Former heavyweight boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko, 36, was set for defeat yesterday in his bid to be elected mayor of Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, according to the first official election results.
After approximately 20 percent of the ballots had been counted, incumbent Leonid Chernovetsky had a 37.53 per cent lead, Ukrainian media reported.
Klitschko was in third place with about 17 per cent behind former secret service chief, Alexander Turchynov, with 18.4 per cent.
The preliminary results are expected on Thursday.
As there will be no run-off vote, the candidate with the most first-round votes will be declared the winner.
Klitschko has been active in politics since the 2004 Orange Revolution led by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who are now at odds.
He has a seat in Kiev city council which he defended in the municipal elections held at the same time as the mayoral polls.
His independent block received 10 percent of the vote, according to the first results.
This was the second bid for the mayoral title by Klitschko. He lost to Chernovetsky in the 2006 mayoral election.
Klitschko is scheduled to try to regain his boxing title this fall, and campaigned on promises to fight corruption.
In a what was seen as a bid by Chernovetsky to hurt Klitschko’s chances, a nonprofit organization arranged a music festival outside the city as part of celebrations of Kiev Day, which coincided with the vote. It promised free tickets for young people, who form the boxer’s power base.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
RSS