Campaigning begins in Myanmar’s junta-run election

Parties approved to participate in Myanmar’s junta-organised elections started campaigning on Tuesday, two months ahead of a poll being shunned at home and abroad as a ploy to legitimise military rule.Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military snatched power in a 2021 coup, deposing and jailing democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi after her party won the last election by wide margins.The junta has lost swathes of the country to pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic-minority armed factions, but has touted elections as a path to reconciliation.Rebels have pledged to boycott the vote in huge enclaves they control, while human rights groups and a UN expert have denounced the poll’s restrictive conditions in junta-held zones.”This election means nothing to me,” said one 60-year-old man in Sittwe city, the capital of western Rakhine state. “It is not a genuine election and I see no one supporting it.””People are struggling with their own problems,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity for security concerns in a region where fighting has triggered a humanitarian crisis.”I see more and more beggars in town as people are starving. People have no jobs and so the election seems like a distant prospect. They have no time to be interested in it.”There will be 57 parties on the ballot when polls take place in phases beginning on December 28.State media said on Tuesday that the second round was set for January 11, but subsequent rounds and a result date have not been announced.Suu Kyi’s vastly popular National League for Democracy — which won 82 percent of elected seats in the last poll in 2020 — will not run because the junta dissolved the party after jailing her and making unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud.The gate was locked at the deserted party headquarters in Yangon on Tuesday, an AFP journalist said.- ‘Just want to go home’ -The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) began its campaign by unveiling election billboards in the capital Naypyidaw, where voting will be held in most constituencies in the first phase of the election.Several thousand USDP members and supporters attended a kick-off event in the city, including candidates Mya Tun Oo and Tin Aung San, both former generals and current ministers under US sanctions.Campaigning is expected to be generally low-key with high security amid the civil war.”It is unlikely I will go for voting and I have no idea if I am on the voter list,” said one civilian displaced by fighting to the central city of Mandalay, speaking anonymously for security reasons.”We are not very interested,” he added. “We just want to go home.”In Yangon, about 300 supporters of the pro-military party, dressed in green and white, gathered at its office, an AFP journalist saw.Red and green party flags lined the street, with around a dozen armed soldiers and police patrolling the area.Khin Maung Soe, Yangon regional chairman of the USDP, said his party planned to campaign in townships the Union Election Commission had designated and where security could be ensured, like Yangon.”There won’t be any parading on the street,” he said.The junta has conceded elections will not take place in one in seven national parliament constituencies, many of them active war zones, while martial law remains in place in one in five townships.The military government has introduced laws punishing those who protest against the election with up to a decade in prison, and new cybercrime laws police the internet for communications that “disrupt unity”.Diplomatic sources told AFP on Monday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will not send election observers to Myanmar.Numerous rights groups lobbied the 11-nation bloc to hold back monitors, lest they lend legitimacy to a vote which they say will be neither free nor fair.

Beef, defence deals and rare earths: how Japan’s new leader wooed Trump

Japan pulled out all stops for this week’s visit by US President Donald Trump — his first with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.The US president’s visit was a major diplomatic test for Takaichi, who has only been in office for a week.From pledges that Tokyo will spend much more on its defence to supporting Trump’s Nobel Peace Prize bid, here’s how Takaichi sought to woo the mercurial US leader:- ‘Golden Age’ and Nobel Peace Prize -“I was very impressed and inspired by you,” Takaichi told Trump as they met, calling for “a new golden age of the Japan-US alliance”.Takaichi also announced during the visit that she will nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize.Since returning to the White House for his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly insisted that he deserves the prize for his role in resolving numerous conflicts.Observers say Trump’s claims of helping bring about world peace are broadly exaggerated.But Tokyo was keen to burnish the US leader’s bid to join the ranks of former president Barack Obama and journalist Maria Ressa, praising Trump’s efforts towards a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia and his “unprecedented historic achievement” of the Gaza deal.- Baseball and slogan caps -Speaking after their meeting, Takaichi apologised for being late and explained that they had been watching a World Series baseball game — which also featured Japanese star player Shohei Ohtani.The two leaders also signed black “Japan is back” caps, reminiscent of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats.- US beef on the menu -Menus at summit lunches are often carefully considered with diplomatic niceties in mind.And Tokyo’s choice was no exception, deftly blending US produce with Japanese ingredients.For starters guests were served a “US rice cheese risotto with chicken”, while mains were New York strip steak with gravy and warm vegetables from the southern Japanese city of Nara — Takaichi’s hometown.Not exactly traditional Japanese fare, but tailormade to appeal to Trump’s push to sell more American agricultural products and backing for US farmers, a key support base.- Defence spending -Trump has for years grumbled that US allies in Asia including Japan do not spend enough on their own defence and urged them to pay more for US military presence on their territory.Days before Trump’s arrival, Takaichi told Japan’s parliament that Tokyo’s target of spending two percent of its gross domestic product on defence would be achieved this fiscal year — two years earlier than planned.Japan had also committed to acquiring counter-attack capabilities including Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, part of a contract signed in January 2024.- Rare earths and shipbuilding -Tokyo signed a key deal with Washington for “securing” supplies of critical minerals and rare earths.Under the agreement, the United States and Japan would “jointly identify projects of interest to address gaps in supply chains for critical minerals and rare earths”.It comes as the United States tries to boost access to critical minerals with China tightening controls on rare earths.The world’s second-largest economy exercises a virtual monopoly on so-called “rare earth” metals, essential for everything from household appliances to cars, energy and even weapons.Another cooperation agreement was signed Tuesday between Tokyo and Washington on shipbuilding, a sector where Japan and neighbour South Korea are seeking to challenge Chinese dominance.- Golf and memories of Abe -Takaichi had another ace up her sleeve — her ties to her mentor, former premier Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022 and with whom Trump became close during his first term.She thanked Trump for his “enduring friendship” with Abe and later gifted him a golf putter used by the late premier.The sport was a shared passion of Trump and Abe’s, and the two met several times on the golf course.The US president also met with the politician’s widow, Akie Abe, who said afterwards: “He still holds my husband in high regard and offered me warm words.”Another gift planned by Tokyo, according to Japanese media, is gold-plated golf balls.

Ligue 1: Neves et Ruiz de retour à l’entraînement au Paris SG

Les milieux de terrain Joao Neves et Fabian Ruiz sont de retour à l’entraînement du Paris Saint-Germain, a annoncé le club mardi, à la veille d’un match à Lorient comptant pour la 10e journée de Ligue 1.Visibles sur les 15 minutes d’entraînement filmées par le PSG, le Portugais Neves, touché aux ischios, n’a plus joué depuis le 17 septembre. L’Espagnol Ruiz, touché à la jambe gauche, n’a plus joué pour sa part depuis le 1er octobre.”C’est une très bonne nouvelle, ils sont dans une récupération presque totale. Tous les joueurs qui sont dans le groupe postulent, on verra. C’est une très bonne nouvelle d’avoir des joueurs +nouveaux+, c’est important pour nous”, a déclaré devant la presse l’entraineur Luis Enrique, qui a décidé de laisser au repos le latéral droit Achraf Hakimi pour le déplacement à Lorient mercredi (21h00).Dans le communiqué médical diffusé mardi, le PSG indique que Fabian Ruiz “est en phase de reprise”, ne mentionnant rien sur l’autre milieu Joao Neves.Le PSG, leader de L1 avec un point d’avance sur Lens avant la 10e journée, récupère petit à petit ses blessés. Ousmane Dembélé a retrouvé les terrains la semaine dernière après plus d’un mois d’absence pour blessure. Désiré Doué, également touché mi-septembre avec l’équipe de France, rejoue pour sa part depuis dix jours. Et le capitaine Marquinhos a rejoué ses première minutes depuis un mois samedi à Brest.