Seoul: Thousands take to the streets demanding a rerun of local elections
Today's news: As the United States and Iran exchange fire, sirens blare in Kuwait and Bahrain. In his meeting with Myanmar’s Cardinal Bo, Pope Leo reiterates his appeal to "not forget" the Southeast Asian country. The former head of the Tibet Autonomous Region was sentenced to life in prison for corruption. Bhutan offers cash to families to counter demographic decline. After more than 10 months, four Indian sailors are still stranded on a container ship off the Turkish coast.
SOUTH KOREA
More than 6,000 people protested yesterday evening in front of a vote-counting centre in Seoul, demanding that the local elections held this week be rerun after a shortage of ballots prevented some people from voting. According to Yonhap, a crowd gathered at the SK Olympic Handball Stadium, where ballots from the latest round of elections were counted, part of a process to elect mayors, provincial governors, county officials, and members of local assemblies. Protesters, monitored closely by police, waved the national flag, calling for new elections. Dozens of people, mostly in their 20 and 30s, joined the protest after watching videos of protests on YouTube and other social media.
GULF – IRAN – UNITED STATES
The fragile truce between the United States and Iran is teetering once again, following renewed exchanges of fire between the two sides on 3 June, which culminated in a drone attack on Kuwait’s International Airport, that killed one person and wounded dozens more. Iran reportedly fired seven missiles at Kuwait and Bahrain, six of which were intercepted and the last one missed its target, according to US sources. Previously, the United States bombed radar sites in Iran “to defend against further attacks”, after downing four Islamic Republic drones that allegedly threatened civilian maritime traffic in the region. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who had asked Tehran to “not to interfere” in the country's affairs, to "save" Lebanon from the "real enemy”, Israel.
MYANMAR – VATICAN
"Myanmar is not forgotten, but it is always in his prayers,” said Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon. Accompanied by fellow bishops, the prelate, who also chairs the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar, met with Pope Leo XIV yesterday during their ad limina visit to the Vatican. The audience lasted nearly two hours and focused, as a Vatican statement explains, on the training seminarians and priests, as well as the situation in the country and the Church's response. Cardinal Bo added that the pontiff "will continue asking the world not to forget Myanmar, like Pope Francis”, who in his last two years repeatedly said: “‘Non dimenticare il Myanmar’ (Don’t forget Myanmar)’.” Meanwhile, due to the civil war sparked by the February 2021 coup, at least five of Myanmar's 17 bishops have been forced to leave their episcopal sees: Pekhon, Loikaw, Banmaw, Mindat, and Lashio.
TIBET – CHINA
Che Dalha (or Qizhala), the 67-year-old former governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region, has been sentenced to life in prison for corruption. Xinhua reported that the ethnic Tibetan illegally took more than 158 million yuan from 1999 to 2025 while working in the southwestern border regions of Tibet and Yunnan. He also headed the Communist Party in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and chaired the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the region's second-highest official.
BHUTAN
Concerned about population decline, the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has announced cash incentives for families to have more children. Nestled between China and India in the eastern Himalayas, the country of fewer than 800,000 people plans to offer monthly bonuses of about US$ 105 for every third and subsequent child born starting 4 June. The incentives will be in effect until the child reaches three years of age.
INDIA – TURKEY – MONGOLIA
Four Indian sailors have been stranded for 10 months on an abandoned container ship off the coast of Istanbul, unable to leave due to maritime regulations that require vessels have sufficient crew members at all times to handle emergencies. The ship's crew is losing hope after months trapped aboard the Mongolian-flagged AZRA C, which has been docked in the Sea of Marmara since August 2025. The ship's owners were arrested in January in connection with a major international anti-drug trafficking operation.
RUSSIA
Last Thursday, 4 June, would have been Alexei Navalny’s 50th birthday. Memorial ceremonies were held in many cities in and outside of Russia, with flowers laid at his grave in Borisovskoye Cemetery. Photographer Yevgeny Feldman – who has immortalised the political leader since 2011, documenting his first protests, trials, and the 2018 presidential campaign – has recently published a collection of pictures of the late anti-corruption activist.
GEORGIA
The World Bank has granted Georgia a loan worth US$ 372 million for an infrastructure project aimed at developing the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor. The project includes buying new electric locomotives, building electrical substations, upgrading Georgia's railway infrastructure, and constructing the Badiauri-Chalaubni, Chalaubni-Bakurtsikhe, and Gurjaani-Telavi highways.
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