Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Twitter has reportedly purged more than 10,000 bot accounts for attempts at discouraging voting. 

According to a new report in Reuters, Twitter removed the accounts, which were automatically posting “misleading” messages about voting, in September and October.

The accounts made it appear as if the misleading information was coming from Democrats, which it was not. The accounts were reported to Twitter by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which is one of many organizations that has partnered with Twitter on election integrity efforts.

In a statement, a Twitter spokesperson said some accounts had been removed, but declined to say how many:

“For the election this year we have established open lines of communication and direct, easy escalation paths for state election officials, DHS, and campaign organizations from both major parties,” the spokesperson said. “Our singular goal is to enforce our policies vigorously and protect conversational health on our service. We removed a series of accounts for engaging in attempts to share disinformation in an automated fashion — a violation of our policies. We stopped this quickly and at its source.”

Even so, a removal of 10,000 accounts isn’t huge by Twitter standards. The company, which has undertaken a concerted effort to crack down on bots and spam, has removed as many as 1 million accounts per day, according to reports. But it does show that Twitter is taking the spread of misinformation in the run-up to the U.S. midterm elections more seriously than it has previously.

Colombo, Sri Lanka – The United Nations chief has urged Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena to reconvene parliament and allow legislators decide between the two men claiming to be the South Asian country’s rightful prime minister.

A statement from Antonio Guterres’ office on Friday said the secretary-general called on Sirisena “to revert to parliamentary procedures and allow the parliament to vote as soon as possible” during a phone conversation a day earlier.

The appeal came as Sri Lanka’s week-long political crisis showed no sign of abating, with legislators from Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) accusing members of newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party of offering them millions of dollars in bribes to switch support.

Sri Lanka has been gripped by constitutional chaos since October 26 when Sirisena fired Wickremesinghe in a shock move and replaced him with Rajapaksa, a former president he had defeated in a 2015 election.

While the president has the authority to appoint the prime minister, he does not have the power to sack the incumbent, legal experts have said, citing constitutional amendments passed three years ago.

The deposed prime minister denounced his sacking as illegal and demanded a vote in parliament to prove his majority.

Sirisena promptly suspended the 225-member House until November 16 in an apparent plan to allow Rajapaksa, who did not appear to have the majority required to remain in the post, to tempt legislators to his side.

In his phone conversation with Sirisena, Guterres also offered the president his help in facilitating talks between the two opposing sides. 

Western countries have yet to recognise Rajapaksa’s appointment but Sirisena has so far resisted calls from the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada, as well as tens of thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, to reconvene parliament. 

In a Twitter post, Sirisena said he assured Guterres that Rajapaksa’s appointment was “done in keeping with” Sri Lanka’s constitution.

Defections and bribery allegations

Analysts said Sirisena’s suspension of parliament was appearing to pay off.

A sixth legislator from the UNP, which had the support of 106 members prior to the crisis, crossed over to the Sirisena-led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and took up a cabinet post on Friday afternoon.

A member of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) also defected to Sirisena’s side, becoming the first legislator from the coalition of parties representing the Tamil minority to do so. 

The UPFA, which insists parliament will remain shut until November 16 despite contradictory statements from political leaders this week, now has the backing of 104 legislators and claims more parliamentarians will switch sides in the coming days.

The defections, however, have led to allegations of bribery.

Palitha Range Bandara, a UNP member, on Friday alleged a “systematic attempt” from the opposite camp to buy the support of legislators.

“I got many calls. They offered me 500 million in Sri Lankan rupees and when I asked how much that was in dollars they said $2.8m. I have the evidence,” he told reporters, pledging to file a criminal complaint at an anti-corruption watchdog. 

Namal Rajapaksa, the newly appointed prime minister’s son and a member of parliament, said his party was “unaware of any such incidents”.

Bandara’s claim was a “serious allegation” that must be investigated, he said in a Twitter post.

Earlier in the week, another UNP member also accused China of funding Rajapaksa’s alleged effort to bribe legislators – a claim Beijing dismissed as “groundless and irresponsible”.

