1615 GMT: The Iraqi electoral commission is reporting that voter turnout is well above 50 percent in all but one of 11 provinces declared so far.
Strikingly, the turnout in Diyala, a former centre of Sunni insurgency, was more than 90 percent. That’s a sharp contrast from the 2005 national elections, which were boycotted by the main Sunni parties.
1600 GMT: Iraqi security forces have announced a 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) curfew in Baghdad to allow safe transport of ballot boxes to election commission headquarters.
With national elections in Iraq on Sunday and Juan Cole writing, “The greatest danger of these [latest] political maneuverings is that they may reignite guerrilla and militia violence in Iraq, and possibly impede the scheduled withdrawal of the US military,” Newsweek’s Twitter team makes everything simple:
In 6 words, tell us your thoughts on the state of democracy in Iraq. Reply @Newsweek, or email your entry to sixwords@newsweek.com
Speaking to a memorial rally for Mabhouh in Gaza, Hamas political director Khaled Meshal said from Damascus, “We call on European countries to punish Israel’s leaders for violating laws. Israel deserves to be placed on the terror list.”
Ahmadinejad to Assad: “Destroy Israel”: Reuters carries the report of RIB, Iran’s state broadcaster, that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called his Syrian counterpart on Wednesday evening and said: “If the Zionist regime should repeat its mistakes and initiate a military operation, then it must be resisted with full force to put an end to it once and for all.”
Washington’s Leaves Behind Its Military Equipment:Americans plan to leave a significant amount of equipment in Iraq to assist local security forces following the official withdrawal at the end of 2011. The rest will be stocked in Afghanistan, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
During a visit to Berlin, Israeli President Shimon Peres stated Tuesday that Iran is the world’s “center of terror” which seeks to impose its will on the Middle East. He said:
Ahmadinejad’s regime is openly calling for Israel’s destruction, denying the Holocaust, and preventing peace with the Palestinians. It is destabilizing Lebanon and Yemen and trying to take over Iraq.
Today’s center of terror is in Iran. Terror is the military wing of Iran’s political ambitions. The Iranians aspire to take control of the Middle East, and to destabilize existing regimes.
After covering his health care proposals and underlining the importance of financial reform, Obama turned to foreign policy. He talked of the “Administration taking out more al-Qaeda high-level operatives”. He admitted that the decision to increased the number of troops in Afghanistan was one of the toughest he had ever made, adding that his Administration is doing a good job in getting troops out of Iraq even though it is not an easy process. On Iran, Obama reiterated the dual-track approach of engagement and sanctions.
Perhaps the most striking Obama reflection, however, was on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process: “The Middle East peace process has not moved forward. And I think it’s fair to say that for all our efforts at early engagement, it is not where I want it to be.”
Muhammad Naji Muhammad, an Iraqi Membeof Parliament, has claimed that the Iraqi Government is preparing to knock on the United Nations’ door to demand compensation for Israel’s bombing almost 30 years later: “Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Foreign Ministry turned to the UN and the Security Council demanding that Israel pay us reparations for damage caused to the reactor in 1981.”
UN Security Council Resolution 487, which condemned Israel’s pre-emptive aerial attack, gives Iraq the right to demand compensation over the damages. In Article 6, it says: “[The United Nations] Considers that Iraq is entitled to appropriate address for the destruction it has suffered, responsibility for which has been acknowledged by Israel.”
Muhammad Naji Muhammad, an Iraqi Membeof Parliament, has claimed that the Iraqi Government is preparing to knock on the United Nations’ door to demand 
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