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Category: Europe

Myanmar election results expected at end of January, official says

Editor03 mins

An official from the commission set up by Myanmar’s ruling military junta to oversee upcoming elections said Thursday that the results of the widely disputed poll will be available by the end of January. At a news conference in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s capital, election officials said that six parties would run for nationwide seats, while another 51 others would compete in individual states or regions. The vote is scheduled to be held in three phases beginning on Dec. 28, with two weeks between each phase, officials said. The military announced the election regime in July, the first national vote since the 2021 coup that ousted Myanmar’s democratically elected government and plunged the country into civil war. It also set up an interim government with military chief Min Aung Hlaing retaining power as interim president. The military doesn’t control all of Myanmar. Vast swaths are administered by a range of armed militias, ethnic groups and pro-democracy fighters, some in open, armed conflict with the ruling junta. At the press conference, election council member Khin Maung Oo noted 63 areas “which have security risks.” “We will continue working until we can hold [the vote],” he said. The military has framed the election as a way to end the conflict. Critics have called the election a sham, saying the military would retain power regardless of the vote. However, criticism of the election is illegal in Myanmar. State-run media reported on Wednesday that a 36-year-old man in eastern Shan state was sentenced to seven years of hard labor for a Facebook post that contained surveillance video of a robbery and criticized the military junta for prioritizing the election over public safety. It was the first known conviction under a new law, enacted in July, that criminalized speech or actions that might disrupt the election or the tools used to conduct it. Includes reporting from Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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North Korea’s Kim Jong Un arrives in Beijing for military parade

Editor03 mins

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, ahead of a massive Chinese military parade on Wednesday that will celebrate 80 years since the Japanese defeat that ended World War II. Kim and his daughter Kim Ju Ae arrived at around 4 p.m. on a green train bedecked with North Korean flags. They were met at the Beijing train station by Cai Qui, China’s fifth-highest ranked official, and foreign minister Wang Yi. It’s the North Korean leader’s second reported trip abroad in six years, and his first trip to China since 2019. The event at Tiananmen Square is expected to include troops marching in formation, aircraft flyovers, displays of military equipment and some 50,000 spectators. But many eyes will be on the VIP audience, where Kim is expected to rub shoulders with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, among others. While Kim has engaged bilaterally with Xi and Putin in recent months, this will be their first gathering together. Analysts say they’ll be looking for signs of strengthening ties among the three countries. Earlier on Tuesday, Xi met with Putin at the Great Hall of the People and then again at his residence. That followed a summit on Monday in which Xi and Putin met with leaders from more than 20 non-Western countries. Among them was Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, who talked with both Xi and Putin. Includes reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Thai natural gas project suspended after pipeline explosions in Myanmar

Myanmar’s ruling junta sets Dec. 28 election date as civil war rages

Editor03 mins

The military-backed election commission in Myanmar set Dec. 28 for the initial phase of long-promised elections, the first since the 2021 coup that overthrew the country’s last elected government and kicked off a still-raging civil war. Junta leadership nominally transferred power to an interim government last month in preparation for the elections. Last week, Min Aung Hlaing, the military chief and acting president, called for increased security to protect politicians and voters, warning of a rise in attacks on civil servants, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. International observers have framed the elections as a charade to keep Min Aung Hlaing and his generals in power. Critics point to a lack of free media in Myanmar, and that most officials in the last elected government, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi, have been arrested. U.N. reports detail a regime of torture inflicted on those the military has detained. It’s also unclear how a truly national election could take place in Myanmar. Control of the country splintered after the coup, with parts of the country held by bands of pro-democracy fighters or ethnic rebel groups, some of whom have pledged to block polls in their areas. “I don’t think the election will hold any significance for the people,” a 63-year-old citizen in the western state of Rakhine told Agence France-Presse. “I think this election is only being held to give power to military dictators until the world ends.” Meanwhile, clashes continue in Myanmar’s civil war, which has killed thousands, spawned rampant poverty, and left more than 3.5 million people displaced, nearly 40 percent of whom are children. On Sunday, at least 24 people were reportedly killed after the military bombed a hospital in Mawchi, a small town in Kayah state, the Associated Press reported. Includes reporting from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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North Korea’s Kim, Putin vow cooperation in phone call

Editor02 mins

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to deepen their countries’ collaboration, North Korean state media said Wednesday, as Putin praised the “bravery, heroism, and self-sacrificing spirit” of North Korean troops who fought with the Russian military against Ukraine in the Kursk border region. On a telephone call on Tuesday with the Russian president, Kim said that North Korea would “fully support all measures to be taken by the Russian leadership in the future, too.” According to Russia’s TASS news agency, Putin shared with Kim information about his upcoming meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday. Trump is expected to press Russia to end the war with Ukraine. North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last fall, according to South Korean tallies — and it has also supplied equipment including artillery and ballistic missiles to support the operation against Ukraine. Pyongyang first acknowledged its role in the Ukraine conflict in late April, around six months after the first reports of their troops’ presence. Ukrainian officials have released handwritten letters and combat instructions that are said to have come from North Korean soldiers who were killed in battle. Ukraine has also broadcast messages in Korean appealing to North Korean soldiers to surrender. Includes reporting from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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Chinese vessels collide while chasing Philippine boat near disputed Scarborough Shoal

Editor01 mins

Two Chinese vessels collided in the South China Sea on Monday while pursuing a Philippine patrol boat near the contested Scarborough Shoal, officials in Manila said, releasing video footage of the incident. The video shows a Chinese coast guard vessel shooting a water cannon and tracking close behind a Philippine coast guard boat until it collided with a much larger People’s Liberation Army craft, leaving visible damage on both Chinese vessels. The Scarborough Shoal is a triangular chain of reefs located 125 nautical miles from the main Philippine island of Luzon. Over the past year, China has sought to strengthen its claim to the shoal, mounted large-scale military drills and deployed the world’s largest coast guard ship, known as “The Monster,” in the area. Includes reporting from Agence France-Presse. We are : Investigative Journalism Reportika Investigative Reports Daily Reports Interviews Surveys Reportika

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In Conversation with Tenzyn Zöchbauer, the Executive Director of Tibet Initiative Deutschland

Editor031 mins

Since 1989, Tibet Initiative Deutschland (TID) has been a powerful voice for Tibetan self-determination and human rights in Europe. In this in-depth interview, the Executive Director reflects on how TID has evolved into one of Europe’s most influential Tibet advocacy organizations—shaping German foreign policy debates, exposing China’s transnational repression, and amplifying Tibetan voices in the digital age. From fighting cultural genocide through awareness campaigns on colonial boarding schools to building international coalitions, TID continues to champion Tibetan rights despite growing global challenges.

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Investigative Journalism Reportika © March 2022 by Ij-Reportika is licensed under CC BY 4.0