During his 10-year rule, Rajapaksa moved Sri Lanka closer to China, borrowing millions of dollars to fund a huge infrastructure drive.

No-confidence motion

Meanwhile, frustrated by Sirisena’s refusal to lift the suspension of the legislature, politicians, lawyers and human rights activists have urged Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to defy the president’s orders and recall parliament.

On Friday morning, more than 100 legislators from the UNP, the TNA and the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) met Jayasuriya, who previously warned of a “bloodbath” if the crisis dragged on,  at the parliament house in Colombo and submitted a petition imploring him to resume sessions.

The UNP said the motion had the backing of 118 legislators and said the figure indicated that Rajapaksa did not have the majority of 113 that is required to remain in the post. 

It also said it submitted a no-confidence motion against Rajapaksa on Friday and said the vote will be put on the agenda as soon as parliament reconvenes.

Leaders of the TNA and the JVP, which together command the support of 21 parliamentarians at present, have previously denounced Sirisena’s actions as unconstitutional. But it is not clear if members of the two minority parties would back either of the rival leaders in a confidence vote.

Wickemesinghe, meanwhile, remained holed up at the prime minister’s official residence in Colombo, ignoring calls from the UPFA to vacate the premises.

Wimal Weerawansa, an aide to Rajapaksa, vowed on Friday to file charges of “misusing public property” against the deposed leader.

Wickeremesinghe “cannot hold on till November 16,” he told a news conference. “We have no intention of making life easy for him.”

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The US government has announced that it will grant temporary waivers to eight “jurisdictions”, allowing them to buy Iranian oil beyond November 5, when the second round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic takes effect.

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said on Friday the exceptions would allow the unnamed countries to import Iran’s oil at “greatly reduced levels”, with the ultimate goal of “zero” purchase from Tehran. 

“These concessions are critical to ensure that we increase our maximum pressure campaign and accelerate towards zero,” Pompeo said in a conference call with reporters.

The second round of sanctions set to kick in on Monday follows a 90-day period since Washington reimposed the first wave of measures against Iran in the wake of President Donald Trump’s controversial decision in May to unilaterally withdraw the US from a landmark 2015 multinational nuclear deal.

Washington’s upcoming move is expected to have a greater impact, as it will target Tehran’s main source of export revenue: oil and gas.

In his comments to the media, Pompeo said that Iranian crude oil exports have already been reduced by more than one million barrels.   

Iran analysts, however, said the announcement on waivers points to US President Donald Trump’s inability to rally the international community and reach a consensus against Tehran.

“The Trump administration is waking up to the fact that its Iran policy has strained ties with a wide range of countries,” Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of the Iranian economy website Bourse Bazaar, told Al Jazeera. 

“Showing flexibility on oil imports may be a way for the US to seek more cooperation on sanctions in other areas.”

In Tehran, the decision on waivers is seen as “a victory”, as it was able to sustain its energy exports “after months of US threats that oil sales would be pushed down to zero”.

Pompeo did not identify the countries to be granted the waivers. But according to numerous reports, these include India, South Korea and Turkey.

India and South Korea are the second and third biggest buyers of Iranian oil.

Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez also confirmed that his country would be granted a waiver, according to Reuters news agency. In 2017, Turkey imported 16.7 percent of its gas consumption from Iran.

The reality is that @realDonaldTrump has failed to zero on #oil exports from #Iran on November 4th. A scheme he has been advertising for months; although Iran’s oil exports have decreased./2 #OOTT @jzarif

— Reza Zandi (@R_Zandi) November 2, 2018

At a forum this week in the Qatari capital of Doha on Iran sanctions, Recep Yorulmaz, a political science professor at Ankara’s Yildirim Beyazit University, said that with or without a waiver, Turkey will continue to act on its national interest by covering its energy needs from neighbouring Iran. About 30 percent of Turkey’s crude oil imports is from Iran, said Yorulmaz.

Meanwhile, China, the biggest purchaser of Iranian oil, is still reportedly negotiating with the US over the issue. Between July 2018 to September 2018, China bought more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, according to Stratfor, a private intelligence analysis firm. In 2017, China bought $11.9bn worth of crude oil from Iran, down almost 30 percent from 2016.

