Colombo, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka’s newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has suffered a setback in his power struggle with a deposed rival after a coalition representing the country’s Tamil minority pledged to back a motion of no-confidence against him.

In a statement on Saturday, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) called Rajapaksa’s shock appointment by the president last week “unconstitutional and illegal” and said its members would back a bid by sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to remove him.

The minority coalition has the backing of 15 legislators in the 225-member House and could play a key role in swaying a no-confidence vote as Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe now command the support of about a 100 politicians each.

But analysts said the TNA’s decision did not spell defeat for Rajapaksa because the former president has managed to whittle away at Wickremesinghe’s initial majority by getting at least six members from his United National Party (UNP) to switch support. 

A majority of 113 is required to vote a prime minister out. 

‘Everyone is scared’

Sri Lanka was plunged into a constitutional crisis on October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena fired his former ally Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa, an ex-president he defeated in a 2015 presidential election.

The turmoil was exacerbated by Sirisena’s subsequent decision to also suspend parliament until November 16.

Wickremesinghe, who insists he remains prime minister, has demanded a parliamentary vote to prove his majority. The United Nations backed that call on Friday, just as the UNP submitted a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa and said the vote will be put on the agenda as soon as parliament reconvenes.

But observers believe the longer parliament remains suspended, the more likely the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) – a coalition mainly comprised of Sirisena and Rajapaksa’s political parties – are to tempt defections.

The TNA said Sirisena’s suspension of parliament was “undemocratic and in violation of parliamentary supremacy”.

Explaining its decision to vote against Rajapaksa, the TNA said: “Remaining neutral in such a situation would pave the way for achieving an undemocratic end by force.”

The alliance has long opposed Rajapaksa, who ruled the country from 2005 to 2015, over alleged atrocities against the ethnic minority at the close of a decades-long civil war in 2009. 

The 26-year conflict left at least 100,000 people dead. According to the UN, about 40,000 people – mostly Tamil civilians – were killed in the final five months alone.

In recent days, human rights groups have warned Rajapaksa’s return might jeopardise the country’s incremental progress on transitional justice and put war victims who have spoken of human rights abuses at risk.

Thevanayagam Premananth, editor at the Jaffna-based Uthayan daily in the country’s mainly Tamil north, said the TNA’s support for the no-confidence motion puts “Rajapaksa’s victory in doubt”.

“We do not accept Rajapaksa’s appointment. We suffered a lot under him. But at the same time, people here do not support Wickremesinghe,” he added, referring to the sacked leader’s failure to deliver on promises of economic reform and accountability for war atrocities.

Premananth acknowledged that Wickremesinghe’s government had lifted curbs on political and civil liberties for the Tamil minority, which makes up about 15 percent of the country’s population, but said: “It’s not enough.”

He said Tamil votes were crucial in Sirisena defeating Rajapaksa three years ago. “And when he brought back Mahinda Rajapaksa [on October 26], people were totally shocked. Everyone is scared and thinking about the past.”

Tamil divide?

Still, in a surprising move, TNA legislator S Viyalendran defected on Friday and was later named Rajapakasa’s deputy minister of regional development.

Rajitha Keerthi Tennakoon, a Colombo-based analyst, said the move showed a “divide within the TNA” and blamed it on Tamil “frustration” with the Wickremesinghe government’s failure to improve the economy.

In its statement, the TNA strongly condemned S Viyalendran for taking part in the “conspiracy” of Sirisena and Rajapaksa, whom it accused of using the suspension to “bribe members of parliament with both money and ministerial posts” to obtain a “fraudulent majority”.

Palitha Range Bandara, a UNP member who alleged he was offered $2.8m and a ministerial post to switch support, on Saturday aired an audio clip at a news conference in which a purported senior official from Sirisena and Rajapaksa’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) could be heard offering him a cabinet post.

“We have 113 MPs, but we would really like to have you,” the man was heard saying. “If you come now you can get a cabinet position … don’t wait.”

The UPFA has previously dismissed allegations of bribery.

