Thai voters made clear in Sunday's election that they want change. The question is now whether the military-aligned establishment will let them have it.
Why it matters: Sunday's result was a political earthquake, not just because pro-democracy parties trounced pro-military ones, but also because the progressive party that finished first, Move Forward, campaigned on the once-taboo topic of reforming the monarchy.
If you're traveling this Memorial Day weekend, you may want to hit the road early to account for extra traffic.
What we're hearing: AAA estimates that 42.3 million Americans will travel during the holiday weekend — a 7% increase over last year. It is projected to be the third busiest Memorial Day weekend.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday called on the international community to force the Israeli government to implement the UN resolutions related to the conflict or freeze Israel’s membership in the world body.
Why it matters: Abbas was speaking during the UN's first-ever ceremony commemorating the Nakba, or the "catastrophe," which marks the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the events that led to Israel's founding in 1948.
China sentenced a 78-year-old U.S. citizen to life in prison Monday on spying charges — a move that could furthercomplicate U.S.-China diplomatic ties.
Driving the news: A court in the southeastern Chinese city of Suzhou didn't release the details of its charges against the 78-year-old John Shing-Wan Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, except to say that he was detained in Suzhou on April 15, 2021, according to a brief statement posted online.
Concerns about a rush on the border following the end of a restrictive pandemic policy have not materialized — with daily crossings cut in half compared to the record-breaking days leading up to May 11.
Why it matters: It's good news for the Biden administration's post-Title 42 approach, which included a tougher image on the border and a strict new asylum policy.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken is considering naming Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, as the State Department's point person for the Abraham Accords, three U.S. officials told Axios.
Why it matters: In the months since the right-wing Israeli government was sworn in, most of the Arab countries that began normalizing relations with Israel as part of the Abraham Accords have largely paused the process.
Driving the news: Biden told reporters in Delaware he expects to resume talks with congressional leaders on Tuesday and that he plans to leave as scheduled for the G7 summit in Japan one day later, per a pool report.
Turkish President Recep TayyipErdoğan and opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu are heading for a runoff on May 28, electoral officials announced.
State of play: Erdoğan significantly outperformed the pre-election polls to win 49.5% of the vote, just short of the majority required to win outright.
Cyclone Mocha lashed Myanmar's Rakhine state on Sunday with devastating winds and heavy rain, killing at least six people and causing extensive damage, the UN and local media reported.
The big picture: The storm, which packed maximum sustained winds of 155 mph as it moved ashore just north of the port city of Sittwe, disrupted telecommunication networks, making it hard to know the extent of the destruction. But there were early reports of "significant damage," OCHA said late Sunday local time.
Tropical Cyclone Mocha, which struck Myanmar and Bangladesh as a high-end Category 4 storm on Sunday, is a catastrophic example of a rapidly strengthening storm — one that leaps multiple intensity categories.
Why it matters: Rapid intensification, along with higher rainfall rates, are key ways that climate change is influencing nature's strongest storms.
Nearly 11 million people in the Pacific Northwest were under heat advisories — as forecasters warned cities including Seattle and Portland could see more temperature records set Monday from the intense heat wave.