In a step seen as a concession to Trump, Beijing has decided to stop the Bank of Kunlun from handling payments from Iran, according to a Reuters report. Nearly all of China’s oil payments to Iran go through the bank.      

Iran’s energy sector accounts for up to 80 percent of the country’s income from exports, according to the US Energy Information Administration, so a disruption could bring serious pain to its financial bottom line and its people.

Aside from the energy industry, others outfits and activities being sanctioned include: 

• Iran’s port operators and shipping industry, which is also linked to the transport of oil and gas

• Petroleum-related products and transactions from Iran

• Transactions by foreign financial institutions with Iran’s central bank and other banking institutions

• Insurance and reinsurance institutions, which insure tankers that transport oil and gas 

• US-owned or controlled corporations with business activities with Iranian government and individuals

• Individuals, whose named were previously removed from the sanctions list, could also be included

• Iran-related SWIFT transactions could also be flagged 

‘Hitting the core of Iran’s economy’

Trump has repeatedly promised “the highest level” of economic hardship against Iran, threatening retribution against countries and companies that will continue to do business with it.

He has said the sanctions will continue until Tehran complies with Washington’s list of steep demands, including, among others, its retreat from military involvement in the Middle East. 

Iran has rejected the US conditions, and there are no indications that the Iranian leadership has expressed interest in negotiating with Trump. 

On Friday, Pompeo said that the sanctions “hit at the core areas of Iran’s economy”, adding that they are “necessary to spur changes we see on the part of the regime”. 

Pompeo also said the sanctions will leave Iran with “zero oil revenue” to spend on buying arms and funding “destabilising activities”.

He said the Iranian economy is “already feeling the effects” of the sanctions, pointing to the drop of the value of Iran’s currency, the “disarray” in President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet and protests that have taken place in recent months.

Based on the figures from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iran’s petroleum exports hit $52.728bn in 2017. Its crude oil exports stood at 2,125,000 barrels per day during the same year, while its natural gas exports reached 12.9 billion cubic metres.

Those numbers, however, have already dropped in the current year. 

In India, for example, crude oil imports from Iran dropped from 690,000 barrels per day in May to around 400,000 barrels per day in August, Vandana Hari, a Singapore-based global oil market analyst, said.

“So effectively, India has more than halved its offtake from Iran,” Hari told Al Jazeera.

“I would imagine it would want to maintain it at least that level, and perhaps negotiate for more.”

Many refiners in India have also curtailed purchases because of insurance issues tied to the sanctions.

‘Winter’s coming’

As Trump’s policy collides with economic and geopolitical realities on the ground, Luciano Zaccara, a foreign policy expert at Qatar University, said the sanctions “will not be as effective”.

“There’s less consensus at this time in the international community, so the sanctions will be less powerful than the previous one,” Zaccara said during the Doha forum on Iran, pointing to Europe’s decision to defy Trump by staying with the nuclear deal.

Under the deal agreement signed in Austria’s capital, Vienna on July 14, 2015 by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, UK, the US and the European Union, Tehran cut down its uranium stockpile and scaled back its enrichment programme far below the level required to build a nuclear weapon. It also agreed in perpetuity to notify United Nations inspectors if and when it builds a new nuclear facility.

In exchange, UN-approved sanctions were lifted in January 2016, and Tehran was allowed to resume trading oil and gas on the international market. A total of $100bn in frozen Iranian assets was also released.

Commenting on the second round of sanctions, Reza Khaasteh, a Tehran-based journalist of Iran Front Page, said that Trump cannot abruptly cut Iranian oil from the world market, as this would cause a sharp price increase.

He said that for countries with high demand for oil and gas, “their national interests are more important to them than realising Trump’s wishes”.

“The US itself is afraid of the impact of sanctions on the oil price, so it would not be as strict as the Trump administration promised, especially ahead of the midterm elections,” Khaasteh told Al Jazeera.

“Trump well knows that ‘winter’s coming’ and he can’t just play with energy prices.”