‘No reason to fear’

Rajapaksa, in a statement soon after his appointment, pledged to “eschew politics of hate” and said he will hold long-delayed provincial elections and call a general election as soon as possible.

Dayasiri Jayasekara, a UPFA member, said the Tamils have “no reason to fear” the newly appointed prime minister.

“His administration ended the war,” he said on Saturday.

“His government developed so much infrastructure in the north and there was law and order. But Wickremesinghe has given them nothing. No jobs, no development and there is only crime. So I urge our Tamil friends not to worry,” he said.

Namal Rajapaksa, the newly appointed prime minister’s son and a member of parliament, condemned TNA’s decision in a Twitter post and said Sirisena and Rajapaksa will continue to address “the needs of the North/East”, including rehabilitating former Tamil fighters.

The UNP, meanwhile, thanked the TNA for “joining our struggle”, saying its fight was not “for a single political party, but for the future of our nation”.

Image: lili sams / mashable

Apple’s first 5G iPhone is still two years away. That’s according to a new report, which says the iPhone maker won’t be 5G ready until 2020.

That would put Apple a year behind some of its Android rivals which have said they plan to have 5G phones in 2019.

The news, which comes from Fast Company, cites a single source said to have “knowledge of Apple’s plans.”

The report also appears to confirm what has long been another point of speculation: which company will supply 5G modems for the iPhone. That company will be Intel and only Intel, according to Fast Company.

This is notable because in the past Apple has sourced modems from two different companies: Intel and Qualcomm. But Apple unceremoniously dumped Qualcomm earlier this year amid an ongoing legal fight between the two companies. 

That leaves Intel as the sole supplier, according to this report. There had previously been speculation Apple was eyeing a deal with MediaTek, the Chinese company, which recently debuted its own 5G chip. But, according to Fast Company, MediaTek is only a “plan B” option for Apple.

Before we get too wrapped up in speculation, it’d be useful to treat this report (and future ones like it) with some skepticism. A report in July suggested that the 2020 iPhone wouldn’t use any wireless chips from Intel at all. (At the time, Intel said its 5G roadmap hadn’t changed.)

Moreover, we only just finished up the release cycle of the 2018 iPhones, so it’s definitely more than a little premature to begin speculating about the iPhones coming in 2020. There’s a lot that can change this far out, and we’re likely to hear a lot more rumors about Apple’s supply chain and what it means for future iPhones over the next two years. 

That said, there’s some evidence to back up the 2020 timing for the first 5G iPhone — mainly that it fits the timeline of what we already know about 5G readiness. 

Even though we’re just beginning to see carriers commit to 5G networks, we know it will take some time for the technology to be widely available. And, even after the carriers are 5G-ready, phone-makers will need to adopt the modems necessary to make their handsets capable of using them. Though some companies have committed to doing so by 2019, but Apple isn’t one to rush into new technologies just for the sake of being first. 

Fast Company’s report also notes that Intel is having some issues with its modems that could negatively impact battery life — an issue Apple likely wants to avoid. 

So, given what we know about Apple and the readiness of 5G, 2020 would certainly be the earliest we should expect a 5G iPhone.

A proposal to create one of the world’s largest marine reserves in a vast area of pristine Antarctic waters has been rejected, prompting concern among conservation groups about the ecosystem’s future.

After two weeks of deliberations, Russia, China and Norway on Friday blocked the plan for a 1.8m square kilometres maritime protection zone in the Weddell Sea at a summit of the 25-member Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Hobart, Australia.

The proposed reserve, roughly five times the size of Germany, would have made the area in question a no-go zone for fishing and other commercial activities.

Antarctica’s waters and landmass are home to penguins, seals, whales and huge numbers of krill, a staple food for many species, among other animals.

“This was an historic opportunity to create the largest protected area on Earth in the Antarctic: safeguarding wildlife, tackling climate change and improving the health of our global oceans,” Frida Bengtsson, of Greenpeace’s Protect the Antarctic campaign, said in a statement.

