>> this is "d.w. news." live from berlin. a day of violence in saudi arabia. a wave of suicide bombings hits the country. the targets include a shiite mosque in one of islam's holiest cities, medina. also coming up, grief and anger in baghdad as the number of those killed in sunday's suicide bombing rises to at least 150, making it one of the worst terrorist incidents in the country for years. and nasa space probe closed in on jupiter after a five-year journey. it's due to begin its attempt to orbit the biggest planet in the

solar system shortly. i'm sarah kelly, welcome to the program. we begin with a developing story. multiple suicide bombings have been reported in saudi arabia, including one in the city of medina. islam's second holiest site. reports are that one bomber detonated a device near the security headquarters of the prophet's mosque in the city. blasts have been reported in katif, a mainly shiite area. earlier in the day, a suicide bomber carried out an attack near a u.s. diplomatic mission in jeddah. we got more on these attacks from the former editor-in-chief of the saudi gazette. >> this took everyone by surprise. the first attack in jeddah in the early hours of this morning, after midnight, were suicide

bomber blew himself up in a car park in a hospital, across the road from the u.s. consulate. the motive is not known because he was proceeding towards the mosque and there was no way he could reach the consulate. how that incident happened within the day as the sun was setting and people were in the prophet's mosque, about a million and a half people in and around the courtyard, an explosion was heard a couple of kilometers away on the south side of the shroud, and where two security personnel were killed and four injured seriously when a young man blew himself there. in the katif area, almost at the same time, maybe a bit earlier, sobody tried to go and blow

the mosque down there but he was prevented and died in the process. so this modis modis operandi smf a daesh operation, al qaeda. not much is known yet. but i think more and more things will be unearthed and we will come to know. the good thing about it, i would like to reassure everyone, none as i'm speaking to you, theand mosque is still filled with 1.5 million people of the faithful who did not flinch and wouldn't leave the mosque even after hearing. these are the faithful. tonight is the last night of ramadan. people thank the almighty for peace and prosperity. it's important to note that luckily this happened two kilometers away so no damage done in terms of life but we

feel sorry for the six that were injured and lost their lives. >> it's taking place during a sacred time. the attack also happened near the prophet mohammad's mosque. do you think the attackers were trying to send a message by doing that? >> yes, i think this is -- the modis operandi, the daesh, the al qaeda, trying to sow seeds of confusion and reassert themselves. i think these are the last attempts of a dying organization. it's easy to say, they just killed 200 people. i think there will be a total revolution against these people and i think this could be the end because to touch the prophet's mosque is something that is very -- you know, upsetting to any muslim or any person, a house of worship, be it a mosque or church or temple,

it's sacrosanct and people are upset about it. anchor: you're predicting a backlash against the perpetrators. thank you very much for your reporting. meantime, a ceremony has been held in the bangladeshi capital of dhaka in memory of the victims of the weekend attack by suspected islamist extremists in an up market cafe. bangladeshi prime minister attended the occasion to pay respects to those killed in the siege. 20 hostages died in the ordeal, including nine italians, seven japanese, a u.s. citizen and 19-year-old indian student. 30 others were injured. and iraq is still reeling from sunday's suicide bombing, the country's worsttrary -- terror attack innersia. itin years. at least 160 were killed when a truck bomb exploded in a shopping district. some sources are putting the

death toll at more than 200. insteadinside of preparing for s eve, these families are destroyed by anguish. the bomb detonated when people were out to buy presents and new clothes ahead of the holiday. in baghdad, many are dealing with the aftermath of one of the worst single bombings in more than a deckade of war and insurgency. it was in a predominantly shia area where the attack took place as people broke the ramadan fast. this street is one of the most beautiful streets in baghdad. it is similar to the champs elysees in paris. we were smelling flowers and now we are smelling death. a day after the attack, victims are still being recovered from underneath the rubble and debris. as locals mourn the dead, they

