Photo: Reuters
Some 77 people, most of them Shia pilgrims from Iran and Afghanistan, have been killed in a truck bomb attack in Iraq, officials say, the BBC reports.
The blast struck at a petrol station and restaurant near Hilla, some 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad.
Busloads of pilgrims had stopped there on their way home from commemorating Arbaeen in the holy city of Karbala. Some 40 people were wounded.
The jihadist group Islamic State said it carried out the attack.
The Public Services Regulatory Commission ruled today to cut the gas prices.
The price will be set at 100,000 AMD annually per 1 thousand cubic meters of gas for socially vulnerable families, which use up to 600 cubic meters of gas, and 139,000 AMD for those consuming over 600 cubic meters of gas.
Consumers using up to 10 thousand cubic meters of gas monthly will pay 139,000 AMD (down from 146,700 AMD) per 1 thousand cubic meters of gas, while those consuming over 10 thousand cubic meters of gas will pay $242.1 per 1 thousand cubic meters.
Different tariffs have been set for greenhouse economies and manufacturers of agricultural products.
The new tariffs will come into effect from January 1, 2017.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is hoping to be given a new start at Manchester United after playing a key role in their 4-0 Europa League win over Feyenoord at Old Trafford.
Mkhitaryan was named in the starting XI for only the second time since his July arrival from Borussia Dortmund and gave a performance that featured six shots and three chances created as United took a huge step towards the knockout stages.
The Armenia international has been out of favour under manager Jose Mourinho but believes his lively showing on Thursday could act as a fresh beginning.
“It was a pleasure to play again and start the game,” Mkhitaryan told BT Sport.
“I try to do my best and it’s a very good result.
“It has been difficult to watch the team from the sidelines but you have to have passion and work hard.
“I hope it is a new start for me.”
Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not show any rustiness despite having played only once for his club since 10 September. He had six shots, made 55 passes (accuracy 85.5%) and won the ball back eight times.
He linked up well with team-mates, and would have got on the end of a through ball from Rooney had the England captain not overhit it, after a slick one-touch passing move between the pair.
One of the game’s outstanding moments came when Mkhitaryan ran from his own half, taking on several Feyenoord defenders, before going down under pressure from Jens Toornstra. The Dutch champions were fortunate the referee did not give a free-kick, which would also have resulted in a red card.
The 27-year-old had six shots, including blocked efforts, and came off, alongside Rooney, to a standing ovation after 82 minutes.
Reuters – Two passenger trains collided in Iran’s north-central province of Semnan on early Friday, killing at least 15 people and injuring over 50 others, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported.
“The death toll has reached eight and some 52 others have been injured. The injured passengers have been transferred to nearby hospitals,” Fars quoted local officials as saying.
Iranian media gave no details on the number of passengers in the trains.
State television showed footage of four derailed carriages, with two of them on fire. A spokesman for Iran’s Red Crescent, Mostafa Mortazavi, told Fars that firefighters were trying to control the blaze.
“The accident happened when a passenger train in motion crashed to another one that had stopped at the station,” it said.
The cause of the collision was under investigation, it said, adding that rescue teams have been dispatched to the site of accident.
The crash occurred at the Haft-Khan station in the city of Shahroud, about 400 kilometers east of Tehran.
Photo: EPA
An Iraqi paramilitary force says it has seized a key road west of Mosul, effectively encircling the city controlled by so-called Islamic State, the BBC reports.
The Popular Mobilisation (Hashd al-Shaabi) declared it had taken control of the road between Tal Afar and Sinjar after linking up with Kurdish forces.
IS militants still control the section of the road between Tal Afar and Mosul.
Meanwhile, an air strike reportedly hit another bridge in Mosul, as troops advanced further into eastern areas.
There is now only one functioning bridge left spanning the River Tigris, which flows through the city.
About 50,000 Iraqi security forces personnel, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen are involved in the five-week-old offensive to drive IS militants out of their last major urban stronghold in the country.
Photo: Getty Images
Archaeologists in Egypt have unearthed what they describe as a city that dates back more than 5,000 years, containing houses, tools, pottery and huge graves, the BBC reports.
It lies by the river Nile, close to the Temple of Seti the First in Abydos.
Experts say the size of the 15 newly discovered graves indicates the high social standing of those buried.
It is believed the city was home to important officials and tomb builders and would have flourished during early-era ancient Egyptian times.
Experts say the find could be a boost for Egypt’s struggling tourism industry which has been in the doldrums since President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011.
Archaeologists have made a range of finds in the newly-discovered city including buildings, shards of pottery and tools.
Armenia is ranked 87th (up from 38) in this month’s FIFA World Ranking. Armenia’s 3-2 win against Montenegro helped the team jump the largest number of places in the ranking table.
There has been plenty of movement in the latest edition of the FIFA World Ranking thanks largely to the 63 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualification matches played, but also to 71 other qualifiers and international friendlies that took place over the past few weeks.
Argentina remain top for November, but have seen their command on the summit weakened by close rivals Brazil (2, up 1). After a good run of form in FIFA World Cup™ qualifying, A Seleção have surpassed Germany (3, down 1) and closed the distance to their South American neighbors, as the year-end approaches. Chile, meanwhile, climbed into fourth place.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been handed a chance to impress Jose Mourinho as Manchester United take on Feyenoord in the Europa League.
The Armenian has only made one start for the club this season.
His only start came against Manchester City in a 2-1 loss and he was hooked off at half-time.
Mourinho named a strong team with Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Juan Mata all starting.
Man Utd: Romero, Valencia, Jones, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Pogba, Mata, Rooney, Mkhitaryan, Ibrahimovic
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has issued a message for the International Day to end Violence against Women and Girls:
At long last, there is growing global recognition that violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, public health pandemic and serious obstacle to sustainable development. Yet there is still much more we can and must do to turn this awareness into meaningful prevention and response.
Violence against women and girls imposes large-scale costs on families, communities and economies. When women cannot work as a result of violence, their employment may be put at risk, jeopardizing much-needed income, autonomy and their ability to leave abusive relationships. Violence against women also results in lost productivity for businesses, and drains resources from social services, the justice system and health-care agencies. Domestic and intimate partner violence remains widespread, compounded by impunity for those crimes. The net result is enormous suffering as well as the exclusion of women from playing their full and rightful roles in society.
The world cannot afford to pay this price. Women and girls cannot afford it – and should not have to. Yet such violence persists every day, around the world. And efforts to address this challenge, although rich in political commitment, are chronically under-funded.
Since 2008, I have led the UNiTE campaign to End Violence against Women, which calls for global action to increase resources and promote solutions. I call on governments to show their commitment by dramatically increasing national spending in all relevant areas, including in support of women’s movements and civil society organizations. I also encourage world leaders to contribute to UN Women and to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. We look as well to the private sector, philanthropies and concerned citizens to do their part.
Today, we are seeing the world lit up in orange, symbolizing a bright future for women and girls. With dedicated investment, we can keep these lights shining, uphold human rights and eliminate violence against women and girls for good.
Photo: Reuters
A car bomb outside the governor’s office in the Turkish town of Adana has killed two people and injured 16, the governor has told state-run media, the BBC reports.
The vehicle exploded in the car park close to the office entrance in the southern town, Mahmut Demirtas told Anadolu news agency.
He said the suspect’s car license plates had been identified and a female attacker was suspected.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Kurdish, Islamist and leftist militants have all carried out bombings in recent years.