Election results in Iraq certified by court
The parliamentary vote actually already took place in October but this past week the court certified the results, although voter turnout was extremely low (only 41%). This means that Muqtada al-Sadr is now set to lead Iraq. His bloc, the Sadrist Bloc, was able to win 20 additional seats in Parliament, consolidating its position of being the largest bloc even further, which will be of great importance when he chooses the next prime minister.
Floods in Brazil
This past week floods in Brazil devastated entire parts of the country. More than 50,000 people had to flee their homes and at least 20 people were killed by the floods drowning the northeastern part of the country. The rain is especially problematic because northeastern Brazil has suffered from extreme droughts for the past 5 years and the heaviest rain recorded in the region over the past three decades has caused dams to collapse, aggravating the situation even further.
Other News
- The super typhoon Rai of the Philippines has now killed almost 400 people and injured more than a thousand. Nearly 100 people are still missing while others are stuck in evacuation centers.
- Somalia’s president suspended the country’s prime minister last week because of corruption investigations
- Ashraf Ghani, the former president of Afghanistan, gave his first interview with the BBC after fleeing Afghanistan