With additional reporting by Zeenat Saberin in India

Image: bill pugliano/Getty Images

It’s hard to not get drunk on Obama nostalgia, even for us cynics.

On Friday, President Obama spoke to a crowd in Miami, Florida to help get out the vote for Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum. After being heckled, President Obama gently chided the crowd in classic Dad manner for cursing in front of the “kids.”

“Don’t curse in front of kids, come on,” President Obama told the hecklers. “This is what I look forward to, is having a few hecklers to get me back in the mood.”

It was a kind, delightfully normal response, especially compared to Trump, who prefers inciting violence to dad jokes. Trump, remember, once suggested he’d like to punch a protestor in the face.   That’s a wee bit different from suggesting that the protestor “not curse in front of kids.”

Obama then added:

“Here’s the deal: If you support the other candidates, then you should go support the other candidates. Don’t be here. One of the things I never understood was why, if you’re supporting the other guy, you come to my rally.”

Kinda makes our broken little hearts sing.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has demanded an “immediate” halt to fighting in Yemen, as he warned that the country stands on a “precipice” and could face the world’s “worst famine” for decades if violence continues unabated.

Addressing reporters at the world body’s headquarters in New York on Friday, the secretary-general said the warring parties must seize on the “opportunity for peace” presented by UN-brokered talks scheduled to be held in Sweden later this month.

“First, violence must stop everywhere – with an immediate halt around critical infrastructure and densely populated areas,” Guterres said, echoing a similar ceasefire call issued by the United States earlier this week.

“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.

The conflict in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country and home to an estimated 28 million people, began with the 2014 takeover of the capital, Sanaa, by 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, a US-backed Saudi-UAE military coalition launched an intervention in 2015 in the form of a massive air campaign aimed at reinstalling Hadi’s government. 

According to the UN, at least 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition entered the conflict. The death toll has not been updated in years, however, and is likely to be far higher. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), an independent watchdog, recently said around 56,000 Yemenis had been killed in violence.

In his comments to the media, Guterres also called for an increase in foreign aid and for “food, fuel and other essentials” to be allowed to enter Yemen “without restrictions” in order to alleviate the suffering endured by the 22 million Yemenis deemed by the UN to be in need of humanitarian assistance.

On Thursday, Yemen’s internationally recognised government said it was ready to re-start peace talks with the Houthis after recent efforts to meet ended in failure.

Discussions between the warring factions were planned for September in the Swiss city of Geneva but fell apart after Houthi representatives refused to attend, saying the UN had failed to meet the group’s pre-summit demands.

Following the collapse of the talks, which would have been the first of their kind in nearly two years, the coalition announced it was relaunching an assault on Houthi-held Hodeidah, a strategically important Red Sea port city.

Possible war crimes

On Friday, AFP news agency reported that fierce battle between forces loyal to Hadi and Houthi fighters near Hodeidah resulted in the death of at least 34 rebels and six pro-government troops. 

The clashes came hours after the Saudi-UAE alliance said it had bombed Sanaa International Airport and an adjoining airbase.

Earlier this week, the coalition sent more than 10,000 new troops towards Hodeidah ahead of a new offensive aimed at securing “areas liberated” from the Houthis, according to Yemeni government officials.

Hodeidah is the only port held by the Houthis and serves as the entry point for the bulk of Yemen’s commercial imports and aid supplies.

The coalition has imposed a blockade on the port, however, allegedly as part of efforts to prevent the Houthis from using it as a landing point for weapons supplied by Iran.

Both Tehran and the rebels deny the port is being used to smuggle arms from Iran into Yemen.

A UN report published in August said the blockade, part of wider coalition-enforced restrictions on access to Yemen’s other ports and the country’s airspace, may have violated international humanitarian law.

The report was critical of all parties to the conflict, however, and concluded there were “reasonable grounds” to believe “a substantial number of violations of international humanitarian law” had been committed by pro-government forces, the coalition and the Houthis.

Possible violations included deadly air raids, rampant sexual violence and the recruitment of child soldiers, it said.

