Challenger Duda wins 53% of the vote
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski conceded defeat to Andrzej Duda, his main challenger in the country’s Presidential elections held on Sunday. Komorowski announced his decision after an exit poll showed that Duda had won 53% of the votes cast. Duda’s victory marked the first major electoral win in a decade for his Law and Justice Party. Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said that the election result was a serious warning for the ruling Civic Platform. He said that the party had to ask “difficult questions” ahead of parliamentary elections, due to be held later this year.
Mass graves found in Malaysia
Malaysian authorities on Sunday said that they had found several mass graves suspected to contain the bodies of refugees from Rohingya near the country’s border with Thailand. The graves were found in 17 abandoned trafficking camps near the border, Malaysian Home Minister Zahid Hamidi said. However, there was no official estimate on how many bodies had been recovered, even as local media said that the graves contained nearly 100 bodies. Thousands of refugees are trafficked through Thailand into Malaysia every year. Last week, the two countries along with Indonesia also launched search-and-rescue operations for refugee boats stranded at sea.
Thousands urged to evacuate after Nepal landslide
Thousands of people were urged to evacuate their villages over fears of flash floods after a landslide blocked the Kali Gandaki River in the Myagdi district of Nepal on Sunday. An Interior Ministry official said that the landslide at the Ramche village was most likely caused by fragile mountain slopes that were weakened due to the earthquake that struck the country last month, killing over 8,000 people. Witnesses said that around two dozen houses were swept away by the landslide. Officials said that they had not received any reports of casualties.
Iraqi forces show no will to fight IS, alleges US
Iraqi security forces were showing no will to fight militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, said United States Secretary-of-Defence Ashton Carter on Sunday, citing the Iraqi army's failure to stop the group from taking control of the city of Ramadi despite having a numerical advantage. While the US will continue to conduct air strikes against the outfit and provide military training to Iraqi forces, it would also keep a close watch on the situation, he said. Carter’s allegations were refuted by Iraqi legislator Hakim al-Zamili, who said that the US was looking to place the blame for the loss of Ramadi on “somebody else”.
Greece unable to make IMF repayment, says Minister
Greek Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis on Sunday said that the country would be unable to make a loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund on June 5. Voutsis said that the country did not possess the 1.6 billion euros required to pay the IMF. Meanwhile, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said that progress was being made on a deal between the country and the European Union for the receipt of bailout funds. Failure to reach an agreement could result in Greece defaulting on its loans, which would force the country’s government to potentially exit the Eurozone.
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Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski conceded defeat to Andrzej Duda, his main challenger in the country’s Presidential elections held on Sunday. Komorowski announced his decision after an exit poll showed that Duda had won 53% of the votes cast. Duda’s victory marked the first major electoral win in a decade for his Law and Justice Party. Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna said that the election result was a serious warning for the ruling Civic Platform. He said that the party had to ask “difficult questions” ahead of parliamentary elections, due to be held later this year.
Mass graves found in Malaysia
Malaysian authorities on Sunday said that they had found several mass graves suspected to contain the bodies of refugees from Rohingya near the country’s border with Thailand. The graves were found in 17 abandoned trafficking camps near the border, Malaysian Home Minister Zahid Hamidi said. However, there was no official estimate on how many bodies had been recovered, even as local media said that the graves contained nearly 100 bodies. Thousands of refugees are trafficked through Thailand into Malaysia every year. Last week, the two countries along with Indonesia also launched search-and-rescue operations for refugee boats stranded at sea.
Thousands urged to evacuate after Nepal landslide
Thousands of people were urged to evacuate their villages over fears of flash floods after a landslide blocked the Kali Gandaki River in the Myagdi district of Nepal on Sunday. An Interior Ministry official said that the landslide at the Ramche village was most likely caused by fragile mountain slopes that were weakened due to the earthquake that struck the country last month, killing over 8,000 people. Witnesses said that around two dozen houses were swept away by the landslide. Officials said that they had not received any reports of casualties.
Iraqi forces show no will to fight IS, alleges US
Iraqi security forces were showing no will to fight militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, said United States Secretary-of-Defence Ashton Carter on Sunday, citing the Iraqi army's failure to stop the group from taking control of the city of Ramadi despite having a numerical advantage. While the US will continue to conduct air strikes against the outfit and provide military training to Iraqi forces, it would also keep a close watch on the situation, he said. Carter’s allegations were refuted by Iraqi legislator Hakim al-Zamili, who said that the US was looking to place the blame for the loss of Ramadi on “somebody else”.
Greece unable to make IMF repayment, says Minister
Greek Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis on Sunday said that the country would be unable to make a loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund on June 5. Voutsis said that the country did not possess the 1.6 billion euros required to pay the IMF. Meanwhile, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said that progress was being made on a deal between the country and the European Union for the receipt of bailout funds. Failure to reach an agreement could result in Greece defaulting on its loans, which would force the country’s government to potentially exit the Eurozone.
