Polls close in first Sri Lanka election since economic collapse

An election official transports a sealed ballot box at the end of voting in Sri Lanka’s presidential election in Colombo on September 21, 2024. (AFP)
An election official transports a sealed ballot box at the end of voting in Sri Lanka’s presidential election in Colombo on September 21, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 21 September 2024
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Polls close in first Sri Lanka election since economic collapse

An election official transports a sealed ballot box at the end of voting in Sri Lanka’s presidential election in Colombo.
  • Turnout was at nearly 70 percent an hour before polling stations closed at 4:00 p.m. (1030 GMT)
  • President Ranil Wickremesinghe is fighting an uphill battle for a fresh mandate to continue belt-tightening measures that stabilized the economy

COLOMBO: Cash-strapped Sri Lanka voted for its next president Saturday in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation’s unprecedented financial crisis.
Turnout was at nearly 70 percent an hour before polling stations closed at 4:00 p.m. (1030 GMT), an election commission official said, citing provisional figures.
The record for voter turnout in a Sri Lankan presidential election was set in 2019 with 83.72 percent.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe is fighting an uphill battle for a fresh mandate to continue belt-tightening measures that stabilized the economy and ended months of food, fuel and medicine shortages.
His two years in office restored calm to the streets after civil unrest spurred by the downturn in 2022 saw thousands storm the compound of his predecessor, who promptly fled the country.
“I’ve taken this country out of bankruptcy,” Wickremesinghe, 75, said after casting his ballot.
“I will now deliver Sri Lanka a developed economy, developed social system and developed political system.”
But Wickremesinghe’s tax hikes and other measures, imposed under the terms of a $2.9 billion IMF bailout, have left millions struggling to make ends meet.
“The country has been through a lot,” lawyer and musician Soundarie David Rodrigo told AFP after casting her vote in Colombo.
“So I just don’t want to see another upheaval coming soon.”
Wickremesinghe is tipped to lose to one of two formidable challengers. One is Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, the leader of a once-marginal Marxist party tarnished by its violent past.
The party led two failed uprisings in the 1970s and 1980s that left more than 80,000 people dead, and it won less than four percent of the vote in the previous parliamentary elections.
But Sri Lanka’s crisis has proven an opportunity for the 55-year-old Dissanayaka, who has seen a surge of support based on his pledge to change the island’s “corrupt” political culture.
He said at a polling station he was confident of securing the top job.
“After the victory there should be no clashes, no violence,” he said. “Our country needs a new political culture.”
Fellow opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, 57, the son of a former president assassinated in 1993 during the country’s decades-long civil war, is also expected to make a strong showing.
Premadasa has vowed to fight endemic corruption, and both he and Dissanayaka have pledged to renegotiate the terms of the IMF rescue package.
Political analyst Kusal Perera told AFP it was difficult to predict a winner from the three-way race — the first in the island’s history.
“What is clear is that no candidate will surpass the 50 percent mark” needed to win outright, he said.
Officials would then carry out a count of second- and third-preference votes to determine the winner.
More than 17 million people were eligible to vote in the election, with more than 63,000 police deployed to guard polling booths and counting centers in schools and temples.
The government also banned the sale of liquor over the weekend and said no victory rallies or celebrations would be permitted until a week after the results were announced.
“This election would go down in the history of the country as the most peaceful,” election commission chair R.M.A.L. Ratnayake told reporters in Colombo.
Counting began on Saturday evening and a result is expected on Sunday, but an official outcome could be delayed if the contest is close.
Schools were closed on Friday to be converted into polling stations, which were staffed by more than 200,000 public servants deployed to conduct the vote.
Economic issues dominated the eight-week campaign, with public anger widespread over the hardships endured since the peak of the crisis two years ago.
Official data showed that Sri Lanka’s poverty rate doubled to 25 percent between 2021 and 2022, adding more than 2.5 million people to those already living on less than $3.65 a day.
Experts warn that Sri Lanka’s economy is still vulnerable, with payments on the island’s $46 billion foreign debt yet to resume since a 2022 government default.
The IMF said reforms enacted by Wickremesinghe’s government were beginning to pay off, with growth slowly returning.
“A lot of progress has been made,” the IMF’s Julie Kozack told reporters in Washington last week.
“But the country is not out of the woods yet.”
Voter Rodrigo agreed.
“We have a lot of challenges ahead so good luck to whoever comes,” she told AFP.


Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives

Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives
Updated 29 min 18 sec ago
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Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives

Red Sea trade route will remain too risky: industry executives
  • The leader of Houthis said on Thursday that the group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached

LONDON: Companies transporting their products around the world are not ready to return to the Red Sea trade route in the wake of a Gaza ceasefire deal because of uncertainty over whether Houthis will continue to attack shipping, industry executives said.

The EU’s naval force in the Red Sea said its “threat assessment remains unchanged.”

The leader of Houthis said on Thursday that the group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached.

Executives from shipping, insurance, and retail industries said the risks remained too high to resume voyages through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, through which exports to Western markets from the Gulf and Asia must pass before entering the Suez Canal.

“There is no way I’m putting any of my merchandise on a boat that’s going to go through the Red Sea for some time to come,” said Jay Foreman, CEO of US-based Basic Fun, which supplies toys to major US retailers like Walmart and Amazon.com. Matt Castle, vice president of global forwarding with logistics group C.H. Robinson, said: “It’s not likely the industry will see a large shift back to the Suez Canal in the short term.”

He said this was due to the challenges of securing cargo insur- ance given perceived high risks and time constraints, as imple- menting a new ocean shipping plan would take weeks or months.