It’s been a minute, but South Korean favorites EXO are finally back with their fifth studio album, Don’t Mess Up My Tempo. And they’re kicking off this new era with “Tempo,” a catchy melodic anomaly that, true to its name, seamlessly switches up the tempo from smooth R&B, to retro pop, to hip-hop, to acapella — all in under 4 minutes.

If the rhythmic hook doesn’t immediately grab your attention (“don’t mess up my tempo,” they plea), then the unique vocal bridge — acapella kings! — should do the trick, featuring EXO’s stacked vocal line and their dynamic harmonies. Or, perhaps main dancer Kai looking fierce in a crop top is more your speed. There’s something for everyone!

Speaking of the video, it’s a real trip. Starring all nine members — “Tempo” marks Lay Zhang’s long-awaited return to the group — the stylistic visual is both modern and nostalgic, putting a cool twist on label SM Entertainment’s typical “box” format. The motorcycle-gang aesthetic from the teaser images was a bit of a red herring; instead, the slick video features the group moving through various sets — a bar, a bedroom (the creaking bed sample does not go unnoticed on the hook), an interrogation room, and, of course, a dance floor — with a mature color palette that may be more muted than “Ko Ko Bop” but packs just as much personality.

While Lay doesn’t have much to do in this video — he’s primarily a cameo — he is heavily featured on the Chinese version of the single, which also dropped today (November 2).

The album features 10 new tracks, including the Latin-pop “Ooh La La La,” which was co-written by American hitmaker Bazzi (who also worked on “The Eve” off the group’s last album), and the smooth “Bad Dream,” an R&B track with a disco hook. Just like its lead single, Don’t Mess Up My Tempo defies all genres — a distinct marker of an EXO production.

The eternal conflict between the high heavens and the burning hells is coming to mobile phones.

Diablo: Immortal was revealed at BlizzCon on Friday that takes place between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 after the destruction of the World Stone. 

It’s the first-ever Blizzard game to come exclusively to mobile, and it doesn’t look like it has lost any of the quality we’ve come to expect from Blizzard’s iconic dungeon crawling series, complete with online co-op and that classic gothic feel.

In fact, some parts of it look even more fun and dynamic than Diablo 3, based on the gameplay trailer.

While we don’t have an exact release date, the trailer says that Diablo: Immortal is coming soon.

The first trailer for Five Feet Apart is here, but before you watch it, be warned: This two-and-a-half minute clip may leave viewers with emotional whiplash.

Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse star in this teen rom-com about two cystic fibrosis patients living in a hospital as they undergo intense life-preserving treatments. It’s reminiscent of The Fault In Our Stars, but with much higher stakes. In this case, it’s not just their illness that leaves them at risk; their actual relationship could be deadly.

Richardson stars as Stella, the cheery-against-all-odds girl who can laugh about death with her nurse, yet takes her treatment very seriously. Sprouse is broody Will, the type who “ignores the rules because it makes you feel in control.” They immediately connect on an emotional level, but there’s a catch: They can’t come within six feet of one another without risking infecting the other.

Rule-following Stella, keeping a slight distance, promptly takes on the role of regimenting Will’s treatment to keep him alive, and in the process, realizes that she hasn’t really been living herself. The trailer shows flashes of Stella at two extremes — happily enjoying life outside of the hospital in one moment and an intense health scare in the next. At one point Stella, aching for human touch, resolves to steal back one foot from the disease that has stolen to much from her and dares to come within five feet of Will, hence the film’s name.

Jane the Virgin’s Justin Baldoni makes his directorial debut with the film, set to hit theaters in March 2019.

The story of World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth‘s just got a lot more interesting.

Blizzard revealed a new World of Warcraft cinematic at BlizzCon on Friday, showing King Anduin of the Alliance meeting with Saurfang of the Horde. It looks like Saurfang, who was hesitant to support Sylvanas’s ruthless aggression against the Alliance and the Night Elf city of Teldrassil.

Now it looks like Saurfang is teaming up with Anduin to take down Sylvanas.

World of Warcraft‘s next big update Tides of Vengeance is expected to drop soon with a new raid and warfront.