worry for those who have not yet been found. may god punish those responsible for such a bombing. so many people are still missing. the rescue teams haven't been able to find them yet. as the rescue operations continue, the death toll is only expected to increase. we are joined by david lowe, terrorism and security expert in liverpool. thank you very much for being with us. we've had terror attacks in bangladesh, baghdad, now saudi arabia. the so-called islamic state claims to be behind first two attacks. how about the suicide blast in medina? does this fit the profile of an islamic state attack, do you think? >> yeah, it does, because you look at the targets they've been picking, what we call soft targets. places of worship, it's not the

first time they've done this. they attacked a shia mosque in kuwait last year. again, the kind of casualties. you look at katif, it's a shia mosque and i.s. is an extreme version of sunni muslim but of course saudi is a predominantly sunni muslim state so it shows you one thing that is a trait of i.s., they kill more muslims than anybody else in their conflict so it does have that resonance that it could be an i.s. attack like we've seen in baghdad. anchor: i want to talk about that with you. islamic state's declared ambition is to establish an islamic caliphate but we're seeing fighters attacking muslims during ramadan. what's behind that strategy? why are they doing this? >> it may sound like a paradox but there has been history of this in the past, not just this period of ramadan, but ramadan from last year and the year before. encouragement from the likes of

al-adami from the islamic state to have a month of calamity. it may sound strange to have during one of the holiest months in the muslim faith, to orchestrate attacks but i suppose historically you look at the prophet mohammad in 624, the battle was held during ramadan. you've also had in the past, abdullah asam, he was in afghanistan and negotiated and led the arab foreign fighters in afghanistan and for him neglecting jihad was much like abandoning fasting and prayer so they look at it as a form of jihad to have during ramadan. i know it sounds a complete paradox and really strange to have this but they're seizing that moment. you look at the targets. saudi itself is no supporter of i.s. obviously, you're looking at them picking on targets there. another clue could also be with

to the american consulate. anchor: david lowe joining us from liverpool this evening. thank you. we had to britain where the latest aftershock from the u.k.'s street leave the european union. the leader of the u.k. independence party has resigned. here's how nigel farage made the announcement. >> my ambition in politics was to get britain out of the european union. that is what we voted for in that referendum two weeks ago and that is why i feel i've done my bit, they couldn't possibly achieve more than we managed to get in that referendum so i feel it's right that i should now stand aside as leader of ukip. anchor: our correspondent is following the story from london. christopher, why is farage stepping down? why now?

reporter: well, we just heard from him there, saying he's pretty much achieved his political goal so there's nothing more for him to fight for. he's also cited personal reasons. he wants to have his life back, he says. i think what's perhaps more likely and that also answers your question about timing is the fact that ukip is keen to expand its voter base now and farage is such a polarizing, such an abrasive and populace leader that he's probably not the right man to help them do that. british politics is in a phase of such dramatic reshaping that there may be new opportunities for ukip and this is perhaps why they've decided now to jettison farage. they're looking to gain voters from the labour party, for instance, in its working class heartland and they need a more moderate, safer leader, in a sense, to take them down that road.

anchor: meantime, there have been so many dramatic moves in the past week. first cameron stepping down, then johnson, now farage. are we in for any more surprises? could there be any possibly left? reporter: well, sarah, there's still the opposition labour party leader, jeremy corbyn. there's a huge power struggle within the higher echelons of the labour party at the moment. one of his rivals within the party says she has enough support to challenge him. she'd prefer him to step down. who knows. maybe that's the next surprise. we'll see what tomorrow brings. anchor: meantime, the tories start selecting their new party leader, the country's new prime minister this tuesday. tell us more about the candidates and who might emerge as the winner to lead the country through this turbulent time. >> leading the pack at the moment is teresa may, the interior minister.

