Malaysia Latest: Parties Race to Form Government Before Deadline
Francis Higgins
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Muhyiddin Yassin, a former prime minister, and rival opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim were vying for support from potential coalition partners on Monday, to meet a deadline set by the king after an election delivered Malaysia's first hung parliament.
The inconclusive result prolongs political instability in the Southeast Asian nation, which has had three prime ministers in as many years, and risks delays to policy decisions needed to galvanise an economic recovery.
Investors reacted negatively to the outcome of Saturday's vote as the ringgit currency weakened and the Kuala Lumpur stock market (.KLSE) slid over 1 percent in early trade on Monday.
Anwar's multi-ethnic coalition won the most number of seats in the Saturday election with 82.
Muhyiddin's conservative Malay Muslim alliance took 73 seats, but then secured support from two smaller political blocs on Sunday, giving it control of 101 - still short of the 112 needed for a majority.
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The fan zone set up in central Doha turned into a chaotic scene on Sunday on the opening day of the World Cup as tens of thousands of fans pushed and shoved against police lines to enter the venue.
Fans were trying to enter the enclosed area that contains a big-screen television for viewing matches, places to buy beer, and little else.
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Riot police armed with batons and shields stood guard at the entrance. Some fans pleaded with officers to let them through the line.
“It’s very risky. People they could die,” said Hatem El-Berarri, an Iraqi who said he was working in neighboring Dubai. “Old people, women, they cannot handle crowds like this. Thank God I’m a little bit tall, so I can breathe. But I saw some kids and said ‘get them up. They cannot breathe.’”
He said he saw people pushing and shoving, and women crying.
It’s Official: Algeria has formally entered Russia’s camp
In the?European Parliament, a group of MEPs have demanded the Chief of the European Commission to review or reconsider their relations with Algeria. Their call follows Algeria’s growing ties with Russia as the North African country increased its defense budget to $23 billion, $17 billion of which is allocated for the procurement of arms from Russia.
The European leaders accused Algeria of emboldening Putin to commit atrocities on the people of Ukraine through its military and financial relationship with Moscow.
Similarly, earlier a group of members in the US Congress demanded the imposition of sanctions on Algeria for its partnership with Russia. They too claimed that Algeria is fueling the war in Ukraine as their justification.
Kazakh President Tokayev wins re-election with 81.3% of vote
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a second term in Sunday's snap election, winning 81.31% of the vote, the central Asian nation's Central Election Commission said on Monday, citing preliminary data.
The 69-year-old former diplomat had been widely expected to extend his rule over the oil-rich nation by seven years and get a strong mandate to continue his?increasingly independent?foreign policy, as the former Soviet republic navigates the Russia-Ukraine crisis.