Reports of violence are still scant following the Ashura observances, but at least eight Iraqis were wounded in at least three explosions in Baghdad. Meanwhile, the Electricity Ministry has opened bidding to foreign companies on four new power stations that could boost production. Last summer, the lack of electricity lead to riots in southern Iraq.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki promised to unveil his new cabinet on Monday. Now that Maliki has won the premiership despite his party not holding the largest number of seats in parliament, that parliament has lifted a ban on three Sunni lawmakers accused of ties to the outlawed Ba’ath Party. Over 500 candidates were originally barred from participating in March elections in what was considered a thinly veiled attempt to reduce the number of Sunni winners.
In Baghdad, a bomb hidden in a manhole near the Nahda Bridge blew up, wounding four civilians. A pair of blasts in Doura wounded four policemen.
