Large crowds attended the funeral procession on Saturday of Iraq's second most senior Shiite cleric, Mohammed Saeed Al Hakim, who died on Friday aged 85 after a heart attack.
Al Hakim, who had the rank of grand ayatollah, was considered a possible successor to Iraq's top Shiite spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani, who is in his 90s.
Iraq's president, prime minister and other politicians issued statements eulogising Al Hakim.
Just as he left in us a rich heritage of tolerance, love and service to all Iraqis, he invites us to be proud and to remember the future generations
Mustafa Al Kadhimi,
Iraqi prime minister
"Just as he left in us a rich heritage of tolerance, love and service to all Iraqis, he invites us to be proud and to remember the future generations," Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi said on his official Twitter account.
President Barham Salih in a statement paid homage to the "prominent figure" in Shiite Islam.
The US Embassy in Baghdad also tweeted its condolences, describing Al Hakim as "a symbol of peace, love, and harmony across the region".
Al Hakim's coffin was carried to the Imam Hussein Shrine for blessings in the holy city of Karbala before being returned to his home town of Najaf for burial.
Al Hakim's office said only that he had died of a sudden medical condition but sources there and relatives said he had suffered a heart attack three days after undergoing an operation.
Along with Mr Al Sistani, Al Hakim was one of four grand ayatollahs who teach at the Hawza, the religious seminary of Najaf.
The Najaf-born cleric is a member of the well-known and highly respected Hakim family of Shiite scholars. His maternal grandfather was Mohsen Al Tabataba’i Al Hakim, a scholar and one of the most prominent thinkers of Shiite Islam. His father was Muhammad Ali Al Hakim, one of the most respected clerics in Najaf.
His second cousin, Sayyed Ammar Al Hakim, leads the Al Hikma, or National Wisdom Movement, one of the largest Shiite political parties in Iraq.
Along with the Afghan-born Mohammed Ishaq Al Fayadh, Al Hakim was seen as the most likely contender to succeed Mr Al Sistani.
His education focused on jurisprudence and religious studies and he had some of the most prominent clerics as teachers. Al Hakim soon turned to teaching and became one of the leading Shiite scholars in Najaf. He wrote many books and other published works, some of which were translated into several languages.
Like most Shiite religious leaders in the holy city, he was put under house arrest during the last days of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s rule, before the US invasion of Iraq. He was among a group of three top Shiite leaders who were threatened with death by a rival Shiite cleric shortly after Saddam was toppled in 2003.
Al Hakim was the target of an assassination attempt in 2003, when his house in Najaf was bombed. Three of his bodyguards were killed, and members of his family were injured. Al Hakim escaped with minimal injuries. Relatives blamed terrorists for the bomb, which was hidden in a gas cylinder.
Al Hakim is survived by his wife and eight children.
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Name: Thndr
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The flights
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March-May and September-November
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
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Thursday December 27
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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