South Korea’s vote. South Korean opposition Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-Myung is leading the vote count after today’s presidential election, according to an exit poll. Turnout was high and may have surpassed a previous record, national broadcaster KBS reported. The vote followed six months of political crisis triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of marital law last December and his subsequent impeachment.
Security forces shift in Syria. Hundreds of U.S. troops withdrew from Syria in recent weeks as part of a planned drawdown, an unnamed U.S. official told Al Arabiya. Separately, the U.S. special envoy to Syria said that the Trump administration now approved the integration of foreign fighters into the Syrian military, which Washington had opposed until at least early May. Syria’s interim government reportedly argued that integrating them into the army is less of a risk than leaving them to potentially join nonstate militant groups. Many of the foreign fighters in question are Uyghur Muslims from China or neighboring countries.
Charges for Boulder attack. Federal authorities on Monday charged Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect in Sunday’s Boulder, Colorado attack on a march for Israeli hostages, with a hate crime. He is facing sixteen counts of attempted murder and other charges, officials said. Soliman, an Egyptian national, had entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2022 and applied for asylum, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Reported details of Iran talks. The U.S. proposal for a nuclear deal shared with Iran over the weekend would allow Iran to keep enriching uranium at limited amounts, two unnamed sources told Axios. The White House press secretary did not deny the details of the proposal described to Axios, although Trump posted on social media hours later that Washington would not allow enrichment. The reported proposal would require Iran to halt new research and development on centrifuges and temporarily make its underground enrichment facilities “non-operational”; U.S. sanctions relief would be contingent on Iran demonstrating “commitment.”
Dutch government collapse. Far-right politician Geert Wilders said he would withdraw his party from the Dutch ruling coalition over its lack of support for their proposal to restrict asylum, a move that could topple the current government and lead to new elections. The government has been in power for less than a year. A snap election could delay a decision on increasing military spending in line with new NATO targets.
UK defense overhaul. The United Kingdom (UK) will build up to twelve new attack submarines and at least six new munitions plants as part of a military strategy overhaul, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday. The government has already committed to upping military spending from 2.3 to 2.5 percent of national income by 2027. Separately, the European Commission approved a partnership yesterday between Italian, Japanese, and UK firms to produce a next-generation fighter jet.
Mongolian PM ousted. Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai resigned today after losing a parliamentary confidence vote in the wake of anti-government protests. The demonstrations were sparked by social media posts showing the prime minister’s son displaying luxury goods. Protesters said the country’s mineral wealth had been pocketed by the elite while many Mongolians experienced a cost-of-living crisis. Oyun-Erdene said today that he had been “paying insufficient attention to social and internal political matters.”
EU restrictions on Chinese goods. European Union (EU) countries voted yesterday to limit Chinese medical device makers’ access to their government procurement contracts, unnamed sources told multiple news outlets. The measures follow a 2022 EU law that aims for reciprocity in public procurement contracts. Beijing has pushed local procurement in recent years in the sector. A European Commission spokesperson did not immediately comment.