“Twenty-two delegations came here to negotiate in good faith but, instead, serious scientific proposals for urgent marine protection were derailed by interventions which barely engaged with the science,” she added.

Bengtsson accused Russia and China of using “wrecking amendments and filibustering” to reduce the time available for “real discussion about protecting Antarctic waters”.

CCAMLR, which is comprised of the European Union and 24 states, is the global body responsible for the protection of Antarctic waters. 

As well as the Weddell Sea plan, proposals to establish two other marine protection zones in East Antarctica and the Western Antarctic Peninsula were also dashed at the body’s annual summit. Together, the three areas cover close to three million square kilometres.

According to the United Nations, marine protected areas (MPAs)  cover less than eight percent of the world’s oceans, which in turn make up more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface.

A report published on the CCAMLR website on Friday said all three of the Antarctic proposals were the subject of “much discussion” among members, who will now “continue to work … on proposals for these MPAs before they are again considered at next year’s meeting”.

Possible reversal

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Thomas, reporting from Hobart, said the lack of consensus at this year’s summit was caused by disagreements over the science behind the supposed need for new MPAs.

Citing previous decisions taken by the CCAMLR, Thomas said there was “hope” that Russia and China would reverse their opposition to the proposed Antarctic sanctuaries in the near future.

“In the past, those two countries have come around to proposals that in previous years they had opposed, but only after those proposals had been signed off by the presidents of those countries,” he added.

In 2016, CCAMLR members unanimously approved the creation of a 1.55msq km marine protection in the Antarctic Ocean’s Ross Sea.

The establishment of the sanctuary, which had previously been opposed by Russia and China, outlawed commercial fishing in the area’s waters for 35 years.

‘Race against time’

Following this year’s failed proposals, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) lambasted CCAMLR member states for demonstrating a “lack of commitment towards conservation” of the Antarctic.

“Antarctica and its iconic wildlife are showing signs of stress. The creation of a network of marine protected areas is crucial to help safeguard Antarctic wildlife for years to come and help increase the resilience of marine ecosystems to climate change,” Chris Johnson, senior manager of WWF’s Antarctic programme, said in a statement.

“We’re in a race against time to protect these waters before it’s too late,” he added.

According to the WWF, human activity has wiped out 60 percent of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles since 1970.

The figure, published in WWF’s 2018 Living Planet report, is  based on an ongoing survey of almost 17,000 populations of more than 4,000 different species spread across the globe.

“We are the first generation that has a clear picture of the value of nature and the grave situation we are facing. We may also be the last generation that can do something about it,” the report said.

Following gamers’ current obsession with updated versions of classic games, Blizzard announced that a retooled and remastered version of Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos under the name Warcraft 3: Reforged. The game will feature updated animations and models of iconic Warcraft characters and is slated for release in 2019, the same year as Blizzard’s World of Warcraft Classic.

The Saudi-UAE military alliance at war with Yemen‘s Houthi rebels says it has advanced towards the western city of Hodeidah, hours after residents reported a barrage of air raids targeting the strategic port city.

Residents in Hodeidah told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the United States-backed alliance launched more than 25 air raids, targeting rebel-held locations on the city’s edges.

Yemeni journalist Manal Qaed said the sound of fighter jets dropping bombs pierced through the sky late into the afternoon, with civilians fearing to venture out of their homes.

The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah news outlet said more than 60 raids targeted Kilo-16 and its surrounding areas, wounding four civilians.

Kilo-16 is the main highway linking Hodeidah city with the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

Aid agencies have long warned that fighting in Hodeidah risks escalating the dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where about half the population – some 14 million people – could soon be on the verge of famine.

“This is not the first time the city has been attacked and sadly residents have grown accustomed to the sounds of air strikes and shelling,” Qaed said.

“Throughout the day, we’ve heard the sound of jets in the sky, intense shelling and air strikes,” she added. “As for me, I will only leave once clashes flare in the city.”

