said. The court said though Sushil has won a number of laurels for India in 66 kg weight category but on consistent current form, WFI's opinion that Yadav "is better is not unreasonable or perverse".
Meanwhile, the court also issued notice to WFI's Vice President Raj Singh asking him why perjury proceedings should not be initiated against him for giving false affidavit before it.
The court said it was due to Yadav's bronze medal in the World Wrestling Championship in 2015 that India got a berth in the 74 kg freestyle category. "In the present instance, respondent no.5 (Yadav) after winning a bronze medal in World Championship September 2015 is being given meticulous training by the concerned authority so that he is best prepared to represent the country in the Olympics," it said.
The court termed as "unfortunate" that 66 kg category was abolished in January 2014 and Sushil was forced to play in 74 kg weight category but noted that Sushil has not won any major national or international tournament since September 2014. It said WFI had conducted a fair selection trial prior to World Wrestling Championship 2015, the qualification event, to ensure that the best athlete represents India so that there was a chance to secure a berth in the Olympics. The court said the decision regarding who should represent the country in "a sporting event is best left to the experts i.e. the concerned national sports federation".
"Power and responsibility go hand in hand. The National Sports Federation cannot be held responsible for performance of its athletes, if it does not have power to select them according to a flexible procedure as long as the same is fair, transparent, reasonable and consistent," it said. "Keeping in view the aforesaid, this court is of the view that a writ court will not interfere in the exercise of discretion of National Sports Federation and substitute its own judgment except where the discretion is shown to have been exercised in an arbitrary or capricious or perverse manner or contrary to settled principles or practices," it said.
The court noted that initially no allegation of bias or prejudice was made against WFI in the plea and later Sushil, in his rejoinder, had alleged that the federation has targeted him for not participating in Pro-Wrestling League.
It, however, said that the allegation, in the absence of any contemporaneous document, "inspires no confidence".
Referring to the National Sports Development Code, 2011, the court held that it "does not restrict or impinge upon the autonomy or discretion of the National Sports Federations to select athletes/wrestlers to represent India in international sporting events."
A Frenchman detained last month with a large cache of arms was planning mass attacks during the Euro 2016 football tournament, which starts on Friday, Ukrainian officials say.
The man, identified by French media as Gregoire Moutaux, 25, was arrested on the Ukrainian border with Poland.
Intelligence chief Vasyl Hrytsak said the man had planned 15 attacks and was driven by ultra-nationalist views.
He had amassed guns, detonators and 125kg of TNT, Mr Hrytsak said.
Mr Hrytsak listed bridges, motorways, a mosque and a synagogue among the suspect's potential targets. He was being prosecuted for arms smuggling and terrorism, he said. It was not clear if the tournament itself was being targeted.
'Threat exists'
News of the man's arrest on 21 May first emerged in a report by French TV network M6. The suspect was described as a worker at a farming co-operative from the Lorraine area of eastern France. He had no previous criminal record, reports said.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionAn SBU video showed the moment of arrest on the border with Poland
French authorities have been on high security alert ahead of the European championships, amid fears that the tournament could be targeted by Islamist militants. President Francois Hollande said on Sunday that "the threat exists" but that France should not be daunted.
Ukraine's SBU security service said it had been watching the suspect since December last year and that he had picked up five Kalashnikovs, two anti-tank grenade launchers, some 5,000 rounds of ammunition, 100 detonators, as well as a large quantity of explosives.
An SBU video was shown of the dramatic moment of the suspect's arrest along with the weapons that intelligence officials said they had found. The arrest was said to have taken place at a border crossing close to the Ukrainian town of Yagodyn.
The footage also revealed a second person being wrestled to the ground on the passenger side of the car.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionSecurity has been stepped up for the month-long Euro 2016 tournament
A search was carried out at the suspect's home in the tiny village of Nant-le-Petit and police sources told French media that explosive material and balaclavas were recovered.
An inquiry has been launched by France's organised crime agency, OCLCO, and by regional authorities in Nancy.
However, French police sources told AFP news agency that Ukrainian officials had yet to send them any details. There was some scepticism that the suspect could have been anything more than an arms trafficker.
Residents in Nant-le-Petit were stunned by the arrest of Gregoire Moutaux, who lives there with his grandfather and works as a cattle inseminator.
"He's a rather nice guy, who I think is actually rather well-educated. I've even invited him over for a glass of wine. I just can't understand this," neighbour Jean-Jacques Renck told France 3 TV.
Anti-terrorism specialist Alain Bauer said Ukraine had become a big source of arms because of the continuing conflict in the east of the country. He said the man detained did not fit the usual profile of an attacker, and it was not clear whether he intended to sell the arms or use them himself.
He pointed to the arrest last year of far-right activist Claude Hermant, accused of providing weapons to a jihadist who murdered four people at a Jewish supermarket in Paris in January 2015.
REUTERS
SNS