she's seen as a safe pair of hands. she campaigned quietly in favor of staying within the european union, quietly enough to present herself as a unity candidate, someone who can unite the divided conservative party and she's got large parts of the parliamentary conservatives behind her already. next behind her as it were in the race are two fervent brexiteers, michael go, the justice minister, andrea ledson, the energy minister. michael go, the right-hand man of boris johnson who stabbed him in the back in favor of putting himself up for the post of next prime minister so michael grove has blood on his hands in the minds of many conservatives. andrea ledson, she appears to be

overtaking michael gove. anchor: canadian prime minister justin trudeau has become the first prime minister to march in the gay pride parade. he was met with cheers from the crowd as he waved a flag with a rainbow border. with the orlando massacre on people's minds, the crowd observed a minute's silence with marchers carrying signs bearing the names and ages of each person killed. when we come back, the countdown is on. in just a few hours, a nasa probe will come closer to jupiter than ever before. we will speak with a scientist from nasa's mission. and shareholders from london approve a merger with deutsche boerse but can it move ahead if

britain leaves the e.u.?

sarah: welcome back, a quick reminder of our top story. saudi arabia has been hit by multiple suicide bombings including one in the city of medina, islam's second holiest site. three people, including the bomber, are reported to have died. earlier in the day, there was an explosion near the u.s. consulate and another attack in the shiite dominated city of katif. just a few hours from now, scientists could get their closest look at the planet jupiter. after a five-year journey,, a u.s. spacecraft is due to arrive at jupiter where it will attempt a maneuver designed to put it in

the planet's orbit in time for independence day in the united states. juneau will have to dodge debris and radiation. if successful, it will orbit the planet and send back data to earth. >> nasa's probe has been speeding through space for five years and now, it has finally reached its destination, jupiter. juneau will fly closer to the gas giant than any spacecraft has done before. the probe will be exposed to a storm of charged particles and massive radiation. juneau has titanium armor to protect its instruments and the orbit has been planned to expose the craft to as little radiation as possible. >> it's not that easy. here's what we're facing. you see a v.l.a. image, a radio image of jupiter which is showing the extreme radiation

belts that surround this planet. the yellow is where the most intense radiation is. we're looking at electronics -- electrons moving close to the speed of light. >> if everything goes according to plan, the probe will orbit the planet more than a year, gathering data. it aims to answer questions like what is the chemical makeup of june jupiter's atmosphere? what gases is it composed of? juneau will chart the planet's gravitation and magnetic field and what kind of core does the gassiest giant possess? >> what juneau's about is looking beneath that surface. we've got to go down and look at what's inside, see how it's built, how deep these features go, learn about its real secrets. that's what juneau's about. >> jupiter's birth is also still a mystery. scientists think it was probably formed as the first planet in our solar system out of a huge cloud of dust and gas. >> juneau is searching for hints

about our beginnings, how everything started, how did the solar system get started. but these secrets are pretty well guarded by jupiter and its pretty formidable. >> after completing its mission in february 2018, the probe will be deorbited and burn up in the atmosphere. nasa says many questions will be answered and many will remain. sarah: the biggest question of all, will the mission succeed. we are joined by dr. adriana ocampo with nasa in pasadena. talk us through what is happening as the probe makes its final approach to jupiter? >> we're getting the image here in mission control at the jet propulsion laboratory and we're getting ready for the final stages.

the sequence is automated, it performing its final commands. the spacecraft has all the pay load turned off. just before 2018, basically, pacific daylight saving time, it will turn away from the sun and it will start -- it will turn on its main engine and start maneuver of insertion into the giant planet so that will be one of the critical moments and phases that we will commence this maneuver that we hope that after that and we will receive the command, the pulse basically from the spacecraft. it takes 48 minutes to travel from jupiter to the earth, confirming successful insertion. sarah: we've heard that juneau,