Meanwhile, the dpa news agency reported that Yemeni forces, backed by the Saudi-UAE alliance, gained territory on the eastern and southern outskirts of Hodeidah.

A military source told dpa on condition of anonymity: “The forces will not stop until they take control of the strategic Hodeidah port.”

On Tuesday, the alliance sent more than 10,000 troops to Hodeidah in a new offensive aimed at securing the so-called “liberated areas”.

So far, the Yemeni forces and the alliance had held Kilo 7 and Kilo 10, areas which sit less than five kilometres from the city’s busy fish market.

Violence must stop everywhere with an immediate halt around critical infrastructure and densely populated areas

Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general

‘Losing Hodeidah will be a big blow’

Adam Baron, a Yemen analyst and visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, called the port city a “key prize”, adding it would be a “big blow” if the Houthis lose control of the installation just weeks before peace talks demanded by the United Nations and the US are to be held.

“Hodeidah is arguably Yemen’s most important port and is one of the Houthis’ main sources of revenue,” Baron said.

“In any conflict [control of a port is] a key prize. It would be a big blow [if the Houthis lost the port to the alliance], but not a killer blow,” he added.

Analysts expect the rebels to use Hodeidah as a bargaining chip when they enter into UN-brokered talks scheduled in Sweden later this month.

The UN has repeatedly warned a military campaign on Hodeidah would have devastating consequences for the country’s residents.

Addressing reporters at the world body’s headquarters in New York on Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the warring parties must seize on this “opportunity for peace”.

“To avert imminent catastrophe, several steps are required. First, violence must stop everywhere with an immediate halt around critical infrastructure and densely populated areas,” he said.

“We must do all we can now to end human suffering and avoid the worst humanitarian crisis in the world from getting even worse,” he added.

According to the Yemen Data Project, the Saudi-UAE alliance carried out at least 335 air raids on Hodeidah between June 1 and September 30, with civilians frequently bearing the brunt.

At least 15 people were killed in September when raids hit a road linking Hodeidah with Sanaa.

The Saudi-UAE military alliance acknowledged mistakes in its air operations, but has mostly defended its record.

It has denied deliberately targeting civilians, but Riyadh’s narrative over its actions in Yemen has faced mounting criticism following the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.

The conflict in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, began with the 2014 takeover of by the Houthi rebels, who toppled the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Concerned by the rise of the Houthis, believed to be backed by Iran, the Saudi-UAE military-led coalition launched an intervention in 2015 in the form of a massive air campaign aimed at reinstalling Hadi’s government.

Earlier this week, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), an independent watchdog, said around 56,000 Yemenis had been killed in the violence. The UN says the conflict has killed at least 10,000 people, but has not updated its death toll in years.

Image: justing sullivan / Getty Images

Seven months after a fatal crash involving a self-driving car in Arizona, Uber says it’s ready to get its self-driving cars up and running again.

The company released a new safety report as it asked the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for permission to start testing its self-driving vehicles on public roads in Pennsylvania. 

In the report, Uber detailed a series of safety changes made following the fatal crash in March. The company says it will now place two human operators in each self-driving vehicle, one to sit behind the wheel, and another to monitor the system from the passenger seat. 

“We are deeply regretful for the crash in Tempe, Arizona, this March,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in a blog post. “In the months since, we have undertaken a top-to-bottom review of ATG’s safety approaches, system development, and culture. 

“We have taken a measured, phased approach to returning to on-road testing, starting first with manual driving in Pittsburgh. We committed to deliver this safety report before returning to on-road testing in self-driving mode, and will go back on the road only when we’ve implemented improved processes.”

If Uber wins approval, it will be the first time the company has been able to start testing its self-driving cars on public roads since the fatal crash in March. (The company previously got approval to get the vehicles back on the road in Pittsburgh, but only in “manual mode,” in which they’re driven just like any other car.) The crash, which happened in Tempe, Arizona, raised a number of concerns about the reliability of Uber’s self-driving cars.

