Bitter rivals Sharif and Khan both claim Pakistan election win
Former Pakistani prime ministers and bitter rivals Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan on Feb 9 both declared victory in elections marred by delayed results and militant attacks, throwing the country into further political turmoil.
Mr Sharif’s party won the most seats by a single party in the Feb 8 election, but supporters of imprisoned Khan, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls, won the most seats overall.
Mr Sharif said his party would talk to other groups to form a coalition government, as it had failed to win a clear majority on its own.
Mr Sharif’s announcement came after more than three-quarters of the 265 seats had declared results, more than 24 hours after polling ended on Feb 8, when 28 people were killed in militant attacks.
Germany’s Scholz lobbies for Ukraine aid on visit to US
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Feb 9 he wanted to lend his support to US President Joe Biden’s efforts to obtain more funding for Ukraine at a White House meeting that is also expected to touch on the conflict in the Middle East.
Mr Scholz met with US business executives to talk about investment opportunities in Germany before joining Mr Biden at the White House for talks about the two crises that are dominating world politics.
Speaking to reporters, he said he had been encouraged by the US Senate’s move on Feb 8 to advance a US$95.34 billion (S$128 billion) Bill that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after Republicans blocked compromise legislation that had included reforms to immigration policy.
Russia won’t invade Poland? ‘Zero credibility’, Warsaw says
Poland’s defence minister said on Feb 9 that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had “zero credibility” despite denying any intent to invade Poland amid Moscow’s two-year assault on neighbouring Ukraine.
Tensions have long been strained between Poland and Russia but deteriorated further after Warsaw threw its weight behind Kyiv in its efforts to fight off Russia’s invasion.
In an interview released on Feb 8 with US journalist Tucker Carlson, President Putin said it was “out of the question” for Russia to invade Poland or Latvia.
H5N1 bird flu virus kills boy in Cambodia
A nine-year-old Cambodian boy has died from bird flu, the kingdom’s health ministry said on Feb 9, warning of a continuing threat from the virus that killed three other people in 2023.
The boy in northeastern Kratie province fell ill after eating poultry with his family, suffering fever, coughing and breathing difficulties before dying on Feb 8.
The ministry said tests confirmed the boy died from the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of the virus.
London ‘corrosive substance’ attacker likely drowned, say police
UK police on Feb 9 said they believed a man wanted for attacking a woman and her two young daughters with a corrosive substance had likely drowned after throwing himself into the River Thames.
Metropolitan Police commander Jon Savell said officers’ main working hypothesis was that suspect Abdul Ezedi had “gone into the water”.
Officers had warned the public not to approach 35-year-old Ezedi, who suffered severe damage to the right side of his face in the attack.
