Iraqis on Monday mourned more than 200 people killed in a Baghdad suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group and accused the government of not doing enough to protect them.The search continued for bodies at the site of the attack, which ripped through the Karrada district early on Sunday as it teemed with shoppers ahead of this week’s holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan.Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced efforts to address longstanding security flaws in Baghdad following the blast, which came a week after Iraqi forces recaptured the city of Fallujah from IS.But on the streets, Iraqis were angry at the government’s inability to keep residents safe, even as its forces push IS back outside the capital.

Three days of mourning

As Iraq marked three days of national mourning, security and medical officials told AFP the number of dead from the attack had risen to at least 213. More than 200 were wounded, they said.In Karrada, a young man lit a candle on a staircase leading to the basement of one charred building, adding to dozens of others left by mourners at the site of the bombing, which sparked infernos in nearby buildings.Down the stairs, young men dug through the ashes using shovels and their hands, searching for those still missing after the blast.

Mr. Abadi was met with an angry response when he visited the site of the attack on Sunday.But the Premier struck a conciliatory tone.“I understand the emotional feelings and actions that occurred in a moment of sadness and anger,” Mr. Abadi said in a statement.IS claimed the attack in a statement saying it was carried out by an Iraqi as part of “ongoing security operations”.With thousands of vehicles moving in and out of the city each day, such bombings are difficult to prevent.But there are also flaws in security measures in the city, especially the use of fake bomb detectors at checkpoints years after the man who sold them to Iraq was jailed for fraud in Britain.Mr. Abadi announced a series of security changes after Sunday’s bombing, including scrapping the fake detectors.

5 executed

Iraq executed five convicts on Monday, the justice ministry said, linking the timing of the executions to the Baghdad suicide bombing the previous day. The ministry said it wanted families bereaved in the bombing to know “that their brothers in the justice ministry are continuing to deliver just punishment to those whose hands are stained with the blood of Iraqis”.Jordan had responded in a similar way last year, executing two jihadist prisoners after IS had burned alive one of its pilots whose plane was downed over Syria.

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday rejected opposition calls for his resignation.On Monday evening, opposition Labour Party Leader Bill Shorten called for Turnbull to quit as leader of the Liberal National Party coalition, claiming that the premier was “out of touch” and was unable to provide parliamentary “stability” which he promised to Australian voters throughout his campaign, Xinhua news agency reported.

But on Tuesday, Mr. Turnbull said he would not be stepping down from the position and described the Labour leader’s attack as purely political.“Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?” Mr. Turnbull said of Mr. Shorten, “I’m sure he would (like me to resign).”“I don’t think we’ll be taking advice from the leader of the opposition, I think he couldn’t think of anything else better to say.”

The election’s vote count resumed early Tuesday with postal votes and pre-poll votes set to be tallied, two days after the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said it could take weeks to get a decisive result from all seats.Mr. Turnbull said he was confident of a forming a majority government despite numerous election analysts suggesting Labour had, by Tuesday, secured more seats than the coalition.“The count is continuing and we remain confident that we will secure enough seats to have a majority in the parliament,” Mr. Turnbull told the press.

“All the votes have been cast and it’s now simply a matter to count them so we’re just awaiting that.”Meanwhile the nation’s Attorney General George Brandis has played down concerns that the deadlocked election was bad news for Australia or the coalition; he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that there’s “no such thing as a failed election”.He said there was nothing unusual about the deadlock, despite Mr. Trunbull facing a wall of conservative criticism, both from political commentators and from within the far-right factions of his party.

“An election always produces the parliament the people choose,” Mr. Brandis said.“Sometimes that’s a large majority, sometimes a narrow one, and sometimes the party that forms government relies on other elements of the parliament to govern, but there’s nothing unusual here.”Conservative factions of the coalition have already hinted at discontent within the party; the ABC reported that anonymous sources would have no issue ousting Mr. Turnbull at a partyroom meeting if he “sells out” the conservative principles of the party while brokering a deal with independent MPs.A decisive result to determine the government still might not be known for days, while the final results from tightly-contested seats may be in limbo for weeks.