Iraq (and Beyond) Coverage: At Least 10 Killed in Basra Bomb

See also Syria Live Coverage: Fighting Escalates Near Damascus

---

1555 GMT: Egypt. The Pope of Egypt’s Coptic Church has received the Libyan Ambassador in Cairo to discuss the fate of three Egyptian Coptic-Christians and an Egyptian evangelical, detained in Libya on charges of "promoting Christianity".

Yesterday the Libyan Embassy temporarily suspended operations in Egypt amid concerns over the safety of its staff.

One Egyptian national was released earlier this mohth in the case.

1317 GMT: Bahrain. An EA correspondent in the Kingdom reports, "According to her mother, activist Zainab AlKhawaja has started a hunger strike. She is prevented from seeing her mother and daughter after she refused to wear prison clothing."

1314 GMT: Egypt. The Court of Cassation has overturned the 12-year sentence of former Minister of Interior Habib El Adly on money-laundering and profiteering charges.

El Adly still faces a life sentence over accusations that he ordered the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising against the Mubarak regime. He was convicted in June 2012, but a new hearing was ordered earlier this month.

Retrials in both cases will start on 13 April.

1308 GMT: Egypt. Ahram Online reports on how a problem with fuel is driving up the cost of fruit and vegetables:

Diesel shortages have had a direct impact on prices, with the cost of transporting shipments from farmers to wholesalers increasing by nearly 33 percent.

1227 GMT: Egypt. The Office of State Commissioners, a judicial body which issues non-binding recommendations on cases to the courts, has called for the rejection of the President's appeal against the suspension of this spring's Parliamentary elections.

On 6 March, the Supreme Administrative Court overturned a Presidential decree that called for four-stage elections to begin on 22 April. The dispute arose over the constitutionality of the electoral law and the handling of the process by the Shura Council, Egypt's upper house of Parliament.

1222 GMT: Bahrain. A court has sentenced 17 protesters to 15 years in prison, convicting them of the attempted murder of four policemen in a bomb attack in April in AlEker.

1215 GMT: Iraq. A car bomb near Basra in the south Iraq has killed 10 people and wounded many others, local police say.

The blast happened near a bus station in Garmat Ali, 18 kilometres (11 miles) north of Basra. Earlier, another bomb to the west of the city wounded two people.

Attacks in Basra are relatively rare compared to other regions of Iraq.