MYANMAR: The country held phase one of its first election in five years yesterday, as the ruling junta claims it is managing a transition back to the multi-party system it overthrew in 2021.
Critics say the vote is neither free nor fair and is further complicated by ongoing civil war. 
“The public is not interested in the fake election that will be held at gunpoint,” the Communist Party of Burma said ahead of the vote.

FRANCE: Actor Brigitte Bardot died yesterday aged 91.
A ’60s icon, Bardot later turned to vegetarianism and combined animal rights activism with far-right politics, repeatedly expressing support for the Front National and the Le Pens, the father and daughter who have successively led French fascism.

UNITED STATES: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talks with US leader Donald Trump yesterday on how to end the war with Russia.
Mr Zelensky has objected to US proposals Ukraine should cede territory, and is calling for a demilitarised zone with a requirement for Russian troops to retreat too.
Mr Trump said ahead of the talks: “Zelensky doesn’t have anything until I approve.”

IRAN: Russia sent three Iranian satellites into orbit yesterday.
Russia’s assistance in getting Iranian satellites into space underlines the countries’ “strategic partnership,” but is also a way for Iran to avoid the ire of the United States, which says satellite launches by Iran are problematic as they involve rocketry capable of delivering ballistic missiles.