Investigators found that the car’s system didn’t alert the driver about the pedestrian in the road, even though its sensors had detected her. And the car didn’t slow down or brake after the woman was detected. The driver, who was supposed to be monitoring the road, was also later found to be watching Hulu at the time of the crash.

Iran‘s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that US President Donald Trump has “disgraced” US prestige and would be the ultimate loser from re-imposing sanctions on Tehran.

The United States restored sanctions on the Islamic Republic’s shipping, energy and financial sectors on Friday.

The measures will come into effect on Monday.

“This new US president … has disgraced the remnant of America’s prestige and that of liberal democracy. America’s hard power, that is to say, their economic and military power, is declining, too,” Khamenei said on Twitter on Saturday, quoting a speech he gave earlier in Tehran.

Khamenei was speaking on the eve of the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran.

“The challenge between the US and Iran has lasted for 40 years so far and the US has made various efforts against us: military, economic and media warfare,” he said.

“There’s a key fact here: in this 40-year challenge, the defeated is the US and the victorious is the Islamic Republic.”

The US said that eight countries would receive a temporary waiver from the sanctions, meaning they will be allowed to keep buying Iranian oil without being penalised.

Turkey said on Saturday that it had received initial indications from Washington that it would be granted a waiver, but is awaiting clarification.

The sanctions are the second set to be re-imposed by the Trump administration since the US withdrew unilaterally from the 2015 nuclear deal in May.

The challenge between the U.S. and Iran has lasted for 40 years so far and the U.S. has made various efforts against us: military, economic and media warfare. There’s a key fact here: in this 40-year challenge, the defeated is the U.S. and the victorious is the Islamic Republic.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) November 3, 2018

Trump has said he wants to negotiate a new deal with Iran to replace the multilateral agreement, with Tehran making a number of new concessions in return for sanctions relief and the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between Washington and Tehran.

Hossein Askari, professor of international business and international affairs at George Washington University, told Al Jazeera it was extremely unlikely Iran would agree to Trump’s demands.

“The United States has 12 demands, exactly what Saudi Arabia did to Qatar,” said Askari. “One is to say ‘Iran has to end its support for terrorism’. Well, Iran has not supported terrorism for many, many years. That is off the table.

“It says ‘Iran has to end its missile programme’. Well, Iran is not going to stop that. Iran faces Israel, with nuclear warheads, the United States is surrounding Iran on all sides and you want Iran to just say, ‘OK, we’re not going to do anything’. That is not going to happen.

“And then, the third thing that’s very important, is that they want Iran to stop its operations in Syria. And the Iranian view on that is very simple.

“Syria was the only country that supported Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, when the United States and the Europeans gave outlawed chemical weapons to Iraq to use on the Iranians. It has no choice but to support Syria.”

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

This is One Good Thing, a weekly column where we tell you about one of the few nice things that happened this week.

We already knew that Ally Maine’s Lady Gaga’s ability to fold shirts is unmatched, but did you also know that she has the greatest green thumb of all time?

Just look at the Chia Pet garden she cultivated this week. What makes this garden so special is that it’s made up entirely of her adorable French bulldogs, all dressed as Chia Pets for Halloween.

Gustave, Asia, Koji, and another unidentified doggo posed effortlessly for their mother’s camera, and the results would leave any seasoned supermodel quaking.

Can we also talk about the elaborate setup for this photoshoot? As someone who is desperate to own at least two Frenchies before the age of 30, I am always 1,000 percent here for a spooky doggy photoshoot.

The backdrop’s filled with greenery and pumpkins galore, and Gaga’s employed the hashtag #HappyPuppyween like the relatable dog mom she is. We stan.

Gaga even dressed as a Chia Pet herself to match her pups, as evidenced by a photo shared to her Instagram Stories.

Image: Lady Gaga / instagram

I hope Gaga’s pets got tons of treats this Halloween, considering how well they posed for the camera. They absolutely deserve it. This photoshoot gets a 14/10 on the spook-meter for “Puppyween,” and I can’t wait to see what look they’ll bring out for next year.

