Retired Gen. Pavel wins election to become Czech president

PRAGUE (AP) — Retired army General Petr Pavel has defeated populist billionaire Andrej Babis in a runoff vote to become the new Czech president. The 61-year-old will succeed controversy-courting Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial but prestigious post. With the ballots from 97% of almost 15,000 polling stations counted by the Czech Statistics Office, Pavel has 57.8% of the vote compared with 42.2% for Babis. Pavel is a former chairman of NATO’s military committee but a political newcomer. He has fully endorsed the country’s military and humanitarian support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.