The results of last Thursday’s parliamentary elections in Pakistan have been summarized, with independent candidates, mostly affiliated with the party of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is serving a prison term, taking first place, Al Jazeera reports.
According to the Central Election Commission, out of 266 seats in the lower house of parliament (National Assembly) of Pakistan, 101 seats were won by independent candidates, 96 of them supported by the right-wing centrist party, the Justice Movement, founded by former Prime Minister Khan. However, after a court found Khan guilty on a number of charges, the Supreme Court and the CEC ruled that Khan’s supporters could only run as independent candidates and were prohibited from using party symbols.
The second place went to the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistan Muslim League, with 75 seats. The third place went to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s center-left Pakistan People’s Party with 54 seats.
It took more than 60 hours to count the votes. None of the parties achieved the required majority of 169 seats to form a government on their own.
On Friday, Sharif said that despite his failure in the parliamentary elections, he would try to form a coalition government. He had previously rejected the possibility of a coalition with other parties.
For 2024 – 2029, 336 seats are available in the National Assembly of Pakistan. In the 2024 elections, the number of seats was 266. Another 70 seats in the lower house of parliament are reserved for women and minority representatives. These seats are distributed among all parties.
The elections were held against the backdrop of a difficult economic situation in the country, as well as tensions in the border regions.
Earlier, the Experts Club information and analytical project included the 2024 elections in Pakistan in the list of the TOP-10 most important elections of 2024 for the whole world, see the video for more details at https://youtu.be/73DB0GbJy4M?si=pMUPbHSYKI8YrDFR
Since August 2023, the sea corridor created by the Ukrainian Navy has exported almost 22 million tons of products, and the volume can be increased by another quarter, said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction of Ukraine, following his visits to the Black Sea ports.
“More than 22 million tons of cargo of various types have been exported since the start of the temporary corridor through the Black Sea, which is known worldwide as the Ukrainian Corridor. More than 700 vessels have used it since August,” Kubrakov wrote on Facebook on Saturday.
The deputy prime minister noted that transshipment is carried out from three ports of Greater Odesa – Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi. On Saturday night, they were once again attacked by Russian drones. “Unfortunately, we have damaged the transshipment infrastructure and destroyed grain,” Kubrakov said.
According to him, since July 18 (the last day of the grain corridor), Russian attacks on Ukrainian seaports have damaged almost 200 port infrastructure facilities and injured more than 26 civilians.
“At the same time, port workers are recovering quite quickly. Today I saw it with my own eyes. Moreover, they are increasing transshipment volumes every day. This, as well as the prospects for their operation, were discussed at meetings in three key ports of Ukraine,” the Vice Prime Minister said.
He noted that more than 22 million tons in six months is not the limit. Modernization of both the ports themselves and the accompanying infrastructure, such as the road and rail networks, with proper security, will increase the volume by at least a quarter, Kubrakov assured. He announced on February 3 that exports via the new sea corridor had reached almost 20 million tons. According to him, 661 vessels left the ports then.
Oil prices are declining on Monday morning after rising by more than 6% last week.
The cost of April futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 7:11 a.m. is $81.85 per barrel, which is $0.34 (0.41%) lower than at the close of the previous trading. On Friday, these contracts rose by $0.56 (0.7%) to $82.19 per barrel.
March futures for WTI in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have fallen by $0.34 (0.44%) to $76.5 per barrel by this time. As a result of previous trading, the value of these contracts increased by $0.62 (0.8%) to $76.84 per barrel.
Trading Economics suggests that the market is undergoing a technical correction. Both Brent and WTI rose by 6.3% last week amid tensions in the Middle East, where the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues. In addition, the US military launched a series of strikes against Yemeni Houthi positions.
At the same time, the number of oil and gas drilling rigs in the United States as of February 9 reached its highest level since mid-December, rising to 623 from 619 over the week, according to Baker Hughes.
Finland is sending the 22nd military aid package worth up to €190 million and is preparing a long-term plan to support Ukraine, the Finnish government’s press service reports.
“Finland is sending more defense equipment to Ukraine. The President of the Republic made a decision on this issue on February 9, 2024, on the proposal of the government. This is the 22nd consignment of military aid from Finland to Ukraine,” the Finnish government said in a statement on its official website on Friday.
As noted, the total cost of the package will be approximately 190 million euros. This package includes equipment and products made in Finland, while “separate funding of 30 million euros will be allocated to support Ukraine.”
“At the national level and more broadly, we need to find new ways to support Ukraine in the long term. We are currently preparing a long-term plan to support Ukraine,” Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said, as quoted by the press service. According to him, the Finnish industry has a lot of know-how, “and we are working to ensure that this know-how and potential can be used more effectively in supporting Ukraine. One example of this is our domestic ammunition production.”
It is also reported that Finland has decided to participate in the artillery and demining coalitions operating within the framework of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine, a group that coordinates assistance to Ukraine in the field of armaments.
“We are grateful to Finland for its continued support,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said in a post on social media platform X.
Population structure of Ukraine (data from ukrainian institute of future)
Source: Open4Business.com.ua and experts.news
Japan plans to donate 15.8 billion yen (about $106 million) to Ukraine for the country’s post-war reconstruction, particularly in the areas of demining, agriculture, bio- and information technology, Kyodo News reports.
“Japan will pledge 15.8 billion yen ($106 million) to help rebuild Ukraine after war damage in seven areas, such as infrastructure reconstruction and demining,” the agency wrote on Sunday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
It is expected that “at the Japan-Ukraine Conference on Promoting Economic Reconstruction to be held on February 19 in Tokyo, the two governments will agree on Japan’s participation in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and sign more than 10 memorandums of cooperation.”
The conference will be attended by the prime ministers of the two countries, Fumio Kishida and Denys Shmyhal, as well as representatives of industry and business.
According to the agency, the aid “will be used to provide demining equipment and temporary bridges, as well as other resources urgently needed to help rebuild the war-torn country… The seven areas of cooperation also include agriculture, humanitarian relief, biotechnology and industrial development, information technology, as well as governance and anti-corruption measures.”
