Regional
Sri Lankans elect Marxist-leaning Dissanayake as president to fix economy
About 75% of the 17 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the election commission.
Sri Lankans elected Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake as new president on Sunday, putting faith in his pledge to fight corruption and bolster a fragile economic recovery following the South Asian nation’s worst financial crisis in decades, Reuters reported.
Dissanayake, 55, who does not possess political lineage like some of his rivals in the presidential election, led from start to finish during the counting of votes, knocking out incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.
“We believe that we can turn this country around, we can build a stable government… and move forward. For me this is not a position, it is a responsibility,” Dissanayake told reporters after his victory which was confirmed after a second tally of votes.
The election was a referendum on Wickremesinghe, who led the heavily indebted nation’s fragile economic recovery from an economic meltdown but the austerity measures that were key to this recovery angered voters. He finished third with 17% of the votes, read the report.
“Mr. President, here I handover to you with much love, the dear child called Sri Lanka, whom we both love very dearly,” Wickremesinghe, 75, said in a statement conceding defeat.
Dissanayake polled 5.6 million or 42.3% of the votes, a massive boost to the 3% he managed in the last presidential election in 2019. Premadasa was second at 32.8%.
It was the first time in the Indian Ocean island’s history that the presidential race was decided by a second tally of votes after the top two candidates failed to win the mandatory 50% of votes to be declared winner.
Under the electoral system, voters cast three preferential votes for their chosen candidates. If no candidate wins 50% in the first count, a second tally determines the winner between the top two candidates, using the preferential votes cast, Reuters reported.
About 75% of the 17 million eligible voters cast their ballots, according to the election commission.
This was the country’s first election since its economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving it unable to pay for imports of essentials including fuel, medicine and cooking gas. Protests forced then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee and later resign.
Dissanayake presented himself as the candidate of change for those reeling under austerity measures linked to a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout, promising to dissolve parliament within 45 days of taking office for a fresh mandate for his policies in general elections.
“The election result clearly shows the uprising that we witnessed in 2022 is not over,” said Pradeep Peiris, a political scientist at the University of Colombo.
“People have voted in line with those aspirations to have different political practices and political institutions. AKD (as Dissanayake is popularly known) reflects these aspirations and people have rallied around him.”
Dissanayake has worried investors with a manifesto pledging to slash taxes, which could impact IMF fiscal targets, and a $25 billion debt rework. But during campaigning, he took a more conciliatory approach, saying all changes would be undertaken in consultation with the IMF and that he was committed to ensuring repayment of debt, read the report.
Buttressed by the IMF deal, Sri Lanka’s economy has managed a tentative recovery. It is expected to grow this year for the first time in three years and inflation has moderated to 0.5% from a crisis peak of 70%.
But the continued high cost of living was a critical issue for many voters as millions remain mired in poverty and many pinned hopes of a better future on the next leader.
Dissanayake ran as a candidate for the National People’s Power alliance, which includes his Marxist-leaning Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna party.
Although JVP has just three seats in parliament, Dissanayake’s promises of tough anti-corruption measures and more policies to support the poor boosted his popularity.
He will have to ensure Sri Lanka sticks with the IMF programme until 2027 to get its economy on a stable growth path, reassure markets, repay debt, attract investors and help a quarter of its people out of poverty.
“Root cause for the downfall of this country is bad management. We have a strong feeling if we have a good manager to rule this country… we can be successful in future,” said Janak Dias, 55, a real estate businessmen.
Regional
US imposes sanctions on 13 tied to Iran weapons procurement
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran’s enablers.”
The US government announced fresh sanctions on Tuesday against 13 individuals and entities, including some based in Russia, China, Hong Kong and Pakistan, saying they helped Iran procure weapons and components.
The sanctions announced by the Treasury and State departments are part of the Trump administration’s effort to isolate Iran economically and force it to negotiate an end to the war that began with a US-Israeli strike on Iran on February 28.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran’s enablers.”
