While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 18
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Umno candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani (third from right), secured 61.3 per cent of the valid votes, according to the Election Commission.
PHOTO: BERNAMA
Malaysia’s ruling coalition wins Kelantan by-election
A member party within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s governing alliance wrested a state seat in a Kelantan by-election on Aug 17 from rival Perikatan Nasional (PN), in a boost for the Malaysian leader who has been struggling to win back Malay voters.
The rural Nenggiri seat in PN’s stronghold state of Kelantan was held by Umno since it was created in 2003, but was lost by just 810 votes in the August 2023 state election. Umno is a member party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, one of the organisations under Datuk Seri Anwar’s “unity government”.
This time round, Umno won by 3,352 votes, with 14,560 ballots cast and a voter turnout of about 74 per cent.
Umno candidate Mr Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani, 38, secured 9,091 votes, or 61.3 per cent of the valid votes, according to the Election Commission late on polling day.
Safety at Ukraine nuclear plant deteriorates, says IAEA
REUTERS
Safety at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit a perimeter access road on Aug 17, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi.
The Russian management of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant claimed a Ukraine drone had dropped an explosive charge on a road used by staff, the Tass news agency reported earlier.
Russia has been in control of the Zaporizhzhia site, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, since soon after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Israeli West Bank airstrike kills at least two Palestinians
REUTERS
An Israeli airstrike on a car in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin killed at least two Palestinians on Aug 17, one an 18-year-old, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Israel’s military said it conducted an aerial strike on armed militants in the Jenin area, but had no further details.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the war in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out in October 2023, with more Israeli raids, Jewish settler violence and Palestinian street attacks.
Firefighters battle to contain five Turkey wildfire
Firefighters were battling to contain wildfires in five Turkish provinces on Aug 17, the Forestry Minister said, though a blaze in the western Izmir region that broke out on Thursday had eased somewhat and residential areas were no longer at risk.
A blaze in Izmir’s Karsiyaka district was caused by a fire built by three people picnicking near an area of forest, Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli told reporters, adding that authorities are close to identifying the people.
The blaze, which was fanned by strong winds, came close to residential areas on Aug 16, damaging homes and businesses and forcing evacuations.
Arsenal send warning to Man City with 2-0 win
REUTERS
Arsenal are arguably the closest rivals to challenge Manchester City for the English Premier League title this season, and Mikel Arteta’s men started the ball rolling by beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 at home on Aug 17.
Goalscorer Kai Havertz told Sky Sports: “We can be happy but there was some room to improve.
“The first 20 minutes were good. We had good chances. We then lost a bit of control of the game and our press didn’t work.”
