Sri Lankans ready for first presidential vote since economic collapse

Special Sri Lankans ready for first presidential vote since economic collapse
Police assist electoral officials with ballot boxes and other polling materials, as they board a bus on the eve of Sri Lanka's presidential elections in Colombo on Sept. 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 20 September 2024
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Sri Lankans ready for first presidential vote since economic collapse

Sri Lankans ready for first presidential vote since economic collapse
  • About 17 million out of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people are eligible to vote
  • Political polarization in Saturday’s election is highest in decades

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will hold its presidential election on Saturday in a vote that will decide the future of the South Asian nation struggling to recover from its financial collapse in 2022, which spurred a popular uprising and drove former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power.

In the two years since the worst crisis in history hit the country and Rajapaksa fled, his successor, current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, has managed to introduce policy reforms to obtain an International Monetary Fund bailout.

While the austerity measures he introduced — including tax hikes — eased the shortage of essentials such as food, fuel, and medicines, they did not help his popularity.

Wickremesinghe, 75, will nevertheless be among the main figures in the election running as an independent candidate.

A six-time prime minister belonging to the old guard, which Sri Lankans blame for the 2022 crisis, he will compete with over 30 candidates running for office. Among them are Anura Kumara Dissanayake, 55, the leader of a Marxist-led coalition National People’s Power, and Sajith Premadasa, 57, Wickremesinghe’s former deputy and the leader of the largest opposition party, the United People’s Power.

“The election is significant because there is a degree of ideological polarization that we have never seen in a Sri Lankan election, at least since pre-independence really, (since) 1947,” Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, academic and Sri Lanka’s former envoy to the UN, told Arab News.

Elections have traditionally been contested between coalitions of center-right and center-left parties but in the upcoming vote, competition will involve a boarder political spectrum.

“The sitting president is a right-wing conservative, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe. And the main challenger is the leader of the opposition, Mr. Sajid Premadasa, who has repeatedly called himself a social democrat,” Jayatilleka said.

“He’s a moderate progressive of a centrist nature, running against a sitting right-wing president, on the one hand, and a former revolutionary, still Marxist-Leninist, Anura Kumara Dissanayake … on the other. This is very, very new for Sri Lanka.”

The fourth main contender is Namal Rajapaksa, the 38-year-old heir apparent to the Rajapaksa and the son of Mahinda Rajapaksa — Gotabaya’s brother who had served several terms both as Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister.

“Namal Rajapaksa is running for the presidency now, but he’s a serious contender for the presidency next time, in five years,” Jayatilleka said.

“This is a trial run … It’s aimed to retain the vote base of the Rajapaksas and their party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (Sri Lanka People’s Front) and prevent that vote from going with certain ministers of their party, who have defected to the side of President Wickremesinghe.”

Sri Lanka has a presidential system, in which the president heads the government and can appoint and dismiss the prime minister and the other ministers.

Almost 17 million of the island nation’s 22 million people are eligible to take part in Saturday’s vote, where they can select three candidates from the ballot paper.

The first preferences will be counted first and the candidate who secures more than 50 percent of the valid votes will win. If there is no clear winner, the first two candidates will be retained, and the ballot papers will be checked again to see if either of them was a second or third preference.

Those votes will be added to the tally of the two candidates and the one who receives the highest number will be declared the winner.

While the country’s economy is the key issue in the election, Dr. B.A. Husseinmiya, a Sri Lankan historian and former professor at the University of Brunei Darussalam, said there is also a need for change due to public disillusionment with mainstream politicians.

The mass protest movement that erupted in 2022 against then-president Rajapaksa and his prime minister brother, and forced both to quit, was what gave rise to the leftist National People’s Power.

“It’s a most historic occasion when an underdog like the NPP emerges so fast, which is (the result of) all the mistakes the past regimes have made,” Husseinmiya told Arab News.

“I think people everywhere are coming to believe that change is very important if you want to move forward.”


Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says

Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says
Updated 09 November 2024
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Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says

Russia open to hearing Trump’s proposals for ending the war, an official says
  • Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” on Ukraine via “closed channels”
  • Russia is ready to listen to Trump’s proposals on Ukraine provided these were “ideas on how to move forward in the area of settlement”

