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India’s stunning World Cup semi-final win over Australia was described Friday as the greatest day in the history of women’s cricket in the country, with Jemimah Rodrigues hailed for her “innings of a lifetime”.Batter Rodrigues hit an unbeaten 127 as the hosts chased down a record 339 in Mumbai on Thursday to oust reigning seven-time champions Australia in Mumbai.India face South Africa in the final at the same venue on Sunday as both teams attempt to win the one-day tournament for the first time in its 52-year history.Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to take India into their third final of an ODI World Cup, triggering emotional scenes.The 25-year-old Rodrigues sank to her knees in tears while her teammates rushed to celebrate the sensational upset.”This is the greatest day in the history of Indian women’s cricket,” veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle said on X.Virat Kohli, the star batsman from the men’s team, called Rodrigues’s display the “standout performance”.”A true display of resilience, belief and passion,” he said on social media.Former men’s captain Sunil Gavaskar called the victory “exhilarating” and “absolutely thrilling”, especially because they were clear underdogs.”They’d lost to three big guns in the tournament and then to come back the way they have just tells you the determination of this team,” the batting great said on TV channel India Today.  “So clearly you can say that the Indian women’s team has definitely come of age.”India lost three successive matches in the league phase before clinching the last semi-final spot, in contrast to Australia’s unbeaten run into the final four.India were in trouble at 59-2 in reply to Australia’s massive 338 when Rodrigues turned the game on its head in a 167-run third-wicket partnership with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89.Rodrigues, a middle-order batter who had a modest start in the tournament and was dropped in the league game against England, was promoted to number three and delivered when it mattered.”When you are left and then come back into the team the pressure is way too high… today’s innings was a marvellous innings,” said Gavaskar.That was echoed by former national cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who called it an “innings of a lifetime”.”Fantastic to watch free-flowing cricket by Jemimah Rodrigues,” he said on X.”In and out from the team but she never stopped believing.”India have twice been runners-up, in 2005 and 2017.In 2017 they beat Australia in the semi-finals before losing to England.

Jemimah Rodrigues hit an unbeaten 127 as India pulled off a record chase of 339 against Australia on Thursday to set up a World Cup final against South Africa.Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 89, put on 167 runs for the third wicket as India won with nine balls and five wickets to spare at DY Patil Stadium, on the outskirts of Mumbai.The hosts finished on a total of 341-5 in reply to Australia’s impressive 338 and ensured there will be a new name on the 50-over trophy on Sunday.Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary to trigger wild celebrations in the Indian camp, with smiles and tears of joy in the dugout.”Firstly, I want to thank Jesus, because I couldn’t do this on my own. I know he carried me through today,” said player-of-the-match Rodrigues, a Christian born in Mumbai.”It was really hard these last four months, but it just feels like a dream and it’s not sunk in yet.”Towards the end, I was just quoting a scripture from the Bible — to just stand still and that God will fight for me. I just stood there and he fought for me.”India have twice been World Cup runners-up, in 2005 and 2017.The hosts topped Australia’s 331-7 against India earlier in the current tournament — which was itself a new record chase for a women’s one-day international.It meant seven-time champions Australia suffered their first defeat in the ODI World Cup since 2017, when India beat them in the semi-final.India appeared to be in deep trouble at 59-2 in the 10th over with Shafali Verma (10) and star batter Smriti Mandhana (24) dismissed.But Rodrigues and Kaur rode out the storm and then took the attack to the opposition in front of a sizeable, partisan crowd.- Dropped chances -A key moment in the game came when Australia captain and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy dropped Rodrigues when she was on 82.Annabel Sutherland broke through to dismiss Kaur for 89, with India needing another 113 for victory.Rodrigues had another reprieve when she was put down by Tahila McGrath on 106 and stayed cool despite Deepti Sharma’s run out for 24 and then Richa Ghosh’s dismissal for 26.Kaur said she did not “have words to express myself”.”Feeling great, we’ve been working for so many years,” she said. “It’s an amazing feeling.Healy said her team had let themselves down.”Did not finish with the bat well, did not bowl that great, dropped chances in the field,” she said. “But ultimately, outdone in the end.”Australia earlier elected to bat in overcast conditions and Phoebe Litchfield smashed 119 off 93 balls.India struck regular blows after a second-wicket partnership of 155 between Litchfield and Ellyse Perry, who made 77 after overturning an early lbw decision.But Ashleigh Gardner ensured that Australia’s good start did not go to waste, contributing a brisk 63 before a clatter of wickets in the final over.Spinners Shree Charani and Deepti took two wickets each.Both teams wore black armbands in memory of 17-year-old Australian cricketer Ben Austin, who died Thursday after being struck with a ball while training in Melbourne.

India batsman Shreyas Iyer said Thursday he was “getting better every passing day” after lacerating his spleen when falling heavily in a one-day clash against Australia.The 30-year-old vice-captain doubled over in pain after pulling off a sensational catch to remove Alex Carey in the third ODI in Sydney on Saturday.He was rushed to hospital with the Board of Control for Cricket in India revealing he suffered internal bleeding.”I’m currently in recovery process and getting better every passing day,” Iyer said on social media in his first comments since the incident.”I’m deeply grateful to see all the kind wishes and support I’ve received — it truly means a lot to me.”Thank you for keeping me in your thoughts,” he added.India’s Twenty20 captain Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday said doctors and physiotherapists described the injury as “rare”. “But rare things happen to rare talent. God is with him and he will recover soon and we will take him along with us,” he said.Iyer is not part of India’s T20 squad, which will play the second of five matches against Australia at a sold-out Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.The opening game in Canberra was washed out.

Pakistan said Wednesday that peace talks with Afghanistan had failed, in a blow to hopes for a lasting truce after the South Asian neighbours’ deadliest border clashes in years.The violence, which killed more than 70 people and wounded hundreds, erupted following explosions in Kabul on October 9 that the Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan.Both sides had been holding talks in Istanbul aimed at securing peace.”Regrettably, the Afghan side gave no assurances, kept deviating from the core issue and resorted to blame game, deflection and ruses,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X after four days of negotiations brokered by Qatar and Turkey.”The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution.”Tarar said Pakistan engaged with Afghanistan in the spirit of peace, but accused Kabul of “unabated support to anti-Pakistan terrorists”.”We will continue to take all possible measures necessary to protect our people from the menace of terrorism,” he added.Hours later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on X that “any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures”.Afghanistan has not commented so far.It is not clear whether negotiators from both sides remain in Istanbul, and the Turkish foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for Afghanistan’s interior ministry, told Afghan media outlet Ariana News on Tuesday that any attack would be met with a response “that will serve as a lesson for Pakistan and a message for others”.Relations between the one-time allies, who share a 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier, have soured in recent years over accusations from Islamabad that Afghanistan harbours militant groups which stage attacks in Pakistan.Of particular concern is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses the Taliban authorities of allowing to use Afghan territory as a “training-cum-logistic base and jump off point for terrorist activities”.The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations.- Border shut -A Pakistani security source, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said Tuesday the Afghan delegation initially agreed to take “credible and decisive action” against the TTP, but “reversed its position repeatedly after instructions from Kabul”.After the October 9 explosions in the Afghan capital, which coincided with a visit to New Delhi by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi, the Taliban launched a retaliatory border offensive. Pakistan responded with strikes. An initial 48-hour ceasefire lapsed before a second truce emerged on October 19 following talks in Doha, also brokered by Qatar and Turkey.The border between the two neighbours has been closed for more than two weeks, and news of the state of the talks was met with despair.Abdul Jabbar, a vehicle spare parts trader in the Pakistani border town of Chaman, told AFP the closure was “very concerning” for businesses.”Trade suffers greatly. Both countries face losses — both are Islamic nations,” the 40-year-old said.A resident, Ehsanullah, told AFP he was disappointed the talks had failed.”May God make the talks successful so that peace, brotherhood, and trade can be restored,” the 26-year-old said.In Spin Boldak on the Afghan side, a driver had told AFP that “fruit is rotting” in trucks.”There are 50 to 60 trucks, some with apples, others with pomegranates and grapes,” said 25-year-old Gul, who only gave his first name. The violence killed at least 50 Afghan civilians and wounded 447 others in one week, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told AFP on Monday.Pakistan’s military said on October 12 that 23 personnel had been killed and 29 wounded, without detailing civilian casualties.burs-abs/rsc

Persistent rain forced the opening Twenty20 clash between Australia and India to be abandoned on Wednesday, leaving Suryakumar Yadav stranded on 39 and Shubman Gill on 37.After being sent in on a chilly Canberra night, the visitors raced to 97-1 off 9.4 overs before being forced off for a second time by the weather with no more play possible.India got off to a solid start with their newest T20 sensation Abhishek Sharma signalling his intent immediately, advancing down the wicket to Josh Hazlewood on his first ball.He clobbered four boundaries in a quick-fire 19, but the gung-ho innings came to an end against Nathan Ellis, deceived by a slower ball and caught by Tim David at mid-off.Skipper Yadav slammed a giant six off Hazlewood before they were forced off by drizzle on 43-1 from five overs.When they returned after 45 minutes and with the game reduced to 18 overs, the runs began flowing for Yadav and Gill as they upped the ante. But the rain came back and they went off again having reached 97-1 and that proved the end of the match.The second game is at a sold-out Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

Bangladesh’s fugitive ex-leader Sheikh Hasina warned Wednesday that holding elections without her party — the first since her overthrow — was “sowing the seeds” of further division in her country.In written responses to AFP, her first interview since being ousted, Hasina also condemned her crimes against humanity trial as a “jurisprudential joke”, adding she believed a guilty verdict was “preordained”.Toppled in August 2024 by a student-led uprising that ended her 15-year autocratic rule, Hasina fled by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.The UN says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as she tried to cling to power — deaths now at the centre of her trial.The 78-year-old former prime minister has been in hiding ever since, hosted by old ally India.But she remains defiant, and, in comments likely to enrage the many who say she made a ruthless bid to maintain power at all costs, she said she “mourned all the lives lost during the terrible days” when students were gunned down in the streets.She warned that the ban on her Awami League by the interim government of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was deepening a political crisis in the country of 170 million people, ahead of elections slated for February 2026.”Elections without the direct participation of all major parties, including the Awami League, cannot be credible,” she said.While she has issued social media messages to supporters, her response to AFP marks her first direct communication with journalists since her overthrow.”Without the participation of the Awami League, he is sowing the seeds of future division in the country,” she added.”Yunus must reinstate the Awami League to give Bangladeshis the choice they deserve.”- ‘Capital crimes’ -Rights groups long accused her government of a litany of abuses, including the murder of rivals, suppression of opposition parties, rigged courts and one sided elections.Bangladesh’s interim government banned Hasina’s Awami League in May under amendments to the anti-terrorism act — a move Human Rights Watch condemned as “draconian”.”Free and fair elections require genuine competition, the ability of all parties to campaign, and the electorate’s right to choose between alternatives,” Hasina said.”Elections are a competition of ideas. You cannot ostracise a party because you don’t like their policies.”Her rivals, long crushed under her rule, are now resurgent.The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is seen as the frontrunner, while Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim-majority country’s largest Islamist party, is rising in popularity.Hasina meanwhile has defied court orders to return to attend her trial on whether she bears command responsibility for the deadly crackdown, charges amounting to crimes against humanity under Bangladeshi law.Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam has accused Hasina of being “the nucleus around whom all the crimes were committed” during the uprising, and has called for the death penalty if found guilty.”The charges themselves are rejected in full and are not supported by any evidence,” Hasina said.”It has been appointed by an unelected administration consisting of my political opponents to try me in absentia for capital crimes.”A verdict is due on November 13.”A guilty verdict is pre-ordained, sadly, and I will not be surprised when it comes,” she said.- ‘Open fire on crowds’ -Hasina was defended by a state-appointed lawyer, but said she would only recognise an “impartial” process, such as one at the International Criminal Court (ICC). “The charge that I personally directed security forces to open fire on crowds is bogus,” she said, although she admitted that “some mistakes were certainly made within the chain of command”.”But on the whole, the decisions made by senior government officials were proportionate in nature, made in good faith and intended to minimise the loss of life.”The prosecution, who insist the trial was fair, have played audio tapes verified by police that suggested Hasina directly ordered her security forces to “use lethal weapons” against protesters.Hasina claimed the recordings had been “taken out of context”.She also pointed to a crackdown on her loyalists since her fall, including when security forces in February launched “Operation Devil Hunt”, arresting thousands accused of trying to “destabilise” the country.At the same time, she gave no information on the fate of the hundreds, if not thousands, of missing victims reported to have vanished into secret detention centres during her rule.Earlier this month, lawyers for the Awami League requested that the ICC investigate reported “retaliatory violence”.This includes allegations of “beatings and lynchings” which have “no realistic prospect” of being prosecuted in Bangladesh, senior British barrister Steven Powles KC said in a statement.As for the future, when asked by AFP if she plans a return to politics, Hasina replied: “My priority is the welfare and stability of Bangladesh.”

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.

Defending champions Australia surged unbeaten into the Women’s World Cup semi-finals and are clear favourites to defeat hosts India in front of an expected sell-out crowd.Seven-time champions Australia won six of their seven league matches to underline why they are the team to beat in the 50-over tournament, the other game being a washout.India and Australia clash at the 45,000-capacity DY Patil Stadium on the outskirts of Mumbai on Thursday after the first semi-final between England and South Africa in Guwahati on Wednesday.India will have the crowd firmly on their side and the country of 1.4 billion is desperate to win a first women’s World Cup crown in its favourite sport.”You’re not just playing the XI on the field, you’re playing their whole nation, and the whole stadium is going to be a sea of blue,” Australia leg-spinner Alana King said.”But I think the biggest thing is just embrace it. We know not everything’s going to be on our side that night, but if we just stick together and stick to our processes and try to execute our plans that we’ve got with bat and ball, it’s going to put us in a better position.”Australia suffered a few scares in the first stage, including when Pakistan reduced them to 76-7 in a match they eventually won convincingly by 107 runs.India, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, also tested Australia by posting 330 but the title-holders overhauled the total with three wickets and one over to spare.Australia are sweating on the return of skipper Alyssa Healy, who missed the last two league matches with a calf injury after scoring 294 runs including two centuries in four innings.In their previous victory, over South Africa, Australia were clinical with King starring with best-ever World Cup bowling figures of 7-18.- Australia beatable -In contrast, India had a patchy run in the league phase, where they lost three successive matches before clinching the last semi-final spot.Opener Smriti Mandhana is in top form and leads the tournament batting with 365 runs including one ton in seven matches.But the home team suffered a blow when another in-form opener, Pratika Rawal, went out injured in their last league match and has been replaced by Shafali Verma for the semi-final.India have twice been runners-up, in 2005 and 2017 — when they beat Australia in the semi-finals before losing to England.Since that semi-final defeat to India, Australia have been on a roll with 15 ODI World Cup wins in a row.Former India captain Mithali Raj said the current team can halt the Australian juggernaut. “I think now there is this thought that it’s a possibility to beat this Australian side despite all the strengths that they boast,” Raj told ESPNcricinfo.- Hot and cold -England, the most successful team historically behind Australia, take on perennial underdogs South Africa.Led by Nat Sciver-Brunt, England’s only defeat so far at this edition of the tournament was to Ashes rivals Australia.They are favourites against a South Africa team that was bundled out for 97 before Australia raced to their target in 16.5 overs in the league stage.Opener Laura Wolvaardt has led the Proteas with 301 runs and will be key to giving them a strong start in the knockout match.The South Africans have run hot and cold in the eight-nation tournament, including notching up a total of 312-9 in 40 overs in a big win over Pakistan.The final is on Sunday.

Thousands of devotees waded into the foul waters of the Yamuna river in the Indian capital Monday for a Hindu festival, amid political wrangling over the sacred but severely polluted waterway.At dusk, worshippers stood waist-deep in the river’s brown waters to offer prayers to the sun god Surya as the setting orb sank into the haze blanketing New Delhi’s skyline, marking the annual Chhath festival.Unlike previous years, the scene was free of the thick layers of white foam that have long symbolised the Yamuna’s toxic condition.”At least this time it feels like a river, even if dirty,” said 35-year-old homemaker Kanchan Devi.”Earlier it was like going into a filthy drain.”The Yamuna river, a major tributary of the Ganges, continues to suffer from severe pollution despite repeated clean-up pledges.At one location in south Delhi in 2021, faecal bacteria levels exceeded safe health limits by 8,800 times.The river’s dismal condition was a key issue in Delhi elections earlier this year that saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) return to power in the sprawling megacity of more than 30 million people.One of the Hindu nationalist party’s main campaign promises was to clean the river.Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said Monday that becuase of her government’s efforts, “after many years, our brothers and sisters will be able to worship the sun on the banks of the Yamuna.” – ‘Cosmetic’ -“This water is now in such a condition that aquatic creatures can live very well in it, whereas earlier, even a mosquito could not thrive in this water,” Gupta told reporters.But opposition leaders have called the clean-up “cosmetic”, alleging that chemicals had been used to mask the froth without addressing the fundamental causes of the pollution: untreated sewage and industrial effluents.Laboratory analysis conducted earlier this month indicated that the faecal count in the river had reduced since last year but remained far from safe at most sites.”All said and done, it is certainly better than before,” said Sanjay Paswan, a carpenter.”I have been coming here for a decade. The difference is clear.”Delhi’s pollution crisis extends beyond its rivers.The capital is routinely blanketed by toxic smog each winter, a deadly combination of emissions from crop burning, factories and traffic.Despite years of government initiatives, little progress has been made, and the pollution is blamed for thousands of premature deaths annually.Earlier this month, air quality worsened sharply, following widespread use of fireworks during the Hindu festival of Diwali.Although bans have been imposed in previous years, enforcement has been weak due to the deep religious significance of fireworks for many devotees.This year, the Supreme Court eased restrictions, allowing the use of so-called “green” firecrackers that are designed to emit fewer particulate pollutants.At the Chhath festivities too, firecrackers lit up the sky, leaving the air acrid with the smell of burnt sulphur.Revellers, though, said they were not concerned.”At least the water is clean and so is the riverbank,” said daily wage labourer Sanjay Prasad.

Optimism grew Monday that Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping will end their bruising trade war during talks this week, as the US president touched down in Tokyo on the latest leg of an Asian tour.Trump said en route to close US ally Japan that he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi on Thursday, while also indicating he was willing to extend his trip in order to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.”I have a lot of respect for President Xi and we are going to I think… come away with a deal,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, adding that he aimed to go to China “in the earlier part” of 2026.The optimism boosted stock markets, with Japan’s Nikkei surpassing 50,000 points for the first time.As dozens of people gathered at Haneda Airport to take photos, the presidential plane — also bearing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — landed at sunset.Sporting a golden tie, Trump boarded a helicopter to take him into the bright lights of the Japanese metropolis in time for an evening audience with the emperor.”A great man,” Trump said afterwards.On Tuesday, Trump was expected to meet new conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and make a speech on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier, docked at the US naval base Yokosuka.”I hear phenomenal things. (Takaichi) was a great ally and friend of Shinzo Abe, who was my friend,” Trump said, referring to the assassinated former premier.- ‘Framework consensus’ -Trump’s Asia trip, his first tour of the region since returning to office, kicked off in Malaysia on Sunday with a flurry of agreements on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.He also moved to mend fences with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but not with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, ruling out a meeting any time soon.”Canada has been ripping us off for a long time and they’re not going to rip us off any more,” Trump said.The greatest prize for Trump — and for global markets — remains a China deal.Trump is due to meet Xi on Thursday in South Korea for their first face-to-face talks since the 79-year-old Republican’s return to the White House.Before Trump’s arrival in Malaysia, Bessent and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng held two days of trade talks, seeking an agreement to avoid additional 100 percent tariffs due to come into effect on November 1.Negotiators from Beijing and Washington have both confirmed a “framework” has been agreed.”The two sides… reached a framework consensus on reciprocal solutions to current pressing economic and trade issues,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, according to a state media readout of his Monday call with Rubio.Earlier on Air Force One, Bessent said they had “a framework for President Trump (and) President Xi to decide”.- ‘Hot’ trucks -On Friday, Takaichi announced in her first policy speech that Japan would be spending two percent of gross domestic product on defence this fiscal year.But Washington, which has around 60,000 military personnel in Japan, wants Tokyo to spend more, potentially matching the five percent of GDP pledged by NATO members in June.Most Japanese imports into the United States are subject to tariffs of 15 percent, less painful than the 25 percent first threatened.However, Trump also wants Japan to import more American products like rice, soybeans and cars, including “hot” Ford F-150 pickup trucks.Questions also surround Japan’s commitment to invest $550 billion in the United States, as specified in their July trade deal.”What I expect is that, since he (Trump) is someone who acts decisively, things might move in a positive direction for Japan,” said Tokyo resident Sayaka Kamimoto, 45.- Kim meeting? -Trump is due in South Korea on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and will meet President Lee Jae Myung.Trump has also fuelled speculation that he could hold face-to-face talks with North Korea’s Kim while on the Korean peninsula.The two leaders last met in 2019 at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the border area separating the two Koreas.”I would love to meet with him if he’d like to meet. I got along great with Kim Jong Un. I liked him. He liked me,” Trump said on Air Force One.Asked if he would extend his trip to enable a meeting, he said: “Well, I hadn’t thought of it, but I think the answer would be yeah, I would, I would do that, sure.”