A coalition led by Sri Lanka’s new left-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, giving him the power to bring in promised economic reforms.
The National People’s Power alliance won 141 seats in the 225-member assembly and looked set to secure more as counting of votes continued on Friday. The alliance previously held only three seats in the parliament.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya led by Sajith Premadasa, son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa, had secured 35 seats.
Millions of Sri Lankans voted in the snap election on Thursday that was called by Mr Dissanayake less than two months after he was elected on promises of sweeping reforms following the island nation’s worst financial crisis in 2022.
“Thank you to everyone who helped usher in the Renaissance!” Mr Dissanayake said on X.
More than 11 million of the 17 million registered voters turned out, according to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka. More than 8,800 candidates belonging to 49 political parties and 284 independent groups were in the fray.
Mr Dissanayake, 55, popularly known as AKD, from the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party, took office in September after winning more than 55 per cent of votes in a run-off.
Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, accounting for 10 per cent of its gross domestic product, suffered after a series of bombings on Easter Sunday in 2019. At least 269 people were killed in the blasts at three churches and three luxury hotels. The Covid pandemic hit a year later. The country experienced steep inflation and a cash crunch, with acute shortages of fuel and food. By 2022, it had exhausted its foreign reserves and its economy had contracted by 9.5 per cent, according to the World Bank.
The economic crisis prompted large anti-government protests and led to the ousting of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who temporarily fled the country.
The outgoing parliament was dominated by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, or the People's Front, led by Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his younger brother Mahinda, which secured only two seats, the Sri Lankan Election Commission website showed. Mahinda Rajapaksa was serving as prime minister when anti-government protests forced him to resign in 2022, and had previously served as president from 2005 to 2015. Neither of brothers stood for election but Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal, a former sports minister, sought re-election to Parliament after losing to Mr Dissanayake in the presidential poll.
Mr Dissanayake's promises to tackle corruption, lower taxes and revive the economy have resonated with younger voters. He has also pledged to abolish the country’s executive presidency, a system under which power is largely centralised under the president.
The President was born into a farming family in Galewela, a multicultural and multireligious town in central Sri Lanka. He started his political journey with the student wing of the JVP, a Marxist-Leninist party that led rebellions in the 1970s and 1980s in which more than 80,000 people died, before renouncing violence.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Stage results
1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:39:05
2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team BikeExchange 0:00:08
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma same time
4. Jack Haig (AUS) Bahrain Victorious s.t
5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates s.t
7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ s.t
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (COL) EF Education-Nippo s.t
9. Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo s.t
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers s.t
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Not Dark Yet
Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer
Four stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Company%20Profile
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