Two people were hurt as two explosions rocked Baghdad late on Sunday in the latest in a series of politically-motivated attacks.
The bombs simultaneously went off at two branches of privately-owned banks in Baghdad’s Karrada neighbourhood, the government said.
The Cihan Bank and the Kurdistan Bank are owned by Kurdish businessmen.
State authorities said they would arrest those who planned and carried out the “cowardly attacks that aim to disturb security and stability".
Iraqi President Barham Salih, a Kurd, denounced the attacks as “criminal and terrorist acts threatening the stability and security".
The timing of the attacks “is suspicious”, Mr Salih said.
The attacks came amid a tense political and security atmosphere in the country. Political rivals have been at loggerheads over the formation of the new government.
On Saturday, gunmen threw a hand grenade into the office of a Sunni politician in Baghdad’s south-western neighbourhood of Sayyidiyah.
Abdul-Karim Abtan Al Jubouri, who is affiliated to the Taqadum party led by Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi, was not at his office and no casualties were reported.
Shortly before dawn on Friday, militants on motorcycles attacked the offices of the Taqadum and the Azim coalition headed by tycoon Khamis Al Khanjar.
In all three attacks, the buildings suffered only minor damage.
Since October's national elections, the divide has widened among the country's political rivals, mainly Shiites who make up the majority.
The Sadrist bloc, a political group led by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, emerged as the biggest group, with 73 seats.
There was an unsuccessful challenge of the election result by pro-Iran groups that suffered a major blow in the vote.
They were further angered when one of the main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the two major Sunni parties joined forces with Mr Al Sadr to form the new government.
Threats have been issued against Kurds and Sunnis.
Mr Al Sadr is willing to form a majority government, excluding some of his rivals.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Fiction
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The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award
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The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award
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Children/Young Adult
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HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
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World Mental Health Day
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Australia (15-1): Israel Folau; Dane Haylett-Petty, Reece Hodge, Kurtley Beale, Marika Koroibete; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper (capt), Lukhan Tui; Adam Coleman, Izack Rodda; Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Tom Robertson.
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
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Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
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info-box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
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Real estate tokenisation project
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The biog
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Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
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Three ways to limit your social media use
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1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
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E-cigarettes report
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
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Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Gulf Under 19s final
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