Number of Arba'een pilgrims in Iraq passes 26 million

Number of Arba'een pilgrims in Iraq passes 26 million

1. Egyptian security officials say at least 16 people are dead and many more are injured in a petrol bomb explosion at a restaurant in the capital Cairo. The attacker was an employee who had been fired from the restaurant in the Agouza area in the center of the Egyptian capital.

2. Iraqi authorities say the number of pilgrims attending the mourning rituals of Arba’een in the country has passed 26 million. Iraq’s ministry of transport predicted that the number of pilgrims would reach 27 million by Friday. Arba’een is the fortieth day after the martyrdom anniversary of the third Shia Imam.

3. Hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims have converged in Nigeria's northern city of Zaria to mark Arba’een, the fortieth day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein. The mourning ceremonies for the third Shia Imam were held following a blast which killed 28 people, mostly members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

4. Iraq's prime minister has warned that any foreign troop deployment to his country will be considered an act of aggression. Heidar al-Abadi said Baghdad has not requested any foreign ground troops. He made the remarks after a US Army Colonel announced the deployment of around 100 special forces to Iraq.

5. The “Black Lives Matter” movement stages a protest in New York in front of the Mayor’s house. Protesters were marking one year from the discharge of a police officer responsible for the death of an unarmed African-American. Eric Garner was killed after being put in a chokehold by policemen on July 2014.

6. US intelligence officials are investigating the motive behind the shooting rampage that left 14 people dead in the state of California. They say one of the two suspects was in contact with extremist groups in social media. It’s still unclear if the shooting was a terrorist attack.

7. The US senators reject a bill expanding background checks for gun purchases amid rising calls for stricter gun controls. Senators voted 55 to 44 for the proposal, while it needed 60 votes to pass. The rejection came a day after 14 people were killed in a mass shooting in California.

8. In Venezuela, campaigning for Sunday’s congressional elections has come to an end. Candidates will contend for the country’s 167-seat National Assembly with the opposition seeking a majority of the seats after sixteen years. An opinion poll has shown that more than fifty five percent of Venezuelans back the opposition.


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