While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Feb 24, 2025
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German conservative candidate for chancellor and CDU party leader Friedrich Merz addresses supporters.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Germany’s conservatives win election
Germany’s conservatives won the national election on Feb 23 but a fractured vote handed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) its best ever result in second place and left conservative leader Friedrich Merz facing messy coalition talks.
Mr Merz, who has no previous experience in office, is set to become chancellor as Europe’s largest economy is ailing, its society split over migration and its security caught between a confrontational US and an assertive Russia and China.
After the collapse of incumbent Olaf Scholz’s unloved coalition, Mr Merz, 69, promised cheering supporters his government meant making Germany “present in Europe again, so that the world notices that Germany is being reliably governed again.”
“Tonight we will celebrate, and from tomorrow we start working. ... The world out there is not waiting for us.”
Zelensky offered to leave his post for Ukraine’s Nato membership
PHOTO: REUTERS
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb 23 – the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion – that he was ready to quit as Ukraine’s president if it meant Kyiv would be admitted to the Nato military alliance.
Mr Zelensky has faced fierce criticism from the new US administration and said he wants to meet Mr Donald Trump before the US president meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Mr Zelensky has been calling for Ukraine to be given Nato membership as part of any deal to end the war, but the Washington-led alliance has been reluctant to make a pledge.
Israel sends tanks into West Bank, tells troops to ready for ‘extended’ stay
PHOTO: REUTERS
Israel sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years on Feb 23 as it ordered the military to prepare for an “extended stay” to fight Palestinian militant groups in the area’s refugee camps.
The move came as a fragile ceasefire in Gaza hit new hurdles after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a stop to the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees due to be freed under the truce, in retaliation for public displays of Israeli hostages handed over in exchange in Gaza.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have already been displaced from their homes in the West Bank over the past month as the military has moved into the crowded refugee camps of flashpoint cities like Jenin and Tulkarm, cracking down on Iranian-backed groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Pope Francis remains critical and has ‘slight’ kidney issue: Vatican
PHOTO: REUTERS
Pope Francis, battling double pneumonia, remains in a critical condition for a second day running and has shown an “initial, slight insufficiency” in his kidney function, the Vatican said on Feb 23.
The prognosis for the 88-year-old pope, who required a transfusion of two units of blood on Feb 22 after experiencing a “prolonged asthma-like respiratory crisis,” remains “guarded”, according to the latest medical update.
Pope Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Feb 14. The Vatican first described his condition as critical on Feb 22.
Australia fines Telegram for delay in answering child abuse, terror questions
PHOTO: AFP
Australia’s online safety regulator on Feb 24 fined messaging platform Telegram about A$1 million (S$850,300) for its delay in answering questions about measures the app took to prevent the spread of child abuse and violent extremist material.
The e-Safety Commission in March 2024 sought responses from social media platforms YouTube, X and Facebook to Telegram and Reddit, and blamed them for not doing enough to stop extremists from using live-streaming features, algorithms and recommendation systems to recruit users.
Telegram and Reddit were asked about the steps they were taking to combat child sexual abuse material on their services.
