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page 21 S/ARABIA Suicide bombers hit three Saudi cities Suicide bombers struck three cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan. The explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi’ite worshippers and a security headquarters at […]

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S/ARABIA

Suicide bombers hit three Saudi cities

Suicide bombers struck three cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan.

The explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi’ite worshippers and a security headquarters at a mosque in the holy city of Medina follow days of mass killings claimed by the Islamic State group, in Turkey, Bangladesh and Iraq.

A Saudi security official said an attacker parked a car near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah before detonating the device. The official said the government was checking the reports of blasts in Qatif and Medina.

In the only one of the three attacks that appeared to have caused many casualties, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb near the security headquarters of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the second-holiest site in Islam.

Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said an initial death toll from the Medina blast included three suicide bombers and two security forces officers.

In Qatif, an eastern city that is home to many members of the Shi’ite minority, at least one and possibly two explosions struck near a Shi’ite mosque. Witnesses described body parts, apparently of a suicide bomber, in the aftermath.

IRAQ

Baghdad bomb blast toll rises to 200

Anger is growing in Baghdad over the government’s failure to protect civilians, after a devastating bombing in a crowded commercial area in the Iraqi capital killed more than 200 people, including many children.

The powerful explosion early on Sunday came near the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when the streets were filled with young people and families out after sunset.

The death toll from the blast in Karada, a predominantly Shia neighbourhood in central Baghdad, rose to over 200 on Monday morning, as the bodies of more victims were pulled from the rubble.

There were fears the death toll could rise even further.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi condemned the bombing and declared three days of mourning across the country after visiting the scene of the attack.

UGANDA

Israeli PM in ‘landmark’ Africa visit

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has visited the scene of the 1976 Entebbe hostage rescue in Uganda, in which his brother, who led the raid, was killed.

Israeli commandos freed more than 100 hostages held for a week at an airport terminal, in a daring operation. They returned to Israel on 4 July 1976.

Mr Netanyahu is also scheduled to visit Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda.

He has said the trip symbolises “dramatic changes” in the relationship between Israel and Africa.

He is the first Israeli prime minister to visit Sub-Saharan Africa since Yitzhak Shamir in 1987.

Monday’s ceremony at the scene of the raid was attended by some of the rescued hostages and Israeli Special Forces who carried out the operation.

BANGLADESH

Shock over ‘elite’ Bangladesh suspects

Bangladeshi police are continuing to investigate Friday’s deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe, amid shock at the elite background of most of the suspects.

They include the son of a government politician, along with university and elite public school students.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, one US citizen and an Indian were killed in the 12-hour siege at the Holey Artisan cafe in the Gulshan neighbourhood. One Italian is unaccounted for.

Bangladeshi Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said “a majority of the boys who attacked the restaurant came from very good educational institutions. Some went to sophisticated schools. Their families are relatively well-to-do people.”

TURKEY

Two IS suspects detained at Istanbul airport

Two suspected Islamic State jihadists have been detained at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, the Dogan news agency reported, less than a week after it was hit by a triple suicide attack.

Dogan said the two suspects held late on Sunday were Kyrgyz nationals, identifying them only by their initials, K.V. and F.M.I., aged 25 and 35 respectively.

Police found night-vision binoculars and military-style clothes in their suitcases, the agency said, along with two passports in different names.

They were questioned by anti-terror police in Istanbul. It was not clear whether they had been leaving or arriving at the airport.

Their detention came as 13 suspects, including three foreigners, were charged Sunday over the June 28 gun and suicide bomb assault at the airport that killed 45 people including 19 foreigners.

Officials believe the Islamic State group was behind the attack, the worst in a series to hit Turkey’s biggest city this year.

KENYA

Hundreds protest in Nairobi over death of rights lawyer

About 300 people marched through the Kenyan capital on Monday to protest over what they said was the extrajudicial killing by police of human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, his client and their driver.

Demonstrators carried a mock coffin emblazoned with the words “Stop extrajudicial killings.” Others wore T-shirts with the slogan “Stop police executions.” Some carried placards demanding Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery resign.

Police officials say they investigate and prosecute any officers suspected of breaking the law.

After lodging a complaint alleging he had been shot and injured by police, Mwendwa was charged with a range of offences, including possessing drugs and resisting arrest, activists said.

The authorities said on Saturday that three police officers had been arrested in connection with the deaths of the three men, who disappeared after a court hearing on June 23

UK

Brexit: UKIP leader Nigel Farage resigns

Nigel Farage says he is standing down as leader of the UK Independence Party.

Mr Farage said his “political ambition has been achieved” with the UK having voted to leave the EU.

He said the party was in a “pretty good place” and said he would not change his mind about quitting as he did after the 2015 general election.

Leading UKIP was “tough at times” but “all worth it” said Mr Farage, who is also an MEP. He added that the UK needed a “Brexit prime minister”.

Mr Farage said the party would campaign against “backsliding” on the UK’s exit from the EU, saying he planned to see out his term in the European Parliament – describing his party as “the turkeys that voted for Christmas”.

He said his party’s “greatest potential” lay in attracting Labour voters, adding that he would not be backing any particular candidate to replace him.

VENEZUELA

Maduro lifts power rationing

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced the lifting of the power rationing that has been in place for two months.

From 25 April much of the country had its power cut off for four hours a day.

The measure was put in place after a drought caused the Guri dam, which produces almost two-thirds of the country’s electricity, to reach critically low levels.

The power cuts came amidst an economic crisis and severe food shortages.

Mr Maduro said that when he ordered the power cuts in April, Venezuela had been “six days away from a collapse, we were facing having to turn off almost the entire country”.

ZIMBABWE

Police clash with rioting minibus drivers

Police in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, have used tear gas and water cannons to break up a protest by minibus drivers.

The unrest began when drivers erected barricades in a protest against harassment and roadblocks by police demanding bribes.

When security forced stepped in, some local residents joined the protesters and threw stones at police.

Some demonstrators are reported to have been beaten up. Thirty people have been arrested.

Zimbabwe has become increasing volatile in recent weeks with frequent protests against economic hardship and alleged government corruption.

EGYPT

EgyptAir crash: Flight MS804 bodies are recovered

A search vessel looking for the remains of victims of the EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean in May has recovered all of the mapped bodies from the sea floor, investigators say.

The Mauritian-based ship John Lethbridge is now sailing to Alexandria in Egypt. It will later return to the crash site to look for more bodies.

The flight from Paris to Cairo crashed on 19 May, killing all 66 on board. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

A statement by the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said that the search vessel John Lethbridge “retrieved all the human remains that were mapped at the crash location”.