as of this point, is entering unknown territory with dust, rings and radiation threatening it. how big are the risks that that could end the mission? >> the risks are tremendous. i mean, definitely this is the first for humanity. we have never done this before. we have never sent a spacecraft to such a lethal environment. we have to remember that jupiter is the giant amid so much radiation like electron bullets that would penetrate anything. the spacecraft has a shield, if we can call it like that, is a cube made out of tightanium that will shield the most sensitive portions of the spacecraft, the electrical opponents, to that enormous radiation field but we have mitigated those risks. we have tied to complete the scenarios. we are confident we have done

everything we could to make this mission a success. sarah: assuming the mission is a success, what do you hope it will tell us about jupiter? when are we going to see the beautiful new high-resolution images beamed back? >> well, we hope to -- what we have been doing is actually during approach phase, that we're just about to complete, basically we have been taking just information of the giant planet. now, all the pay load is turned off and after successful maneuver, we will turn them on, one by one, and begin to calibrate it. the first orbit, two orbits, will be about 53 days long so the first images that we will receive for calibration will be at the end of august.

and really the science mission will start later this year, basically november. sarah: we wish you the best of luck and thank you very much, dr. ocampo at nasa's jet propulsion laboratory in pasadena. a change of pace, headi to daniel winter with the latest from the business world. uncertain times for british firms. he has the latest on that. daniel: yes, you talked earlier about the political fallout. companies are concerned, too. among the companies most worried about brexit are those with subsidiaries on both sides of the english channel. on monday, shareholders in the london stock exchange said they're happy with the planned 24 billion euro merger with the counterpart from germany but britain's exit from the e.u. has thrown up questions on what that merger will look like. the $30 billion merger would

give deutsche boerse a controlling share in a true mega-exchange, the largest in the world by revenue. but in a post-brexit europe, it is unclear where the new exchange would be based. there is a love affair between london and frankfurt. they want to get together and marry. but there are legal uncertainties. we don't know for sure if the brits are leaving. i don't think they will but at the moment one would have to say it makes no sense to place the headquarters in london. frankfurt is already the financial center of the euro zone, home to the european central bank and many regulators. but some are saying london could still retain its dominance as a global financial center depending on the brexit deal it works out with the e.u. daniel: monday's vote is by no means the last word in the matter. next tuesday, germany

shareholders in deutsche boerse get their say. a lot has changed for them since the brexit vote. reporter: for shareholders of the london stock exchange, the merger deal has become more attractive after the brexit referendum, because of the large slump of the share price of the london stock exchange and of the pound sterling since the referendum. on the other hand, shareholders of deutsche boerse who have until tuesday next week to say yes or no to the deal, they are complaining because for them, the merger offer has become less attractive since the brexit referendum. also, regulators here in germany will have to approve the deal. it's quite likely they will have to say something against it. the question is, why should they accept that such a large operator of stock trading and derivatives trading here in europe be regulated and operated from a country outside the european union?

daniel: this man, george osborne, u.k.'s finan minister, says he wants to push down corporation tax further to 15%. he told the "financial times" the plan is to make the economy super competitive. when osborne came to office in 2010, the tax rate for firms was 28%. that's all from your business update for now. back over to sarah. sarah: thank you, daniel. we were going to head briefly to tennis. another dramatic day at wimbledon. in an intense battle, world number three, agnieszka rad wanka, fell to slit cova of austria. angelique kerber booked her spot in the quarterfinals. in men's action, roger federer beat steve johnson and will face marin cilic of croatia in the

next round after kei nishikori was put out due to injury. you're watching "d.w. news." thank you very much for tuning in. i'm sarah kelly in berlin. i'll see you next time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org.]

damien mcguinness: hello, and welcome to "focus on europe" with some of the very best personal stories behind the headlines from all over europe. i'm damien mcguinness. great you could join us. we have some cracking stories for you today. in france -- keeping soccer fans safe. in ukraine -- how amber is taking the shine off the governments record on corruption. and in finland -- why postal workers are branching out. but first to one of the biggest concerns facing