There's been an explosion in Medina in Saudi Arabia, the third suicide bombing reported in the kingdom in a single day. Four security officers were killed in Medina when a suicide bomber detonated a device near the Prophet's Mosque. Alan Johnston reports. Reports from the holy city of Medina say the bomber struck just as the sun had set. Muslims around the world would be aghast that such a thing has happened in such a sacred place. Almost simultaneously a suicide bomber detonated a device on the other side of the country in the eastern city of Qatif. The target was a mosque used by Shia Muslims. And much earlier another suicide bomber struck near a US consulate in Jeddah. Suspicion will inevitably fall on the Islamic State group. It regards the Saudi leadership as illegitimate and it has struck in the kingdom in the past.
The United Nations says 62,000 Syrians trapped in four towns are at risk of starving to death. The UN resident coordinator in Damascus, Yacoub El Hillo, called for urgent medical evacuations as well as immediate and unconditional access for humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross has released drone footage showing the destruction in the Iraqi city Ramadi, which was taken back from the Islamic State group in December. The ICRC’s president, Peter Maurer, called it a humanitarian catastrophe. The suffering has reached unprecedented levels—hundreds of thousands killed, millions on the move, families torn apart. Even as Ramadan comes to an end, many, many ordinary people are living in abject fear and terrifying uncertainty. A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding. And make no mistake—the situation is getting worse for everyone.
A politician from the governing party in Bangladesh has spoken of his sorrow and shame after learning that his son was among the Islamist militants who attacked a cafe in the capital Dhaka on Friday. Imtiaz Khan told the BBC Bengali Service his son Rohan left home six months ago and hadn't been in touch since. I tried so hard. I did so much. He’s my only son and whatever I could do as a father to find him I did. I went to see the home office minister not once but four times. He tried to help as much as he could, but he couldn’t find him. The Islamic State group posted Rohan’s picture on Facebook on Friday and said it carried out the attack in which 20, mostly foreign hostages and two policemen, were killed.
Foreign clothing companies are reviewing their investments in Bangladesh’s huge garment industry following the Dhaka attack. Clothing companies, such as Japan’s Uniqlo, say they are suspending all but essential travel in response. World News from the BBC
A leading Shia Muslim cleric in Iraq has bitterly criticised the government after a weekend bomb attack in Baghdad killed at least 165 people. Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqis to demand the resignation of what he called negligent ministers.
The French President Francois Hollande has said that Britain’s decision to leave the EU will not affect the commitments to expand the bloc. His remarks follow a day of talks on EU membership for states in the Balkans.
The Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami has died at the age of 76. He won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for Taste of Cherry, the seventh feature film of a career which began 20 years earlier. Jamshid Akrami, an Iranian film professor in the US, told the BBC about his good friend’s international success. Since his success in winning the Palme d'Or, he became one of the greatest filmmakers in the world, I mean, people in the rest of the world started to relate to what his movies presented. He's basically antithesis of the Hollywood movies, I might say. His work was a breath of fresh air in international cinema.
Tens of thousands of Icelanders have gathered in the centre of the capital Reykjavik to welcome home the country’s football team—the giant killers of the Euro 2016 tournament. The players made their way through the city in an open-top bus led by drummers to the hill of Arnarholl. Supporters greeted them with wild cheering and applause that grew into the team’s Viking chant and drumbeat. Iceland’s first major tournament ended on Sunday with a defeat to France, but before that, the sign to beat former World Cup winners England. BBC News