Two blasts kill eight in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Eight Shiite pilgrims returning from a holy holiday in Karbala were killed Monday when two bombs detonated in separate attacks in Baghdad, authorities said.
One roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad killed four Iraqi civilians and injured 11 others, police said. The bomb detonated close to a bus near al-Hamza Square in Sadr City, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.
The injured were taken to hospitals, police said.
In the second attack, four people died and 13 were wounded when a minibus hit a bomb planted in the road in the al-Obeidi neighborhood in northeastern Baghdad, the International Herald Tribune reported.
Monday was the end of Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period honoring the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. Millions of Shiites flock to Karbala each year for the holy holiday, drawing attacks by Sunni extremists.
Aussie bush fire death toll reaches 189
MELBOURNE, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The death toll from this month's Australian bush fires has been raised to 189 with the discoveries of eight more bodies, officials said Monday.
Authorities pleaded for patience from the public while trying to arrive at a final number for those killed in fires that devastated more than 1 million acres of the southeastern state of Victoria, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe told the ABC it may be some time before a final death toll is known, saying, "We have been working closely with the Coroner's Court to enable us to get to this point tonight. The families and friends of bush fire victims would expect us to ensure that we get this right and that we treat the victims with the dignity and the respect that they deserve."
Officials told the broadcaster that the latest death count included 128 residents killed in the Kinglake fire, 10 at the Churchill fire and 43 in the fires at Marysville, adding that more bodies are likely to be found in the devastated areas.
Snow hits higher elevations in California
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Snow shut down Interstate 5 at Gorman, Calif., Monday and officials warned streets and roads could be flooded by heavy rains at lower elevations.
Poor visibility was expected in the higher elevations where high winds and 2-3 feet of snow were forecast, the Los Angeles Times reported. Travel was being discouraged in those areas.
"This is going to be very dangerous, with the winds and the snow," said Stuart Seto, a National Weather Service specialist in Oxnard, Calif. "Near-whiteout, zero visibility."
Despite lighter commuter traffic because off the Presidents Day holiday, the Times reported several rain-related accidents clogged highways in the region early in the day.
The weather service issued flash-flood and high-wind warnings and there were fears of mudslides in Orange and Los Angeles counties and other areas hit by wildfires last year, the newspaper said.
Heavy rains with winds up to 75 mph were expected through the day and into Tuesday in Southern California.
"That's the threshold for potentially damaging winds ... the kind of speed that could be knocking down trees or picking tiles off roofs," David Gomberg, an NWS meteorologist in Oxnard, told the Times.
"We are expecting high surf and dangerous rip currents in all the beaches of LA and Ventura" counties, Gomberg added. "It will definitely be dangerous for beach goers."
AccuWeather,com said while the Southern California mountains would get the most snow, up to a foot was expected in the Oregon Cascades before the storm moves inland early this week. Heavier snow will spread through the mountains of Utah, Arizona and Colorado Monday night and Tuesday, the forecaster said.
Significant snow could reach the Midwest and the Northeast Wednesday into Thursday with strong winds howling behind the storm across the Northeast through the end of the week, AccuWeather.com said.
Moscow snowstorm causes 24 accident deaths
MOSCOW, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Twenty-four people were killed in traffic accidents caused by a heavy snowfall in the Moscow region this past weekend, police said Monday.
Moscow police blamed the snow for more than 6,000 traffic accidents in and around the Russian capital, RIA Novosti reported.
Traffic police officials said 4,200 of those accidents took place in Moscow alone. Those accidents caused four deaths and 78 injuries.
Nearly 2,000 traffic accidents took place during the same time period in the region around the city with those incidents causing 20 deaths and 86 injuries.
Svetlana Landa, a regional traffic police department spokeswoman, said the thousands of mishaps resulted from drivers violating failing to obey traffic laws during the heavy snowfall.
RIA Novosti said 12,500 traffic code violations were handed out in Moscow and the surrounding region during the weekend.