Image: Richard Vogel/AP/REX/Shutterstock

It’s been a while since we checked in on the race to land Amazon’s highly-coveted HQ2 but a new rumor reinforces the possibility that northern Virginia could be the place Jeff Bezos lands his corporate behemoth’s new home. 

A report by the Washington Post (also owned by Bezos) on Saturday morning said that discussions have heated up around a location in Crystal City, Virginia, which is located across the Potomac from southern Washington, D.C. and nestled right next to Reagan International Airport. 

One key hint, according to the Post, is that a Crystal City real estate developer has pulled listings from the market, possibly in anticipation of those locations being renovated to host the first wave of HQ2’s new employees.

This isn’t the first time the Arlington County area has come up as the front-runner for the new Amazon locale. Way back in February, curious web traffic surges from a private, internal Amazon source to a local story about the accolades Arlington Co. had received for environmentally-friendly building stoked excitement that the area was high up on Amazon’s list.  

Crystal City’s proximity to D.C. — a 10-to-15 minute drive from the U.S. Capitol, per Google Maps —  is also a big selling point and one that makes sense given Amazon’s size and Bezos’s efforts to garner Pentagon contracts for his Blue Origin space flight company.

Of the 20 locations shortlisted in the HQ2 sweepstakes, three are in the D.C. area: Northern Virginia, Montgomery County, Maryland, and D.C. itself. The only other finalists clustered together like that are New York City and Newark, NJ.

Perhaps not coincidentally, online betting site Bovada currently lists northern Virginia as a very, very heavy favorite in the HQ2 sweepstakes, way up from the slight edge Bovada gave it earlier in 2018.

We should find out shortly where HQ2 will land. Bezos has previously said it would be announced by the end of 2018 and there’s less than two months left until the calendar flips over. So get ready but don’t be surprised when northern Virginia gets the Bezos stamp of approval.

China is willing to provide Pakistan with economic aid to help it deal with its deteriorating finances but more discussions are needed on the details, according to a top Chinese diplomat.

The comments on Saturday by Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou came after a meeting in Beijing between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and new Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Pakistan’s foreign reserves have plunged 42 percent since the start of the year and now stand at about $8bn, or less than two months of import cover.

Late last month, Saudi Arabia pledged to give Pakistan a $6bn rescue package, but officials say it is not enough and the country still plans to seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avert a balance of payments crisis.

It would be Pakistan’s 13th rescue package from the multilateral lender since the late 1980s.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People following Khan’s talks with Li, Kong said his country would help.

“During the visit, the two sides have made it clear in principle that the Chinese government will provide necessary support and assistance to Pakistan in tiding over the current economic difficulties,” Kong said.

“As for specific measures to be taken, the relevant authorities of the two sides will have detailed discussions,” he added, without giving details.

Khan, whose party swept Pakistan’s July elections, told Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous day that he had inherited “a very difficult economic situation” at home.

Though China is Pakistan’s closest ally, Khan’s newly elected government has sought to re-think the two countries’ signature project, the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which Beijing touts as the flagship infrastructure programme in its vast Belt and Road Initiative.

Pakistan has looked to amend CPEC to put greater emphasis on projects that focus on social development, rather than purely on infrastructure.

In his meeting with Li, Khan invited the Chinese premier to visit Pakistan and see for himself the difference the mega-project has made in the country.

“CPEC in 2013 was just an idea. Now it is on the ground. And it has caught the imagination of the people of Pakistan,” he said.

“We feel that this a great opportunity for our country to progress, to attract investment. It gives us an opportunity to raise our standard of living, growth rate.”

For his part, Li praised the relationship, saying “China and Pakistan are all-weather partners”.

Commenting on CPEC, Kong said there were no plans to scale back the economic corridor, but he added that it would be altered somewhat to “tilt in favour of areas relating to people’s lives.”

Meanwhile, Khan’s office said in a statement that the two governments had signed a number of agreements and memoranda of understanding in the fields of agriculture, poverty reduction, forestry, law enforcement and socio-economic development.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies