Suicide bomber kills 41 in Iraq

A female suicide bomber blew herself up among a crowd of Shiite pilgrims on their way by foot to a shrine city in central Iraq today, killing 41 people, including women and children, officials said. The attack took place while the pilgrims had stopped at a rest station as they made their long journey to Karbala, 110 kilometres (68 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, for a religious festival. "At 11.45am (8.45am GMT), a woman wearing an explosives-filled belt blew herself up in the middle of a crowd of pilgrims going to Karbala," said Major General Qassim Atta, a spokesman for Baghdad operational command.

An interior ministry official gave the toll and said the wounded were being treated at five hospitals in Baghdad. A medical official said initial reports indicated that five women and six children were among the dead. The victims had been travelling on foot from the central province of Diyala and had stopped at a food tent set up for pilgrims heading for Karbala to observe Arbaeen rituals. Arbaeen marks 40 days after the Ashura anniversary that commemorates the killing of revered 7th century Imam Hussein, whose shrine is considered one of the holiest places of Shiite Islam.

Tens of thousands of Shiites, including many from neighbouring Iran, make their way at Arbaeen to pay homage at the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala, walking as a sign of greater piety. The culmination of Arbaeen is on Friday and pilgrims have for days been seen at roadsides around Baghdad as they make their journeys south. *AFP

Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

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F1 line ups in 2018

Mercedes-GP Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez; Renault Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr; Williams Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa / Robert Kubica / Paul di Resta; McLaren Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Toro Rosso TBA; Haas F1 Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Sauber TBA

Info

What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship

When: December 27-29, 2018

Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823

Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

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