KYIV: Russia is open to hearing President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals on ending the war, an official said, as a Russian drone killed one person and wounded 13 in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and the European Union foreign policy chief held talks in Kyiv after the change in US leadership.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington were “exchanging signals” on Ukraine via “closed channels.” He did not specify whether the communication was with the current administration or Trump and members of his incoming administration.
Russia is ready to listen to Trump’s proposals on Ukraine provided these were “ideas on how to move forward in the area of settlement, and not in the area of further pumping the Kyiv regime with all kinds of aid,” Ryabkov said Saturday in an interview with Russian state news agency Interfax.
In Kyiv, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters that Ukraine is ready to work with the Trump administration.
“Remember that President (Volodymyr) Zelensky was one of the first world leaders ... to greet President Trump,” he said. “It was a sincere conversation (and) an exchange of thoughts regarding further cooperation.”
“Also during the telephone conversation, further steps to establish communication between teams were discussed and this work has also begun. Therefore, we are open for further cooperation and I’m sure that a unified goal of reaching just peace unites all of us,” Sybiha said.
Sybiha appeared alongside EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who said his visit is meant to stress the European Union’s support to Ukraine.
“This support remains unwavering. This support is absolutely needed, for you to continue defending yourself against Russian aggression,” he said.
Borrell urged “faster deliveries and fewer self imposed red lines” in getting Western weapons to Ukraine. He had appealed to allies in August to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike Russian military targets.
In Odesa, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said high-rise residential buildings, private houses and warehouses in the Black Sea port city were damaged overnight by the “fall” of a drone. He did not specify whether the drone had been shot down by air defenses.
A further 32 Russian drones were shot down over 10 Ukrainian regions, while 18 were “lost,” according to Ukraine’s air force, likely having been electronically jammed.
A Russian aerial bomb struck a busy highway overnight in the northeastern Kharkiv province, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekohov said. No casualties were reported.
Russia is mounting an intensified aerial campaign that Ukrainian officials say they need more Western help to counter. However, doubts are deepening over what Kyiv can expect from a new US administration. Trump has repeatedly taken issue with US aid to Ukraine, made vague vows to end the war and has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In Russia, the Defense Ministry said 50 Ukrainian drones were destroyed over seven Russian regions — more than half over the Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine.


Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence

Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence
Updated 09 November 2024
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Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence

Dutch PM to skip climate summit during probe into soccer violence
  • “Due to the major social impact of the events of last Thursday night in Amsterdam, I will remain in the Netherlands,” he said on X
  • “Violence and hate in all their manifestations have no place in sports,” the Palestine Football Association said

AMSTERDAM: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof will miss the COP29 climate summit after clashes in Amsterdam this week between Israeli soccer fans and pro-Palestinian protesters as his government investigates if warning signs from Israel were missed.
“I will not be going to Azerbaijan next week for the UN Climate Conference COP29. Due to the major social impact of the events of last Thursday night in Amsterdam, I will remain in the Netherlands,” he said on social media platform X.
Dutch Climate Minister Sophie Hermans will still attend the Nov. 11-22 environment meeting while a climate envoy will replace Schoof, the premier added, saying Thursday night’s violence in Amsterdam would be discussed at Monday’s cabinet meeting.
At least five people were injured during the unrest involving fans of the visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team who lost 5-0 to Ajax in the Europa League.
Justice Minister David van Weel said in a letter to parliament that information was still being gathered, including on possible warning signs from Israel, and whether the assaults were organized and had an antisemitic motive.
Fast-track justice would be applied with maximum efforts to find every suspect, he vowed.
Four people remain in custody over the unrest, police said.
Political leaders from Schoof down have denounced the attacks as antisemitic and urged swift justice.
Videos of the unrest on social media showed riot police in action, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs.
Footage also showed Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters chanting anti-Arab slogans before the match.
Israel sent planes to The Netherlands to bring fans home.
“Violence and hate in all their manifestations have no place in sports,” the Palestine Football Association (PFA) said.
Amsterdam banned demonstrations at the weekend and gave police emergency stop-and-search powers.
Antisemitic incidents have surged in the Netherlands during the Gaza war, with many Jewish organizations and schools reporting threats and hate mail.


Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers

Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers
Updated 09 November 2024
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Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers

Croatia arrests four over attack on foreign workers
  • Police said on Saturday that the four arrested were being investigated over a “hate crime“
  • The attack was immediately followed by three other incidents targeting foreign food-delivery workers, also in Split

ZAGREB: Police in Croatia on Saturday said that four men were arrested over a racially-motivated attack against foreign workers followed by three similar incidents that left one Nepali seriously injured.
The European Union country of 3.8 million people is struggling to overcome chronic labor shortage as it faces mass emigration and a shrinking population.
Traditionally reliant on seasonal workers from its Balkan neighbors, Croatia is increasingly counting on laborers from Nepal, India, the Philippines and elsewhere to fill tens of thousands of jobs notably in construction and its key tourism sector on the Adriatic coast.
Police said on Saturday that the four arrested, who are suspected of physically attacking a food-delivery worker in the coastal town of Split, were being investigated over a “hate crime.”
Late Friday, a 41-year-old foreign national and one attacker sustained minor injuries, a police statement said.
The attack was immediately followed by three other incidents targeting foreign food-delivery workers, also in Split, in which one Nepali was seriously injured.
Another victim was Indian, while the nationalities of the other two were not disclosed.
Police said a search for the perpetrators was ongoing.
The government condemned the incidents, labelling them “shocking and disturbing” and vowed on social media “not to allow Croatia to become a country where violence and hatred toward foreign workers are normalized.”
“Foreign workers filled a segment on the labor market that we obviously could not,” Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told reporters citing construction and tourist sectors.
Croatia in 2023 provided nearly 120,000 non-EU nationals with work permits, 40 percent more than the previous year.
This year the figure will be surpassed as nearly 150,000 work permits have so far been issued to non-EU nationals.
The number of attacks on foreign workers, notably those delivering food has been increasing, police in the capital Zagreb said earlier this year.
In most cases, they were not racially-motivated but were robberies.
Migrants have been regularly pilloried online with the new labor force facing language barriers and negative attitudes toward foreigners.
Ethnic Croats make up more than 90 percent of Croatia’s population — nearly 80 percent of whom are Roman Catholics.


Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises

Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises
Updated 14 min 20 sec ago
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Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises

Bangladesh faces second-deadliest dengue outbreak amid climate, political crises
  • Dengue used to be confined to main cities but transmission has been widespread since 2023
  • Mosquito control measures hindered by July-August unrest and regime change

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s dengue fever outbreak this year is its second deadliest on record, raising concerns over widespread transmission as infection rates show no signs of slowing.
Each year, dengue fever becomes a major health concern in Bangladesh during the monsoon season between July and October, with thousands of people contracting the potentially deadly virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquito.
The incidence of the disease has increased dramatically since the early 2000s, with the worst outbreak claiming 1,705 lives last year.
This year, the dengue toll is already the second worst in history, with 69,922 people hospitalized and 342 dengue-related deaths, according to Directorate General of Health Services data as of Saturday.
While previous outbreaks would normally end in October, this year it saw the highest infection numbers, with more than 30,870 people admitted to hospital.
“This trend of dengue infection will probably continue till next January. We can expect a decline in the infection rate in some two weeks from now, but it will still be higher in comparison with November and December in the previous years,” Prof. Kabirul Bashar, an entomologist from Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, told Arab News.
“There are various reasons for the rise of dengue outbreak this year. Among them, the impact of climate change is very prominent here. It has created a suitable environment for the breeding of the Aedes mosquitoes. Also, there are many dengue patients — they, too, are the virus’s carriers.”
While dengue outbreaks in Bangladesh have usually been confined to urban areas, with cities such as Dhaka reporting most of the cases, since last year, the virus has been reported in every district, even reaching remote and previously unaffected rural areas.
Rising global temperatures have accelerated the spread of the Aedes mosquito, the primary carrier of the virus, while heavy rainfall has created an ideal environment for the insects to breed.
An additional problem faced by Bangladesh this year was the lack of dengue control campaigns, with efforts disrupted by the sudden regime change in the country amid unrest in July and August that led to the ouster of the previous administration.
“The impacts of climate change and insufficient mosquito control measures by authorities have been key factors driving the increase in the dengue outbreak,” Bashar said.
“The most worrying issue is the high death rate. No other country has such high mortality. Our health authorities need to consider this issue very seriously.”
Deaths during the current outbreak are mostly occurring as patients come to hospitals at a late stage, often after a long time traveling, as most specialist and testing facilities are available only in major urban centers.
Since last year, many patients have contracted the virus for a second or third time — some even with multiple strains, which decreases their chances of survival.
“There are four strains of dengue. Last year, we also found patients infected with all of them. This year, too,” said Dr. Khondoker Mahbuba Jamil, virologist laboratory head of the Institute of Public Health in Dhaka.
“The disease becomes more severe when someone is infected for the second time, leading to immunological complications ... And when someone is infected with a different strain for the second time, their immunological response becomes excessive. That’s what is happening this time.”


French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas

French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas
Updated 09 November 2024
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French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas

French rail unions threaten to strike ahead of Christmas
  • The unions are demanding a moratorium on the dismantling of Fret SNCF and protesting against the terms and conditions for opening up regional lines to competition
  • Industrial action at SNCF has repeatedly disrupted travel during school holidays

PARIS: Trade unions at France’s railway operator SNCF on Saturday called for an indefinite strike from next month that could disrupt train services during the upcoming Christmas holidays.
The unions are demanding a moratorium on the dismantling of Fret SNCF, the freight division of the national rail operator, and protesting against the terms and conditions for opening up regional lines to competition.
In a joint statement to AFP, the CGT-Cheminots, Unsa-Ferroviaire, Sud-Rail and CFDT-Cheminots unions said the action would begin on December 11.
The unions also reiterated their call for shorter strike action from November 20 to November 22.
Industrial action at SNCF has repeatedly disrupted travel during school holidays.
In February, train controllers went on strike during a holiday weekend, leaving 150,000 people stranded. A Christmas strike in December 2022 affected some 200,000 holidaymakers.
In 2023, the European Commission announced an in-depth investigation into whether France breached EU rules on state support by subsidising the freight division of SNCF.
The French government launched a restructuring process which will see France’s top rail freight company disappear on January 1, 2025 and be replaced by two separate companies, Hexafret and Technis.
The plan was negotiated by the French government and the European Commission to avoid a reorganization procedure that could have led to the outright liquidation of the company, which employs 5,000 people.
In their statement, the trade unions “reaffirm that a moratorium is possible and necessary to allow the various players to get back to the table and find ways of guaranteeing not only the continuity of Fret SNCF, but also its development over the longer term.”