Treasury said the sanctions were aimed at degrading Tehran’s ability to reconstitute its weapons programs, while increasing the costs for those who supported its procurement efforts.
Those targeted in Tuesday’s sanctions announcements include:
Seyyed Asghar Alizadeh Tabatabai, a Beijing-based representative of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics agency, who Treasury said had coordinated the procurement of finished weapons systems and dual-use components in China on Iran’s behalf.
Iran-based Kavoshcom Asia R and D Group, which Treasury said had procured electronics including connectors for Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company.
Hong Kong-based EC Mojo Technology Co Limited, which Treasury said had provided electronic components in support of Kavoshcom’s procurement efforts, and EC Mojo’s China-based representative Li Fen.
Pakistan-based Waseem Pasha Tajammal, who serves as chairman of Cavalier Group, a privately owned defense company with locations in Pakistan and internationally.
Joint Stock Company Experimental Design Bureau Named After A.S. Yakovlev, a Russia-based aircraft manufacturer.
MG-Flot LLC, a Russia-based shipping company whose vessels transport weapons for the Russian government.
Saha Airlines, an Iran-based airline affiliated with the country’s air force.
Brett Erickson, managing principal with Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the latest sanctions action would do little to impede Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones in the Strait of Hormuz. “This is optics management for the Trump administration to claim ‘We’re hammering them,’ when the reality is we’re poking them with a toothpick,” he said.
Regional
US, Iran separately talk with mediators in latest bid to end war
US officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.
US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries, Reuters reported.
Any further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
The war began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, killing thousands of people over seven months and shocking global markets as vital waterways for oil remained choked. The US and Iran have twice previously agreed to ceasefires in mediated peace talks, in April and June. Those agreements quickly unraveled.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Iran expected to receive the US response to its latest ceasefire proposals and its conditions for restoring passage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA.
“If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution,” Araqchi said.
US officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.
Iran’s seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil tankers, and the two sides would also resume talks on Iran’s nuclear program and Trump’s wish to seize or eliminate its highly enriched uranium, read the report.
Trump said on Saturday he had rejected Iran’s proposal, saying Iran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under. However, he also told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to engage in further talks this week.
Araqchi said on Sunday that mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection, and that Iran was awaiting Washington’s definitive position before deciding its next steps.
“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” he said on Sunday, adding that only a negotiated solution could resolve the impasse.
Regional
Floods, landslides kill 56 in India and 14 in Nepal
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Heavy rain and storms have triggered floods and landslides that killed 56 people in India, while in Nepal, 14 have died and another 11 are missing, with authorities there warning on Sunday that more flash floods are possible, Reuters reported.
India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5 mm of rain between September 25 and the morning of September 27, compared with a normal 7.6 mm for the period, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, the state’s relief commissioner, said on Sunday.
Authorities are carrying out rescue operations in waterlogged areas and distributing relief, while officials have been told to assess crop damage and provide compensation.
In addition to the 56 deaths, 46 people have been injured and more than 1,000 houses have been damaged.
Nepali authorities warned of possible flash floods in 49 of the country’s 77 districts, with more than half facing high flood or flash-flood risks as water levels in major rivers and tributaries continued to rise.
Shanti Mahat, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said Rasuwa and Nuwakot, areas hit by last month’s deadly floods that killed more than 1,450 people and left thousands still missing, should remain “alert” but were not currently considered high-risk areas.
Power supply has been completely disrupted in the Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Baglung districts, with authorities working to restore electricity, energy ministry officials said.
Flooding of the Rahuganga River damaged the structure and transmission-line towers of a 40-megawatt hydropower project, Water Resources and Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said.
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Several major rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Narmada, were above danger levels, read the report.
Floods and landslides also disrupted telecommunications in parts of Nepal after damage to optical fibres and power supplies, Communications Minister Bikram Timilsinha said.
In a separate incident in Nepal, 10 local workers were also missing after an avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-ft) Himlung Himal in the northern Manang district, hiking officials said.
The workers had been setting up tents for foreign climbers, who were not present when the avalanche struck.
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