Thailand’s May 14 election pits Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and the militaryestablishment against the youthful scion of the country’s most famous political dynasty, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Why it matters: Thailand has been in quasi-democratic limbo since 2019 when Prayuth was elected after stacking the deck in his own favor while leading a military junta. Since then, Thailand has seen dramatic protests and Prayuth's approval ratings have plummeted.
The State Department said on Mondaythat Secretary of State Tony Blinken has formally determined Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was "wrongfully detained" by Russia.
Why it matters: The formal determination transfers supervision of the case to the State Department's Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which will work with other government and non-government agencies and organizations to "develop a strategy to secure" Gershkovich's release.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday reversed his decision to fire Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who was initially sacked after calling on the government to suspend its judicial overhaul plan.
Why it matters: Netanyahu’s decision to keep Gallant in place is seen by many as a major achievement for the anti-government protesters, who held spontaneous demonstrations in support of the defense minister after his firing was announced two weeks ago.
China on Monday sentenced two leading human rights defenders each to more than a decade in prison, according to the family of one of the activists.
Driving the news: The 14-year sentence for legal scholar Xu Zhiyong and 12-year sentence for human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi, who were both convicted on "subversion" charges, are the latest move in the Chinese government's yearslong crackdown on dissent.
The Justice Department has opened an investigation into reports that a trove of apparently classified U.S. intelligence documents was leaked online from the Pentagon, the Defense Department said on Sunday night.
Driving the news: Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said in an emailed statement that officials are assessing the validity of the material, which the New York Times reports indicates that U.S. intelligence has penetrated Russia's military and also apparently spied on allies including Israel, South Korea and Ukraine.
Tesla will open a "Megafactory" in the Chinese city of Shanghai, the electric vehicle maker announced Sunday.
The big picture: The factory "will initially produce 10,000 Megapack" battery units per year, equal to about 40 gigawatt hours of energy storage, to be sold globally, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua first reported on Sunday.
Minor League Baseball is honoring a 4,000-year-old Maya sport and other symbols of Latino identity as part of itsCopa de la Diversión, a series-long initiative aimed at appealing to U.S. Hispanics.
Why it matters: The Copa de la Diversión is seeking to grow its Latino fan base as professional baseball continues to seedeclining attendance and viewership.
