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Iraq parliamentary elections 

The vote counting is underway in Iraq’s parliamentary elections with the preliminary results showing a voter turnout of over fifty percent. According to Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission, the participation in both special and general elections has exceeded 55 percent, with more than 12 million voters casting their ballots to pick 329 representatives for the next parliament. It added that the voting was conducted electronically at more than 8700 polling centers across the country. The commission said the electoral process was successful, confirming that no technical violations were recorded during the voting. The commission is expected to announce the preliminary results in the coming hours. According to the international observer team, the voter turnout witnessed a noticeable increase on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad, and several other provinces.

Gaza humanitarian crisis 

The United Nations Children's Fund has raised the alarm about Israel’s continued ban on the entry of life-saving supplies for the Palestinian children in Gaza. According to UNICEF, nearly 940,000 packages of ready-to-use infant formula have been held behind Gaza’s crossings since last August. The world body warned that the delayed entry of formula threatens the lives of thousands of infants, who are suffering from acute malnutrition across the besieged territory. UNICEF noted that Israeli restrictions on the entry of essential humanitarian supplies, such as maternity kits, generators, and water purification materials, are severely hindering the humanitarian organizations’ efforts to meet the urgent needs of Gaza’s population. It stressed that despite the ceasefire, the volume of aid reaching Gaza has increased only slightly in recent weeks, and many essential supplies remain blocked.

US government shutdown 

The longest government shutdown in the US history continues to weigh down on various economic sectors, especially the country’s air traffic system. On Tuesday, American airlines canceled 1,200 flights, making it the fifth straight day with more than a thousand canceled flights. The development came after last week, the Federal Aviation Administration instructed airlines to cut four percent of daily flights at 40 major airports because of air traffic control staffing issues and safety concerns. However, reductions in flights rose to six percent on Tuesday. The flight cancelation came just one day after US Senate passed a bill to end the government shutdown. The motion was approved in a vote of 60 to 40 to fund the federal government through January the 30th, 2026. The bill passed with the support of almost all of the Senate’s Republicans and eight Democrats. It is now heading to the Republican-controlled House of Representative for approval. The US shutdown began on October the first. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed or required to work without pay since then.

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