 


Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties

Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties
Updated 17 January 2025
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Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties

Ghana’s president, Mali’s PM pledge to boost security ties
  • “Despite the temporary setback, we must keep our relationships strong. Ghana remains in strong solidarity with Mali,” Mahama added

ACCRA: Ghana’s president and Mali’s prime minister have committed to strengthening relations in the face of rising extremist violence and instability across West Africa.
The northern part of Ghana, as well as nearby Togo and Benin, is increasingly faced with incursions by extremist groups based in the Sahel. “Our security is a common objective, and we must work with each other to ensure our subregion is safe,” Ghana’s John Mahama told the press after meeting with Gen. Abdoulaye Maiga in the capital, Accra.
“If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you must assist them to quench it; otherwise, it will spread to yours.” The Ghanaian leader also acknowledged the recent formation of the Alliance of Sahel States by Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, a defense pact formed after the three junta-led states withdrew from the regional West African bloc ECOWAS.
“Despite the temporary setback, we must keep our relationships strong. Ghana remains in strong solidarity with Mali,” Mahama added.
Maiga praised Ghana’s essential role in promoting pan-Africanism — a central theme of the military leaders who have taken power in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all of whom have turned away from former colonial ruler France.
“The fight for African sovereignty aligns with the vision of President Mahama. We thank him ... for Ghana’s unwavering support,” the general said.
The visit shows the normalization of relations between the three AES states and their neighbors after coups and their ECOWAS exit strained ties.
It also came as Togo’s foreign minister refused to rule out joining the AES, which would give the currently landlocked security and defense pact access to the Atlantic Ocean.

 


Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse

Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
Updated 17 January 2025
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Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse

Nine deny attack on Israeli firm Elbit’s UK warehouse
  • Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court
  • All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds

LONDON: Nine people appeared in a London court on Friday to deny offenses including burglary, criminal damage, violent disorder and hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer, over an incident at a warehouse linked to Israeli defense firm Elbit.
The nine, who prosecutors have said were activists from the protest organization Palestine Action, are accused of smashing their way into the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England, in August.
At a previous hearing, prosecutors said a repurposed prison van was used to smash through fencing before some of the group damaged items in the warehouse using sledgehammers.
Four men and five women, aged between 20 and 51, appeared by video link on Friday at London’s Old Bailey Court. All nine pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and causing criminal damage which has been estimated at 1 million pounds.
Seven of them also denied a charge of violent disorder, while one, Simon Corner, pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, for allegedly striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
Another nine people also charged with offenses over the incident appeared at Friday’s hearing but did not enter pleas.
The first trial involving eight of the defendants is due to start in November, with the others appearing at two subsequent trials. A hearing will also be held to determine whether the cases should be treated as a terrorism matter.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have repeatedly targeted Elbit Systems UK and other defense firms in Britain linked to Israel in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.
Palestine Action has said the targeted site was Elbit’s new 35 million-pound ($43 million) research and development hub. Elbit’s website says its UK subsidiary employs 680 people at 16 sites, working on multiple programs for the British military.


Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold
Updated 17 January 2025
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Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

Trump swearing-in will move inside Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold
  • “The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform
  • “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way”

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump may take the oath of office from inside the Capitol Rotunda on Monday due to forecasts of intense cold weather.
“The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way.”
The Rotunda is prepared as the inclement weather alternative for each inauguration in the event of inclement weather. The swearing-in was last moved indoors in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan began his second term. Monday’s forecast calls for the lowest inauguration day temperatures since that day.
Alternate plans are required for the more roughly 250,000 guests ticketed to view the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds and the tens of thousands more expected to be in general admission areas or to line the inaugural parade route from the Capitol to the White House.
Trump said some supporters would be able to watch the ceremony from Washington’s Capital One area on Monday, a day after he plans to hold a rally there. He said he would visit the arena after his swearing-in.
The National Weather Service is predicting the temperature to be around 22 degrees (minus-6 Celsius) at noon during the swearing-in, the coldest since Reagan’s second inauguration saw temperatures plunge to 7 degrees (minus-14 Celsius). Barack Obama’s 2009 swearing-in was 28 degrees (minus-2 Celsius). Adding to the bite: Wind is forecast to be 30 to 35 mph (48 to 56 kph), sending wind chills into the single digits.
Trump’s inaugural committee and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud

Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud
Updated 17 January 2025
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Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud

Italian minister to stand trial over alleged fraud
  • Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, denies committing fraud
  • Opposition parties on Friday called on Santanche to resign

ROME: Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanche will stand trial for alleged falsification of financial statements at her former publishing company, a Milan judge ruled Friday.
Santanche, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, denies committing fraud during her time as chair and CEO of Visibilia, a media publisher and advertising agency.
She is the second Meloni minister to stand trial after Transport Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who was cleared in December over charges relating to his detention of a migrant boat as part of a different government.
“Prosecutors claim the forecasts in the (company’s) business plan were overly optimistic,” Santanche’s lawyer Nicolo Pelanda told reporters at the court.
“It leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouths but we are convinced that we can prove Santanche’s lack of involvement,” he said.
The trial will begin in March.
Opposition parties on Friday called on Santanche to resign. If she does, she would be the second Meloni minister to step down, after a sex scandal last year toppled the culture minister.
Meloni refused last month to confirm whether Santanche would remain in her post if ordered to stand trial.
Santanche is also caught up in two other investigations, including one for alleged benefit fraud.
Milan prosecutors allege Visibilia, which Santanche sold before joining Meloni’s administration in 2022, pocketed government redundancy funds during the coronavirus pandemic for staff members who instead continued to work.
Italy’s highest court will decide at the end of the month whether that case should be transferred from Milan to Rome, after which there will be decision as to whether or not she should stand trial.
Prosecutors are also investigating Santanche over the bankruptcy of organics food company Ki Group-Bioera, which she used to co-manage.